By Wonderwall.com Editors
1:00pm PDT, Mar 27, 2022
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Ahead of the 2022 Academy Awards on March 27, Wonderwall.com is rounding up all of this year's history-making nominees, first-timers and record setters… In 2022, for the first time ever, two couples are nominated in all four Oscar acting categories. First-time nominee Kirsten Dunst is up for best supporting actress for her performance in "The Power of the Dog" while her partner, Jesse Plemons, earned a best supporting actor nod for his work in the same film. The nomination is also Jesse's first. "I mean, it's just so crazy to be a couple and have our first nominations together," Kirsten marveled in an interview with Variety. "It's like a storybook. You know what I mean? It's so weird. It's amazing."
Keep reading to see the second couple…
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Married Hollywood duo Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz also both have a chance to win Oscar gold in March. Javier scored a best actor nomination for playing Desi Arnaz in "Being the Ricardos" while Penelope was nominated in the best actress category for her performance as Janis Martinez Moreno in "Parallel Mothers." That makes Javier and Penelope the sixth married couple in history to earn Academy Award nominations in the same year.
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Thanks to his 10th Oscar nomination in 2022 — for his lead performance in filmmaker Joel Cohen's "The Tragedy of Macbeth" adaptation — two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington broke his own record to remain the most nominated Black actor in Academy Awards history. Denzel previously took home the best supporting actor Oscar for his work in 1989's "Glory" and the best actor Oscar for his work in 2001's "Training Day," the latter of which made him one of four Black actors to win the prize, along with Sidney Poitier ("Lilies of the Field"), Jamie Foxx ("Ray") and Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland").
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Once again, Lin-Manuel Miranda has penned a best original song contender, making him just an Oscar win away from scoring an "EGOT" — which stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, the entertainment industry's four major awards. The "Hamilton" star is up for best original song for "Dos Oruguitas" from the Disney film "Encanto." If he wins the category, he'll become the world's 17th EGOT winner, joining the ranks of stars like Whoopi Goldberg, Rita Moreno, Mel Brooks and John Legend. Lin-Manuel was previously up for best original song at the 2017 Oscars where his track "How Far I'll Go" from Disney's "Moana" was nominated. He shouldn't feel too bad if he fails to snag the EGOT next month, though: He's already won a Pulitzer Prize, three Tony Awards, three Grammys, two Emmys and two Olivier Awards — and he's only 42.
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Cate Blanchett's first performance in a film nominated for best picture, 1998's "Elizabeth," also earned her the first best actress nod of her career. She made history in 2022 by starring in two of the year's best picture-nominated films, "Nightmare Alley" and "Don't Look Up." Cate previously appeared in seven movies that were nominated for the top Oscar prize. Now, with credits in nine best picture nominees, she's appeared in more best picture-nominated films than any actress in history, according to Goldderby.com.
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Beyonce earned her first Oscar nomination in 2022 in the best original song category with the tune "Be Alive" from "King Richard." Bey wrote the track with songwriter Dixson. She's up against another first-time nominee, Billie Eilish, whose "No Time To Die" James Bond film theme, co-written with brother Finneas O'Connell, was recognized in the same category. Other first-time nominees this year include Kristen Stewart (best actress, "Spencer"), Ciaran Hinds (best supporting actor, "Belfast"), Jesse Plemons (best supporting actor, "The Power of the Dog"), Troy Kotsur (best supporting actor, "CODA") and The Roots drummer Questlove (best documentary, "Summer of Soul"). The best supporting actress category, meanwhile, is crowded with four first-time nominees — Kirsten Dunst ("The Power of the Dog"), Jessie Buckley ("The Lost Daughter"), Aunjanue Ellis ("King Richard") and Ariana DeBose ("West Side Story").
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In the coming-of-age comedy-drama "CODA," Troy Kotsur plays Frank Rossi, a deaf fisherman in New England who works with his teenage daughter, the only hearing member of the family, to run his family fishing business. In addition to making his debut as an Oscar nominee in the best supporting actor category, Troy is the first deaf male actor to be nominated for the award. He follows in the footsteps of his "CODA" co-star, Marlee Matlin, who in 1987, became the first deaf performer to be nominated for an Oscar. She ended up winning that year for her performance in "Children of a Lesser God."
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"Belfast" writer, director and producer Kenneth Branaugh notched a place in Academy Awards history in 2022 courtesy of the film's best picture and best original screenplay nods. He's now the only person ever to be nominated in seven Oscar categories, having previously been nominated for best director ("Henry V"), actor ("Henry V"), best supporting actor ("My Week With Marilyn"), best adapted screenplay ("Hamlet") and best live-action short ("Swan Song"), according to Variety. Kenneth is also now one of just three stars who've been nominated in all the major Oscar fields — best picture, director, lead or supporting actor, original screenplay and adapted screenplay. He shares the latter honor with George Clooney and Warren Beatty.
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Jane Campion's "The Power of the Dog" leads the 2022 Oscar nominations with an impressive 12 nods, including one for best director, which makes Jane the first woman filmmaker to be nominated twice in that category. Her first directing nomination came in 1994 when she was honored for writing and directing "The Piano." Though she didn't win best director that year, she did win the best original screenplay race. "It's both sad but it's also great that women are punching that glass ceiling out of the way," Jane told Variety. "I really feel things are changing. I've been in the industry a long time now, and it's very different today than it was when I first started," she continued. "The brave women from the #MeToo movement that began it all with their revelations about the systemic abuse within the industry has woken everybody up and committed people, men and women, to wanting equality. We're not there yet. But I would say that it's the end of apartheid for the industry when it comes to gender."
