Stallone and Morricone Make History with 2016 Oscar Nominations

The 2016 Oscar nominations are in, and two boomer nominees have already made history before the hardware has even been handed out.

With his nomination for best original score, Hateful Eight composer Ennio Morricone, 87, is now the oldest male Oscar nominee ever and tied with actress Gloria Stuart as the oldest overall nominee ever. If he wins, he’ll top Canuck actor and two-time Zoomer cover subject Christopher Plummer as the oldest Oscar winner ever – a milestone Plummer achieved in 2013 at age 82 when he won for Best Supporting Actor for Beginners. Morricone set both records with his Golden Globes nomination and win in the same category last weekend.

Meanwhile, Sylvester Stallone, 69, also made history when he was nominated for best supporting actor for playing the role of Rocky Balboa in Creed – the same character he was nominated for a best actor Oscar for playing in 1977. Only four actors have been nominated for Oscars for playing the same role in two different films, but Stallone’s 39 years between nominations is the longest span of time between Oscar nods for the same character ever.

The other actors who’ve been nominated for the same role in two different films are: Bing Crosby (as Father Chuck O’Malley in Going My Way, 1944, which he won, and The Bells Of St. Mary’s, 1945), Paul Newman (as “Fast” Eddie Felson in The Hustler, 1961, and The Color Of Money, 1986, which he won) Peter O’Toole (as King Henry II in Beckett, 1964, and The Lion In Winter, 1968) and Al Pacino (as Michael Corleone in The Godfather, 1972, and The Godfather: Part II, 1974). Stallone, of course, won his first Golden Globe at last weekend’s ceremony.

The other boomer nominees in the major categories include:

BEST ACTOR

Bryan Cranston, 59 – Trumbo
Matt Damon, 45, The Martian
Other nominees:
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant (the sentimental favourite for many fans hoping to see him win his first Oscar)
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett, 46 – Carol
Charlotte Rampling, 69 – 45 Years
Other nominees:
Brie Larson – Room
Jennifer Lawrence – Joy
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mark Ruffalo, 48 – Spotlight
Mark Rylance, 55 – Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, 69 – Creed
Other nominees:
Christian Bale – The Big Short
Tom Hardy – The Revenant

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Jason Leigh, 53 – The Hateful Eight
Other nominees:
Rooney Mara – Carol
Rachel McAdams – Spotlight
Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

BEST DIRECTOR

Lenny Abrahamson, 49 – Room
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, 52 – The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, 49 – Spotlight
Adam McKay, 47 – The Big Short
George Miller, 70 – Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST PICTURE

The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There

For the full list of Oscar nominees, visit www.oscar.go.com/nominees.