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A story about a Korean-American family with big dreams turned into a dream come true for Steven Yeun.
The “Minari” star on Monday became the first Asian-American performer to be nominated for best actor at the Academy Awards, highlighting a historic list of Oscar finalists of Asian descent.
Meanwhile, “Mank,” Netflix’s black-and-white drama about “Citizen Kane” screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, led all films with 10 nominations, including for best picture.
“Minari,” which stars Yeun as a Korean immigrant who moves his family to rural Arkansas to start a farm, received six nominations overall, including for best picture and best director for Lee Isaac Chung. Yuh-Jung Youn, who plays the family’s grandmother, was the first South Korean performer to be nominated for best supporting actress.
“Thank you to the Academy for this honor to be nominated alongside such incredible artists,” said Yeun in a statement. “I am also grateful to see the talent of Lee Isaac Chung, Yuh-Jung Youn, Emile Mosseri and Christina Oh be recognized as well. If I’ve learned anything from this past year and from the experience of this film, it is that this life is shared. I am blessed to have shared in this with our brilliant cast and crew and I am only here because of them.”
The nominations for “Minari,” an American film with primarily Korean dialogue, follow last year’s success of “Parasite,” a Korean movie that won four Oscars, including best picture.
British star Riz Ahmed, who plays a drummer who loses his hearing in “Sound of Metal,” will compete with Yeun for best actor, marking the first year that two performers of Asian descent have been nominated for that honor.
Beijing-born filmmaker Chloé Zhao became the first woman of color to be nominated for best director for her work on “Nomadland,” a drama following a widow who lives out of her van and travels the American West after losing her job.
“Nomadland” is up for best picture at the 2021 Oscars, which take place April 25 at the Dolby Theatre and Union Station in Los Angeles.
“I’m grateful to have gone on this journey with our talented team of filmmakers
and to have met so many wonderful people who generously shared their stories with us,” Zhao said Monday. “Thank you so much to my Academy peers for recognizing this film that is very close to my heart.”
Overall, nine actors of color were nominated across the four acting categories to set an Oscars record.
Zhao also made history Monday as one of two female filmmakers nominated for best director in the same year. Emerald Fennell, who helmed the #MeToo revenge thriller “Promising Young Woman,” is also up for the honor.
Only eight movies received nominations for best picture this year, with “The Father,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Promising Young Woman” and “Sound of Metal” joining “Minari,” “Mank” and “Nomadland.”
For “Mank,” Gary Oldman, who plays the title role, is up for best actor, while Amanda Seyfried, as Hollywood Golden Age star Marion Davies, was nominated for best supporting actress. David Fincher was recognized for best director.
“After such a stressed pandemic year, there is a kind of comfort and reassurance in knowing that we soldier on in many ways with important traditions,” Oldman said. “In our industry there is nothing more traditional than the Academy Awards, which hopefully sends a sign of hope that we will get out of this. The Oscars are such a sign that normalcy still exists.”
Chadwick Boseman, who died at age 43 last year following a private battle with colon cancer, was nominated for best actor for his portrayal of a headstrong horn player in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” which centers on a contentious recording session involving the titular blues singer. He won a Golden Globe last month for the role, which was his final performance.
Viola Davis, who plays Rainey in the film, is up for best actress, making her the first Black woman ever to be nominated twice in that category. It’s the fourth nomination of her career, also the most for a Black actress.
Other nominees for best actress were Frances McDormand for “Nomadland” and Carey Mulligan for “Promising Young Woman,” Andra Day starring as the titular jazz icon in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” and Vanessa Kirby, who plays a woman grieving a tragic home birth in “Pieces of a Woman.”
Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield both received best supporting actor nods for “Judas and the Black Messiah,” which centers on an FBI informant who befriends Black Panther leader Fred Hampton.
Other nominees in the category were Leslie Odom Jr., who stars as Sam Cooke in “One Night in Miami,” a drama envisioning a meeting between the singer and Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X and Jim Brown; Sacha Baron Cohen for “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” a drama about anti-Vietnam War protesters, and Paul Raci for “Sound of Metal.”
“The Father” received six nominations including one for Anthony Hopkins, who is up for best actor for his performance as an older man struggling with memory loss. Olivia Colman, who plays his concerned daughter, was nominated for best supporting actress.