2023 Oscar Nominees: Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, John Williams and Others Score Historic Nominations

Nominees for the 95th Academy Awards were announced Tuesday morning, and none carried the sizzle or the potential for making headlines quite like the acting categories, which could produce a hotbed of memorable acceptance speeches at the Oscars on March 12.

High on the list: Angela Bassett, 64, who became the first actor ever to receive an Oscar nomination for a role in a Marvel film, with her nod for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

With Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and Hong Chau competing for Oscars, 2023 set a record for most Asian actors nominated in a single year. Yeoh, 60, received her first Oscar nomination for her work in the critical smash Everything Everywhere All at Once, where she performed alongside industry favourite and comeback kid Quan, 51, and Hsu, 32, both nominated in supporting roles for that same film. Quan, of course, was a child actor in 1980s hits Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies before eventually leaving acting, going back to school, working on sets for years in production roles and then coming back to acting in 2018 and, now, landing his first Oscar nomination.

Chau, 43, meanwhile was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Whale, which also grabbed Canadian-bred Brendan Fraser, 54, an anticipated nod for Best Actor, his first.

With more firsts, Jamie Lee Curtis, 64, earned her first-ever Oscar nomination, despite a career spanning decades, for her Best Supporting role in the widely fêted sci-fi dazzler Everything Everywhere All at Once. Ditto fellow veteran Bill Nighy, 73, who finally, after years of critically lauded performances, grabbed a Best Actor nod, his first, for Living, the sentimental remake of the 1952 Japanese film Ikiru. Colin Farrell, 46, also scored his first-ever nomination, for Best Actor for The Banshees of Inisherin.

Records, too, may shatter. If Judd Hirsch lands Best Supporting Actor for The Fabelmans, he will, at age 87, break Anthony Hopkins’ record as oldest Oscar winner in an acting category ever. Hopkins was a mere 83 when he won for 2020’s The Father. The film also tees up Steven Spielberg, 76, for his potential third Best Director Oscar with previous wins for Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.

You can bet Spielberg will be high-fiving legendary composer John Williams, who, at 90, is the oldest Oscar nominee in history, and will be 91 if his name is called from the stage of the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for Music (Original Score) on The Fabelmans. The nomination also marks his 53rd nod, the most ever for a living person. Only one person received more: Walt Disney, with 59 nominations.

Meanwhile, Toronto’s Sarah Polley, 44, scored for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay for her adaptation of Miriam Toews’ bestseller Women Talking, the only female nominee in former category and one of only two in the latter.

Also scoring one for Canada — and women and Asian talents — is director Domee Shi, 33, whose Toronto-set 2022 feature film Turning Red nabbed Best Animated Feature. Shi is no stranger to the Oscar podium: her 2018 film Bao won Best Animated Short Film at the 91st Academy Awards.

Arguably, the most unexpected nomination in any category belongs to Andrea Riseborough, 41, for the little-seen but much-loved (by industry folks, anyway) To Leslie, about an alcoholic Texan who wins then squanders a lottery.

A late-breaking grassroots campaign largely spearheaded by her fellow actors, put the British-born performer on the radar, helping her best mainstream contenders like Viola Davis (for The Woman King) and Danielle Deadwyler (for Till).

Riseborough will compete against Cate Blanchett, 53, for Tár, Ana de Armas, 34, for the controversial Marilyn Monroe fictionalized biopic Blonde, Michelle Williams, 42, for The Fabelmans, and the aforementioned Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once. (Average age in both Best Actor and Best Actress categories is 46, by the way.)

In a bittersweet twist, director Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis gathered multiple marquee nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Austin Butler, 31, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design, less than two weeks after the sudden and untimely death of Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley’s only child, at age 54.

Luckily, both Lisa Marie Presley and mom Priscilla Presley, 77, saw Butler nab a Golden Globe for his impressive work as the King of Rock ’n’ Roll earlier this month. It’s hoped the film will fulfill Priscilla Presley’s aim to keep the memory of her former husband alive in the minds of younger generations.

The Oscars this year will also be notable for acknowledging both blockbusters and artier, foreign films that drew critical raves if not massive box office.

