Call Them by Their Name
How many Oscar noms will it take before these perennials finally win?
“Always a bridesmaid, never the bride” certainly applies to the plight of 19 of this year’s longest-suffering Academy Award nominees. Spanning all 23 categories, these actors, filmmakers and artisans — including actor Annette Bening, filmmaker Wes Anderson and costume designer Jacqueline West — share a peculiar bond. Collectively, they have racked up an impressive 107 Oscar nominations over the years without once stepping onto the Dolby Theatre stage to deliver an acceptance speech. By comparison, living titans Daniel Day-lewis, Frances Mcdormand, Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep have together garnered 47 bids and taken home 13 trophies.
The 96th ceremony may not change the narrative for many of these perennial favorites. Bening, on her fifth nod for “Nyad,” and Mark Ruffalo, rocking out with his fourth mention for “Poor Things,” find themselves in tight races, with Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) and Robert Downey Jr. (“Oppenheimer”) way ahead of them. Furthermore, Bening and Ruffalo’s chances are dampened after they missed key precursor noms such as BAFTA.
Speaking of “Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s epic leads the pack with 13. The filmmaker is long overdue for recognition after eight career noms; following his triumph at the DGA Awards, he’s locked and loaded for his first stage appearance. In fact, Nolan stands a good chance of joining the elite group of 12 individuals who have clinched the Oscar hat trick of picture, director and screenplay.
Bradley Cooper enters the scene with three mentions for “Maestro,” bringing his Oscar-nom total to 12 over the past decade. His transformative portrayal of Leonard Bernstein puts him in direct competition with lead actor frontrunners Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”) and Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”). Still, it remains his best shot at a win. That’s something Netflix is aware of as it enlists Oscar-winning heavyweights like Ellen Burstyn and Brad Pitt to moderate Q&AS — all in hopes of securing victories at SAG and BAFTA.
Then of course there’s Diane Warren, the legendary songwriter who chalked up her 15th nom for “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot.” Though she received an honorary Oscar in 2022, her quest for a competitive win seems as elusive as ever, given that she’s up against two songs from “Barbie” — “What Was I Made For?,” by song of the year Grammy winners Billie Eilish and Finneas, appears to have the edge.
While “overdue” is an overused term, as the ceremony approaches, all eyes will be on those select few who are hoping at last to end their night at the engraving station.