Entertainment

Octavia Spencer picks up her Hasty Pudding prize and pays tribute to Mary Tyler Moore

Octavia Spencer picks up her Hasty Pudding prize and pays tribute to Mary Tyler Moore
Octavia Spencer picks up her Hasty Pudding prize and pays tribute to Mary Tyler Moore Octavia Spencer picks up her Hasty Pudding prize and pays tribute to Mary Tyler Moore

Octavia Spencer has another honour to go along with her Best Supporting Actress Oscar: Woman of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

Octavia accepted the honour on Thursday and used the opportunity to pay homage to Mary Tyler Moore and talk about her inspiring film roles.

Fresh off her nomination for a second Oscar, Octavia was honoured with a parade through the streets of Cambridge, followed by a roast and the presentation of her pudding pot.

Octavia Spencer (Stephan Savoia/AP/PA)

“That pot was hard to get,” she joked when asked how it compared with an Oscar. “It was difficult to get, but it was one that will be forever indelibly etched in my memories. This has just been so much fun today.”

Octavia won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Minny Jackson in 2011′s The Help. She was nominated this week in the same category for her role in Hidden Figures, a film about the behind-the-scenes contributions of several black women in the early years of the NASA programme.

Octavia Spencer (Stephan Savoia/AP/PA)

Octavia said she was touched by the fans who called her an inspiration on Thursday.

“That really touches my heart because I have the luxury now of getting to choose… the characters that I play,” she said.

“One of the things that I like to do is choose movies… that will allow for a little escapism but also educate while entertaining, and I think Hidden Figures does that on so many levels.”

Octavia Spencer (Stephan Savoia/AP/PA)

Octavia said Mary Tyler Moore, the famous actress who died on Wednesday, changed “how we view women, and how we view independent women”.

“It’s definitely a loss for the entertainment community as well as the public at large because she shaped a generation of independents and she will definitely be missed,” she said.

The Hasty Pudding award has been handed out annually since 1951 to people who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment.