Halle Berry looked like she might "faint" when she won an Oscar, says Tom Wilkinson.

The actor was sitting next to the American star when she was named best actress at the 2002 Academy Awards for her role in Monster's Ball.

Although he completely understands how exciting such a moment must be, Tom recalls fearing it might all be too much for Halle.

"One of the years I was sitting next to Halle Berry, when she was getting the best actress award. I was so close to her and I thought she was going to have a breakdown, I thought she was going to faint," he told Cover Media. "[I thought], Get the medical people in here.' Why would you do that? I mean it's not life changing. Well, it's life changing for about 20 minutes I would have thought."

Tom's new movie is called The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. He portrays Graham, one of several ageing Brits who travel to India to escape their lives.

Graham is struggling with life-changing issues in the picture and it's made Tom consider what is important in his life. Although awards are a plus point of being an actor, the star insists they aren't vital.

"[Do Oscars and Emmys matter?] Yes, but they're not important. They're kind of like punctuation around something," he said.

"I've been nominated twice for Oscars and I didn't win and I didn't care, it was just nice to be there. But not getting one doesn't make you feel bad and getting one wouldn't necessarily make you feel [good].

"Though I want to win one. I would like it, although it's increasingly unlikely."

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is out in the UK on February 24.