'Another Chance, Another Opportunity:' Eminem Reveals The Story Behind Surprise Performance At Oscars

Musician Marshall Mathers, better known by his stage name Eminem, in an exclusive interview with Variety on Monday, revealed why he didn't attend the Academy Awards back in 2003, and what led to him performing at the awards ceremony this year.

The rapper told Variety that back in 2003, he just couldn't believe that he could win at the Oscars. His song "Lose Yourself" went on to win the award for the best original song that year.

"That to me shows how authentic and real that award is — when you don't show up and you still win. That makes it very real to me," Eminem told Variety. The song's co-producer Luis Resto accepted the award from Barbra Streisand on Eminem's behalf.

"I kinda figured maybe since I didn't get a chance to do it at the time, maybe it would be cool," the 47-year old said.

The performance was a highly guarded secret, the stage was closed and secured for the rehearsals; the rapper even had the option to cancel it in case it became public knowledge.

Eminem rubbished the rumors that he skipped performing at the awards in 2003 because the organization wanted him to perform a censored version of the song. "That's not true at all," he said. "Back then, I never even thought that I had a chance to win, and we had just performed "Lose Yourself" on the Grammys with the Roots a couple of weeks before the Oscars, so we didn't think it was a good idea," Eminem told Variety.

"And also, back at that time, the younger me didn't really feel like a show like that would understand me." Did he enjoy finally performing at the Oscars after all these years? Yes, because he "got to hug Salma Hayek." On the frequent jabs at President Donald Trump in his music, Eminem told Variety "I've said what I had to say and people know where I stand on [it.]"

Photo Credit: Screenshot of Online Stream