"And the whole Oscar thing, that is just surreal: you spend months and months doing promotion, and then come back to reality with this golden thing in your hands. You put it in the office and then you just have to look at it sitting on the shelf. And, after about two weeks, you go: 'What is that doing there?'"
About this Quote
The intent isn't anti-Oscar posturing so much as a quiet correction to how we narrate success. Bardem highlights the emotional hangover after the spectacle. Months of being asked to explain your "journey" and package your art into bite-size inspiration culminate in a static prop. His comic punchline - "What is that doing there?" - captures the anticlimax with actorly timing: two weeks is long enough for the adrenaline to drain and for the fetish object to lose its spell.
Context matters: Bardem is an internationally respected actor who has moved between Spanish cinema and Hollywood, someone who knows the industry machine but isn't defined by it. The subtext is a defense of craft over ceremony, and a sly reminder that the culture's loudest validation is, in private, oddly mute.
Quote Details
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bardem, Javier. (2026, January 16). And the whole Oscar thing, that is just surreal: you spend months and months doing promotion, and then come back to reality with this golden thing in your hands. You put it in the office and then you just have to look at it sitting on the shelf. And, after about two weeks, you go: 'What is that doing there?'. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-the-whole-oscar-thing-that-is-just-surreal-96524/
Chicago Style
Bardem, Javier. "And the whole Oscar thing, that is just surreal: you spend months and months doing promotion, and then come back to reality with this golden thing in your hands. You put it in the office and then you just have to look at it sitting on the shelf. And, after about two weeks, you go: 'What is that doing there?'." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-the-whole-oscar-thing-that-is-just-surreal-96524/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"And the whole Oscar thing, that is just surreal: you spend months and months doing promotion, and then come back to reality with this golden thing in your hands. You put it in the office and then you just have to look at it sitting on the shelf. And, after about two weeks, you go: 'What is that doing there?'." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-the-whole-oscar-thing-that-is-just-surreal-96524/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
