Julie Andrews hid her Oscar for years because she 'didn't feel worthy'

Mary Poppins actor Julie Andrews has admitted she hid the Oscar she won for the role because she “didn’t feel worthy of it” as a Hollywood newbie.

Andrews won the Oscar for Best Actress for her debut role as the titular magic nanny in the 1964 Disney musical classic.

Speaking on this week’s episode of The Graham Norton Show, the 84-year-old said she felt she had been handed the award to welcome her to the industry and that she hadn’t earned it.

Read more: Andrews “almost died” on the Mary Poppins set

Andrews was nominated again the following year for The Sound of Music and again in 1983 for her role in musical Victor/Victoria.

The star has been reflecting on her career as she promotes her new memoir Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years.

She said: “l kept the Oscar in the attic for a very long time because I thought I’d been given it as a ‘Welcome to Hollywood’ and I didn’t feel worthy of it.

“So much early success sent me into therapy and analysis.

“I learnt you have to do it right and honour the films you are making. It’s a huge gift, but a lot of obligation.”

Read more: Academic claims Poppins chimney sweep dance is racist

Andrews was asked to return to the world that made her name in last year’s sequel Mary Poppins Returns, but declined out of a desire not to overshadow new leading lady Emily Blunt.

The role of the Balloon Lady, played in the film by Angela Lansbury, was likely to be the part Andrews would’ve played.

Andrews appeared on screen most recently as the lead of pre-school series Julie's Greenroom on Netflix in March 2017.

She has also taken on a series of voice roles, including in the Despicable Me franchise and as the leviathan Karathen in DC superhero movie Aquaman.

Read more: How Mary Poppins Returns connects to the original

The actor had been prepared to take on a role in Martin Scorsese’s epic crime story The Wolf of Wall Street, but revealed this week that she had to walk away from the job because she was “truly stoned” on painkillers after undergoing ankle surgery.

Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years is available now.