Oscar Nominated Franchise Actors
Very rarely do you see franchise movies nominated at the Oscars. Occasionally you’ll see a movie like ‘Lord of the Rings: Return of the King’ do EXTREMELY well. What’s even rarer is seeing actors in these films being recognized for their performances. We’re going to discuss the actors & actresses who have received nominations for franchise films.
First, we’ll discuss movies that became a part of a franchise later on, as sequels were released after the initial film. First we have ‘The Exorcist’ which spawned several sequels. The initial film received three acting nominations: Ellen Burstyn for Best Actress, Jason Miller for Best Supporting Actor, & the young Linda Blair for Best Supporting Actress. Next is ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ which spawned a sequel & two prequels about the main character, Hannibal Lecter, who was played by Anthony Hopkins in the first film for which he won the Best Actor award. The film also stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, for which she won Best Actress. A movie that will be getting a sequel at the end of this year is ‘Gladiator.’ I, like many people, am extremely excited about ‘Gladiator II’ and we’ll see how it compares to the first film which received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus, and won Best Actor for Russell Crowe as Maximus. Another movie that received a sequel many years after its release is ‘Mary Poppins’ which won Julie Andrews the Best Actress for her role as the titular character. To date, Andrews is the only person to win an acting Oscar for their role in a Disney movie. Another actor that was nominated was Johnny Depp for his role in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl’ which has been followed up by 4 sequels. ‘The Karate Kid’ had 2 sequels and a stand-alone sequel, as well as a reboot, a TV series, and an upcoming sequel merging with the reboot. Wow. But for the original film Pat Morita was nominated for his role as Mr. Miyagi. Finally you have Cate Blanchett who received nominations for both ‘Elizabeth’ & ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age.’
Movies that were sequels themselves that received nominations include Borat Subsequent Moviefilm for which Maria Bakalova received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Sigourney Weaver received a nomination for ‘Aliens’ which is pretty wild since its both a sequel and sci-fi film.
Of the big ‘nerd franchises’ only a few have received nominations. First you have Ian McKellen for his role as Gandalf in ‘The Lord of the Rings- The Fellowship of the Ring’ and you have another old wizard mentor in Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi in ‘Star Wars.’ Joaquin Phoenix & Heath Ledger both won awards (Best Actor & Best Supporting Actor) for playing the Joker in ‘Joker’ & ‘The Dark Knight,’ respectively. ‘The Dark Knight’ is a sequel to ‘Batman Begins’ & ‘Joker’ will receive a sequel within the next couple months. On the Marvel side, the only person to ever receive an acting nomination is Angela Bassett for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.’
A franchise that has been going on for a long time is Rocky. For the first film ‘Rocky’ Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, & Burgess Meredith all received nominations for their roles as Rocky Balboa, Adrian Pennino, & Mickey Goldemill. Sylvester Stallone would receive another nomination, this time for Supporting Actor instead of Best Actor, for ‘Creed.’
Now a franchise (trilogy to be more specific) that has done very well for itself critically is ‘The Godfather’ series. And it has received A LOT of acting nominations. For ‘The Godfather,’ Marlon Brando won Best Actor for his role as Vito Corleone, while James Caan & Robert Duvall received nominations for Best Supporting Actor. Al Pacino received a nomination for the original movie and then another one for ‘The Godfather Part II.’ Other actors nominated for Part II were Michael V. Gazzo, Talia Shire, & Lee Strasberg, while Robert De Niro kept Vito’s winning streak alive, winning Best Supporting Actor for his role as a younger version of Brando’s character. And to round out the trilogy (and this list), Andy Garcia received a nomination for his role in ‘The Godfather Part III.’
