Historic nominations at the Oscars 2025

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

When we woke up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready for the virtual-only Oscar nominations announcement at 5:30 a.m. hosted by actor-writer-comedians Rachel Sennott and Bowen Young, we were surprised to hear several historic noms.

Probably, one of the most historic ones was the nomination of Karla Sofia Gascon, 52, who became the first openly trans actor to earn an Oscar recognition for his role as a trans, Emilia Manitas, in the musical "Emilia Perez." She plays a Mexican drug lord who undergoes surgery to start a new life as a female social worker. The first-time Oscar nominee shared a Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival with her co-stars Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz.

The Spanish actress, who was born in Alcobendas, is married to Marisa Gutierrez.

Competing with Gascon in the Best Actress category are Demi Moore, 62, and Fernanda Torres, 59. Moore got her first Oscar nom after 40 years in the entertainment industry for her role as the aging star Elisabeth Sparkle, who experiments with a drug that turns back time in "The Substance."

Torres, meanwhile, became only the second Brazilian to receive a Best Actress nod at the Oscars. She followed her mother, Fernanda Montenegro, who was the first to get an Oscar nomination in 1999 for "Central Station." Torres got her Oscar nom for her role as a former Congressman's wife, Eunice Paiva, in Walter Salles' political biographical drama "I'm Still Here." Salles also directed Montenegro's movie, "Central Station."

Also nominated in this Actress in a Leading Role category were Cynthia Erivo and Mikey Madison. Erivo, the 38-year-old British actress-singer, who was nominated for her role as Elphaba in the blockbuster musical "Wicked," can be an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) if she wins the Oscar. This is her second chance to be an EGOT. She got that chance in 2020 when she was nominated in two categories. If she gets the Oscar, she will also be able to steal the title of being the youngest EGOT from Fil-Am songwriter Robert "Bobby" Lopez ("Let It Go" from "Frozen," "Remember Me" from "Coco"), who was 39 when he got his EGOT in 2014.

Finally, Madison, only 25, is a first-time Oscar nominee who caught the voters' attention with her performance as the young sex worker, Ani, in the Palme d'Or-winning "Anora" film by Sean Baker. If she bags the trophy, she will be the ninth youngest Best Actress winner and the first since over a decade ago. Those before her included Marlee Matlin who won at 21 ("Children of a Lesser God"), Jennifer Lawrence who won at 22 ("Silver Linings Playbook"), Janet Gaynor who won at 22 ("7th Heaven,"), Joan Fontaine who won at 24 ("Suspicion"), Audrey Hepburn who won at 24 ("Roman Holiday"), Jennifer Jones who won at 25 ("The Song of Bernadette"), Grace Kelly who won at 25 ("The Country Girl") and Hilary Swank who won at 25 ("Boys Don't Cry").

Adrien Brody, who won an Oscar when he was only 29 for "The Pianist" in 2002, is now back in the race as he is nominated for his performance as architect Laszlo in "The Brutalist." This is his second nomination.

Timothee Chalamet, who is nominated for his role as Bob Dylan in the biopic "A Complete Unknown," can become the youngest star to take home the Oscar if he wins. Just like Brody when he first won, Chalamet is 29.

Chalamet also has two movies that he starred in that are both nominated for Best Picture – "A Complete Unknown" and "Dune: Part Two." This is Chalamet's second nomination. He was first nominated when he was only 22 for his performance in "Call Me By Your Name."

Colman Domingo is also nominated for the second time for his role as Divine G in "Sing Sing." Domingo made history as the first actor to be nominated back-to-back in the same category since he was nominated in "Rustin" last year.

Ralph Fiennes, who is nominated for his role as Lawrence in "Conclave," is yet to win an Oscar. He was nominated before for "Schindler's List" (supporting, 1993) and "The English Patient" (lead, 1996).

Lastly, also in the Best Actor category, is first-time Oscar nominee Sebastian Stan, who is nominated for his role as Donald Trump in "The Apprentice."

In the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category, most of those nominated – Yura Borisov (who performed Igor in "Anora"), Kieran Culkin (Benjie Kaplan in "A Real Pain"), Guy Pearce (Harrison Leo Van Buren, Sr. in "The Brutalist"), and Jeremy Strong (Roy Cohn in "The Apprentice") – are all first time Oscar nominees.

Only Edward Norton (Pete Seeger in "A Complete Unknown") is the actor who has been nominated four times and third in this category. He was nominated for "Birdman," "American History X," and "Primal Fear."

Borisov, 32, is the first Russian actor to get an Oscar nod in this category since 1977. The last Russian nominated for an Oscar in the acting category was Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1977 for "The Turning Point" and the last to win was Lila Kedrova in 1964 for "Zorba the Greek."

