Colman Domingo, Jodie Foster, Billie Eilish, Lily Gladstone Nominated For Oscars 2024
Image: Colman Domingo (left) and Johnny Ramey in 'Rustin'. Image: Netflix
Queer talent and queer stories received well deserved nods as the Academy Awards announced its nominations on Tuesday.
Out gay actors Colman Domingo and Jodie Foster and out singer Billie Eilish were among those who were nominated for the 96th annual Academy Awards.
The nominations capped a year that has seen powerful LGBTQI stories and performances on celluloid.
Second Out Gay Man To Be Nominated For Playing A Gay Character
Domingo became the second out gay man to be nominated for acting honours for playing a gay character. Domingo was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for playing out, gay, civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the biopic Rustin. Sir Ian McKellen was the first gay actor nominated for an Oscar in 1999 for playing a gay character in Gods and Monsters.
“I know I’m existing in spaces that are unique in many ways,” Domingo, who also played the leading man in The Color Purple, told Deadline after the nominations were announced. “The way I’ve been able to see myself in this industry is that I can play anything, and it’s not limited by my own personal sexuality.
Making History
Jodie Foster was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance as Bonnie Stoll in the biopic Nyad. Foster is a two-time Academy Award winner – she won for her performances in The Accused (1989) and The Silence of The Lambs (1992).
Lily Gladstone, who uses ‘she/they’ pronouns, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Killers of The Flower Moon. Gladstone is the first Native American to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress.
Among the eight nominations for the global blockbuster Barbie, was for out singer Billie Eilish, who was nominated for her song “What Was I Made For?”.
High Profile Snubs
Bradley Cooper’s Maestro based on the life of bisexual conductor Leonard Bernstein received seven nominations. In addition to the nomination for Foster, Annette Bening was nominated for Best Actress for her role as Diana Nyad for Nyad, the biopic about out the lesbian swimmer.
Out composer Laura Karpman was nominated for Best Original Score for American Fiction. Sterling K. Brown, who played a gay character in the film was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. French legal thriller Anatomy Of A Fall, which features a bisexual protagonist, was nominated for five Oscars.
The other films on LGBTQI themes that were nominated include Nimona (Best Animated Feature) and The ABCs of Book Banning (Best Documentary Short Film).
The nominations also threw up some high-profile snubs. There were no nominations for Pedro Almodovar’s Strange Way of Life starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, and All Of Us Strangers starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal.
The 96th Annual Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2024.
