Tom Wilkinson was doing what he does every evening when he heard about the Oscar nomination for his supporting role in “Michael Clayton.” He was walking his dog.
“I had forgotten about the nominations,” says Wilkinson, in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter from his home in England.
“I think I’m feeling pretty chipper,” Wilkinson says. “I got this character from the start. The first time I saw the film I was in Germany and took a few people with me. Everybody was blown away by it. It’s just a good film. No two ways about it.”
Wilkinson, who plays a downward-spiraling lawyer opposite George Clooney in the thriller about corporate cover-up, says he plans to put away the dog leash for now and celebrate properly. “I think I just might have a glass of wine tonight,” he says.
The veteran actor stars next in “Valkyrie,” about a plot to kill Adolf Hitler at the height of World War II. The film also stars Tom Cruise.