MovieChat Forums > The Weapon (1957) Discussion > My Oscar means nothing to me, says Jon W...

My Oscar means nothing to me, says Jon Whiteley.

posted 8 years ago by DavidW1947
1 reply | jump to latest

According to a recent interview in the Oxford Times, Jon Whiteley said that getting an Oscar for his performance as a child star in The Kidnappers (1953) means nothing to him and as for the statuette, it might still be somewhere in the house, but he hasn't seen it for years and it was an ugly thing anyway.

I was shocked when I read that, because most screen actors would give anything to be awarded an Oscar for their performance. It's the film industries way of saying they are an excellent performer and that they are appreciated and recognised and Jon Whiteley treats his as though it was nothing. They honoured him and he practically threw their honour back in their faces. What an absolutely disgraceful and ungrateful attitude for him to have. He should be totally ashamed of himself.

[–] info-996-828544 7 years ago

When I saw your post, I just felt like posting in 48 point, "WHY"? If something is unimportant to an individual, you cannot manufacture real gratitude. Personally, I wasn't aware that he had won this award, but I guess he must have been aged about seven at the time. He would no more have understood the significance of this award as a seven year old, as he would if he had been awarded a Ph.D. He is slightly older than myself, and about that age, my interests were in toys and climbing trees. If I were being realistic, I would think that the fact he won an Oscar at such a young age, was regarded by himself as more to do with luck than any great talent he had accumulated by then.

As for throwing it back in their faces, I think that is a little bit of a stretch, as he went through the motions of accepting it in good grace. I wonder what you might say about the attitude of Brando and Jane Fonda, who used the awards to make political points?