Pamela Anderson addresses not getting nominated for an Oscar: ‘I always say the win is in the work’

Pamela Anderson poses for photographers upon arrival at the Glamour Women of the Year awards on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP) (Scott A Garfitt/Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

(CNN) — When the Academy Award nominations were announced on Thursday morning, many were disappointed that Pamela Anderson was not among the names read, but the lead actress of “The Last Showgirl” wasn’t one of them.

“I couldn’t even imagine that,” she told Martha Stewart in an interview published in Elle on Friday of the idea of an Oscar nod. “I did get a SAG nomination, which is really exciting and…all of this is just unexpected and exciting.”

In addition to being recognized by the Screen Actors Guild, Anderson was nominated for a Golden Globe for her work in the Gia Coppola film, in which she plays a Las Vegas showgirl facing down the end of her long-running revue show and contemplating what’s next. She has also been honored by various critics’ associations, as well as festivals at home and abroad.

“I always say the win is in the work,” Anderson also said in the new interview. “I got to do something I really love, and I needed to do that for my soul.”

Regarding what drew her to the role, the former “Baywatch” star said, “I could hear the voice in my head. I could see how to play her, all the layers and nuances. I felt like it was already in my mind, and so I knew I had to do it.”

She added, “that’s the first time I’ve ever experienced anything like that, because nobody was giving me these great characters to play or a script like this. I just thought, Wow.”

“The Last Showgirl” costars Dave Bautista, Kiernan Shipka, Brenda Song, Billie Lourd and Jamie Lee Curtis, who Anderson called “a champion for women.”

“She took me by the shoulders and said, ‘I did this movie for you,’” Anderson told Stewart of Curtis.

Curtis corroborated that on her Instagram earlier this week, writing in a post that she knew she “wanted to be a part of it when I heard that Pamela Anderson was going to play the lead in the film.”

Curtis also mentioned that the current disaster surrounding the wildfires in the Los Angeles area “has reduced much of our hustle for the movie as we are focusing on the recovery and support of so many, who lost so much” – possibly contributing to the film’s lack of recognition by Academy voters.

“The Last Showgirl” is now playing in theaters.

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