CNN reporter Zain Asher found it hard to fight back tears yesterday when she discussed her brother, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Oscar nomination for his riveting performance in “12 Years A Slave.”
“Honestly, I could not sleep last night. I really couldn’t,” Zain confessed during a live taping. “This was so emotional for me because … I’m going to try not to cry … This was a day that my family has really been hoping for and waiting for, for such a long time. Chiwetel, he’s been acting since he was 13 years old and oh my god, I told myself I wasn’t going to cry. I do feel so emotional now,” she said trying to fight back tears.
Zain went on to say that her brother’s mega accomplishment did not come without hard work.
“He’s worked so hard for this and growing up with him he was always in his bedroom practicing Shakespeare lines, writing Shakespeare on the wall. I would go out with my friends and I would come home and in the morning he would be reciting ‘Measure for Measure’ and in the evening it would be ‘Othello.’”
“He’s someone who’s really dedicated and an actor’s actor. He’s been acting for over 20 years, and so to finally see recognition for his work … I can’t even describe the feeling.”
She adds that she truly didn’t know what to expect when listening to the Oscar noms.
“There’s so many amazing actors and so he’s in good company,” Zain said. “You just never know how these things are going to go and so yesterday was very emotional for me, my mother, both of my brothers and sister, so I wasn’t really sure when I was watching the nominations what was going to happen.”
In case you missed it, yesterday it was announced that Chiwetel was nominated for for “Best Actor in a Leading Role” category along with Christian Bale, Bruce Dem, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matthew McConaughey. It’s really sweet that her brother’s success could move her to tears.
Watch Zain’s emotional interview on the next page.
