The Shiny Surprises of the Actor Awards Nominations |
In many ways, the awards race was clarified in the first week of 2026. With the Critics Choice Awards and the Actor Awards nominations now behind us, it’s becoming clearer which films (One Battle After Another, Sinners, Marty Supreme) are likely going to fare very well on Oscar nominations morning.
I’m Rebecca Ford, and despite what I just noted, there are still a few questions up in the air. We should get some more answers this weekend: I’ve been writing about how this Sunday’s Golden Globes are a make-or-break moment for several Oscar hopefuls. A big win here for certain leading men could really help their momentum. (Be sure to check out all of Vanity Fair’s predictions here.)
But as we wait for Sunday’s results, I also wanted to take a closer look at the nominations for the Actor Awards, formerly known as the SAG Awards. There were some big misses for individual actors here, like Dwayne Johnson and Cynthia Erivo. Johnson especially needed a vote of confidence in the crowded lead-actor race. There was also a notable snubbing of international features. Most jarringly, where was Sentimental Value? SAG-AFTRA, made up of mostly American actors, has often shied away from foreign language features—but some of the actors in Sentimental Value, like Elle Fanning and Stellan Skarsgård, are well-known members of the Hollywood acting community. The group didn’t show any love to The Secret Agent or It Was Just an Accident, but I’d say both of those films are still serious acting-category contenders regardless of that.
The Actor Awards instead gave extra love to Sinners, awarding individual acting nominations to Wunmi Mosaku and the young breakout Miles Caton, along with star Michael B. Jordan. There’s very clearly a lot of support for the Ryan Coogler film within the acting branch, and I wonder, based on this, if Mosaku could also land an Oscar nomination.
If you’ll be at the Globes on Sunday, I’ll see you there. If not, be sure to check back in with Vanity Fair on Sunday, when our entire team will be live-blogging both the red carpet and the show. If the Globes do one thing right, it’s hosting surprising moments, so I’m looking forward to a colorful show. |
