Castle-Hughes stunned by best actress nomination

Auckland schoolgirl Keisha Castle-Hughes was woken at 3am today with the news she had become the youngest ever Oscar nominee for best actress.

Castle-Hughes, 13, was nominated for the low-budget New Zealand film Whale Rider, her debut film.

"My Mum came running into my room saying 'Keisha, you've just been nominated'," Castle-Hughes told National Radio.

"I was like, I thought I was still sleeping. I thought 'I'll be happy in the morning'."

However, excitement got the better of Castle-Hughes, who was soon out of bed taking congratulatory calls from the film's US distributor.

"They were yelling down the phone at me... and I realised it was real.

"It's going to change my life"

In Whale Rider Castle-Hughes plays Paikea, a girl who bucks tradition imposed by her grandfather to become leader of her Maori tribe.

She will be hoping she can follow in the footsteps of young New Zealand actress Anna Paquin, who won the best supporting actress Oscar for her performance as an 11-year-old in Jane Campion's 1992 film The Piano.

The nomination of Castle-Hughes for best actress was something of a surprise to Hollywood insiders. She had not been nominated for a Golden Globe award and the film's distributor had been pushing her in the supporting actress category.

Castle-Hughes said her whole family would be travelling to the US with her, and she would have no trouble getting time off school to attend the awards.

"My school's very supportive of what I do."

Castle-Hughes is still likely to be regarded as an outsider to win the best actress Oscar. The category has been dominated by South African-raised Charlize Theron, for her Golden Globe-winning portrayal as real-life prostitute-serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster.

"When I heard the nominees I was like, Diane Keaton, Charlize Theron, Renee Zellwegger, I was yelling out to everyone. It's amazing."

The previous youngest nominee for best actress was Frenchwoman Isabelle Adjani, who was 20 when she was nominated for 1975's The Story of Adele H.

The youngest ever Oscar nominee was eight-year-old Justin Henry, as supporting actor for 1979's Kramer vs Kramer. The youngest-ever winner was Tatum O'Neal, a winner for supporting actress at age 10 for Paper Moon.

- NZPA