Witness the highly stacked Best Picture category, where confirmed money-makers like Avatar: The Way of Water, Top Gun: Maverick, and Elvis face off against festival favourites like Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness, TIFF hits The Banshees of Inisherin and The Fabelmans, the German-language war epic All Quiet on the Western Front — which recently grabbed a staggering 14 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations — and Tár, which landed on virtually every best-of list but wilted at the box office.

For those keeping score co-directors Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan’s led the charge for overall Oscar nominations with 11 for their eye-popping, game-changing Everything Everywhere All at Once, followed by Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin and Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front, which tied for second place with nine each.

Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel hosts the Oscars on March 12. See below for a full list of nominees.

 

2023 OSCAR NOMINEES

 

Best Picture

All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking

Best Director

Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
Todd Field, Tár
Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, Tár
Ana de Armas, Blonde
Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie
Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Actor

Austin Butler, Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
Bill Nighy, Living

Best Supporting Actress

Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau, The Whale
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Supporting Actor

Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway
Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, The Fabelmans
Todd Field, Tár
Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, and Ian Stokell, All Quiet on the Western Front
Rian Johnson, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Kazuo Ishiguro, Living
Screenplay by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie, story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks, Top Gun: Maverick
Sarah Polley, Women Talking

Best International Feature Film

All Quiet on the Western Front
Argentina, 1985
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The Quiet Girl

Best Animated Feature Film

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Puss In Boots: The Last Wish
The Sea Beast
Turning Red

Best Documentary Feature

All That Breathes
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Fire of Love
A House Made of Splinters
Navalny

Best Film Editing

Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, The Banshees of Inisherin
Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond, Elvis
Paul Rogers, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Monika Willi, TÁR
Eddie Hamilton, Top Gun: Maverick

Best Cinematography

James Friend, All Quiet on the Western Front
Darius Khondji, Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Mandy Walker, Elvis
Roger Deakins, Empire of Light
Florian Hoffmeister, Tár

Best Costume Design

Mary Zophres, Babylon
Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Catherine Martin, Elvis
Shirley Kurata, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Jenny Beavan, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová, All Quiet on the Western Front
Naomi Donne, Mike Marino, and Mike Fontaine, The Batman
Camille Friend and Joel Harlow, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Mark Coulier, Jason Baird, and Aldo Signoretti, Elvis
Adrien Morot, Judy Chin, and Anne Marie Bradley, The Whale

Best Production Design

Christian M. Goldbeck and Ernestine Hipper, All Quiet on the Western Front
Dylan Cole, Ben Procter, and Vanessa Cole, Avatar: The Way of Water
Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino, Babylon
Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, and Bev Dunn, Elvis
Rick Carter and Karen O’Hara, The Fabelmans

Best Music (Original Song)

“Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman, music and lyrics by Dianne Warren
“Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick, music and lyrics by Lady Gaga and BloodPop
“Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, music and lyrics by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, and Ludwig Goransson
“Naatu Naatu” from RRR, music by M.M. Keeravaani, lyrics by Chandrabose
“This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once, music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne, and Mitski, lyrics by Ryan Lott

Best Music (Original Score)

Volker Bertelmann, All Quiet on the Western Front
Justin Hurwitz, Babylon
Carter Burwell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Son Lux, Everything Everywhere All at Once
John Williams, The Fabelmans

Best Sound

Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel, and Stefan Korte, All Quiet on the Western Front
Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, and Michael Hedges, Avatar: The Way of Water
Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray, and Andy Nelson, The Batman
David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson, and Michael Keller, Elvis
Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon, and Mark Taylor, Top Gun: Maverick

Best Visual Effects

Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank, and Kamil Jafar, All Quiet on the Western Front
Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett, Avatar: The Way of Water
Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands, and Dominic Tuohy, The Batman
Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White, and Dan Sudick, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson, and Scott R. Fisher, Top Gun: Maverick

Best Animated Short Film

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse
The Flying Sailor
Ice Merchants
My Year of Dicks
An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake, and I Think I Believe It

Best Live Action Short Film

An Irish Goodbye
Ivalu
Le Pupille
Night Ride
The Red Suitcase

Best Documentary Short

The Elephant Whisperers
Haulout
How Do You Measure a Year?
The Martha Mitchell Effect
Stranger at the Gate

 

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