The Australian star was nominated for best supporting actor prize for his performance in The Brutalist - his first ever Oscar nomination - but he fell ill in the run-up to the big night and spent Sunday night's ceremony struggling to speak.
"I'm a little husky-voiced at the moment ... I actually had a chest infection about two weeks ago." he told Australian TV's The Morning Show.
"And then it turned into this terrible cough which has now turned into losing my voice. It's like the timing couldn't have been better."
Pearce went on to lose the Oscar to Kieran Culkin - who won for his role in A Real Pain - after the former Neighbours star predicted the trophy would go to his rival.
When asked about his first-ever Academy Awards nomination, Pearce declared he had thrown out his acceptance speech and was convinced Culkin would win the Oscar.
He told the Guardian newspaper: "It's funny (being nominated). "Not funny that I haven't had one before – just funny to even get one, I reckon. I stop and go, 'Wow, is that - really? OK? That's really happened?'
"I've been nominated for a few of these awards, and I haven't won any! I'm not gonna win! Kieran (Culkin) will win, again."
Asked about planning an acceptance speech, Pearce said: "I've had one I've thought about for the last three months now – haven't used it once! Nah, I'll just forget it."
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