Pearce, who just split with his partner Dutch actress Carice van Houten, nabbed Australia's lone Oscar nom for Acting.

Strong, 46, who is competing against his "Succession" brother Culkin in the acting category, revealed that to be nominated for an Oscar is the "realization of a lifelong dream." He narrated that at the 65th Academy Awards, he and his father braved a cold night on metal bleachers outside of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles in 1993 for a chance to watch the actors and actresses arrive.

"I remember being unable to sleep because of how exciting it was to be close to that world," Strong said. "I have not lost that feeling of excitement; I feel it every time I go to set or drive onto a lot or begin rehearsals. I have devoted my life to the attempt to do genuine work that would be worthy of this honor."

"I am filled with amazement and flooded with emotion and with deep gratitude to my peers in the Academy."

In the Best Actress in a Supporting Role, the first-time Oscar nominees include Monica Barbaro (who performed Joan Baez in "A Complete Unknown"), Ariana Grande (Galinda/Glinda in "Wicked"), Isabella Rossellini (Sister Agnes in "Conclave") and Zoe Saldana (Rita in "Emilia Perez").

Only Felicity Jones has been nominated before in 2015 as the wife of British theoretical physicist and cosmologist, Stephen Hawking, in the biopic "The Theory of Everything" with Eddie Redmayne. In the movie "The Brutalist," she appears as Erzebet Toth, the wife of Adrien Brody.

At 72, Rossellini offered her nomination to her late parents – Ingrid Bergman (who was nominated for seven acting awards and won three times) and Roberto Rossellini (who received a screenwriting nod in 1950). After 40 years in the industry, Rossellini is proud of her Oscar recognition.

Saldana, who has been in the industry for the past 25 years, is also very grateful for her Academy acclaim and for French director Jacques Audiard for giving her a chance to be a part of the musical "Emilia Perez" where she was able to display not only her acting prowess but her singing and dancing talents as well.

In the Achievement in Directing category, the sole woman is Coralie Fargeat for "The Substance." This is the second nomination for Fargeat, including her nomination this year for Original Screenplay.

The 48-year-old French director's second feature, "The Substance," also won for her the Best Screenplay at the recent Cannes Film Festival. The movie is also up for Best Picture award at the Oscars.

Sean Baker, who directed the Palme d'Or award-winning film "Anora," is also nominated for an Oscar as Best Director. This is his fourth nomination, including his nominations this year for Best Picture, Original Screenplay and Film Editing. Baker is well-known as an avid fan of the late Lino Brocka and his movies.

Fresh from his Golden Globe win as Best Director is Brady Corbet, 36, who directed "The Brutalist." This is his second nomination, including his nomination this year for Original Screenplay.

James Mangold, who was nominated previously for his adapted screenplay for "Logan" (2017) and for Best Picture for "Ford vs. Ferrari" (2019), is up for his fifth Oscar nod, including his nomination this year for Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay for "A Complete Unknown."

French filmmaker, Jacques Audiard, 72, is enjoying his third nomination, including his Oscar nods this year for Adapted Screenplay and Original Song for "Emilia Perez."

In the International Feature Film category, "Flow" is the only animated movie included in this category. It is from Latvia, directed by Latvian filmmaker-animator-composer Gints Zilbalodis, who is only 30-31 years old. This is the first nomination for Latvia. "Flow" is also nominated in the Best Animated Feature Film and recently won a Golden Globe award in that category and had its world premiere at Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival. "Flow" is the first Latvian film to earn multiple nominations at the Oscars.

The other international feature films that are nominated in this category are "I'm Still Here" (Brazil's fifth nomination, directed by Walter Salles), "The Girl with the Needle" (Denmark's 15th nomination, directed by Magnus von Horn), "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" (Germany's 14th nomination, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof), and "Emilia Perez" (France's 39th nomination, directed by Jacques Audiard).

Aside from "Flow," the other films nominated in the Best Animated Feature Film category include "Inside Out 2," "Memoir of a Snail," "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl," and "The Wild Robot."

For the Best Picture category, "Emilia Perez" sets the record for the most nominations for a non-English language film at 13. Following it with the most award nominations are "The Brutalist" and "Wicked" with 10 noms each.

Other movies getting nominated include "The Substance," "A Complete Unknown,", "Conclave," "Anora," "Dune: Part Two," "Nickel Boys," and "I'm Still Here."

"Emilia Perez" and "I'm Still Here" were also nominated in the Best International Feature Film category.

The 97th Academy Awards will be on March 2, Sunday at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News