Alexandre Desplat on his Oscar chances and the Philomena score

20 February 2014, 15:45 | Updated: 21 February 2014, 09:11

Will Alexandre Desplat finally get that Academy Award? He chats to Classic FM about his chances, and how the score for Philomena was a sensitive and delicate undertaking.

He's been nominated for an Oscar six times in the last eight years, but he's still not got his hands on one… could Alexandre Desplat's score for the Judi Dench drama Philomena be the one that does the trick for the Frenchman?

Desplat spoke to Classic FM's Sam Pittis about the score for the movie, and how meeting the real Philomena Lee (the two are pictured above) after composing it was a good thing: "The story of Philomena Lee is incredible… she's an incredible lady. The energy, the wit that she has, the strength that you feel in her. I'm glad I met her after [writing the score], because it might have interfered!"

He also expressed his admiration for his fellow Oscar nominees, especially John Williams, but was reluctant to call anyone out as a potential winner… Oh, and if you're a Wes Anderson fan, make sure you listen right until the very end for a sneak peek of what to expect from Desplat's score for The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Listen to the interview below.