As awards season reaches its climax with the Oscar ceremony on Sunday night, Meryl Streep is in the thick of it yet again. She made Oscar history last month when she received her 15th nomination for Doubt, breaking her own record as the most nominated actor since the inception of the Academy Awards. Streep won best supporting actress for Kramer vs Kramer(1979) and best actress for Sophie's Choice(1982).

However, she has been vocally critical of all the hoopla and promotional overdrive surrounding the awards. “It’s a lot more fun to open a movie in July because then you talk about the movie,” she says. “At this time of year, all everyone wants to talk about is the awards season. I think Viola (Davis) in our film gives the best performance by a supporting actress in the last 10 years. It’s a true supporting role.

“I have noticed a change over the years – all the stuff about marketing and jewellery and handbags and shoes. You pore over scripts, you read deeply into stories, you ask yourself if this is worth giving to the world and you work hard for most of a year on a role. Then it’s all about where you stand in the top 10. Are you 9.5 and are you moving up? It all goes back to sport and the way sport has taken over the news.”