Straight actors get Oscar nominations for LGBT roles (again)

It’s a long-standing tradition: this year’s Oscar nominees list sees two straight, cisgender actors nominated for playing LGBT roles.

Cate Blanchett, who in May last year denied having had sex with other women, was recognised with an Actress in a Leading Role nomination for her performance in lesbian romance, Carol.

Eddie Redmayne, who’s described himself as a transgender ally, was nominated in the category of Actor in a Leading Role for playing 1920s trans painter Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl.

While both films received a number of nominations in other categories, (including Rooney Mara, Best Supporting Actress for Carol) neither is up for Best Picture.

The two stars have a good chance of taking home a golden statue. Straight (as far as we know) actors playing LGBT roles have been handsomely rewarded by the Academy Awards in the past:

• William Hurt, 1985, won Best Actor for playing gay drag queen Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman
• Tom Hanks, 1993, won Best Actor, for playing an HIV positive gay man in Philadelphia
• Hilary Swank, 1999, won Best Actress for playing trans man Brandon Teena in Boys Don’t Cry
• Nicole Kidman, 2002, won Best Actress for playing bisexual writer Virginia Woolf in The Hours
• Charlize Theron, 2003, won Best Actress for playing lesbian serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, 2005, won Best Actor for playing gay writer Truman Capote in Capote
• Sean Penn, 2008, won Best Actor for playing gay politician Harvey Milk in Milk
• Christopher Plummer, 2011, won Best Supporting Actor for playing an older gay man in Beginners
• Jared Leto (although, there are rumours…), 2013, won Best Supporting Actor for playing trans character Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club

This list excludes those who were nominated over the years, but didn’t win, for playing LGBT roles. As far as we can establish, only three openly LGBT actors have ever won acting Oscars:

• Joel Grey, 1973, for Best Supporting Actor in Cabaret
• Sir John Gielgud, 1981, for Best Supporting Actor in Arthur
• Jodie Foster, 1988 and 1991, for Best Actress in The Accused and Silence of the Lambs

Openly gay Sam Smith and Lady Gaga, who says she identifies as bisexual, received nominations this year in the Best Original Song category, for Writing’s On the Wall (Spectre) and Til It Happens To You (The Hunting Ground), respectively.

The 88th annual Academy Awards, hosted by comedian Chris Rock, will take place on February 28. Below is a list of the nominees in most categories.

Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

Best Actor
Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
Matt Damon – The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett – Carol
Brie Larson – Room
Jennifer Lawrence – Joy
Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale – The Big Short
Tom Hardy – The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone – Creed

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara – Carol
Rachel McAdams – Spotlight
Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

Best Director
Lenny Abrahamson – Room
Alejandro G Inarritu – The Revenant
Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
Adam McKay – The Big Short
George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room

Best Original Screenplay
Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton

Best Animated Film
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There

Best Foreign Language film
Embrace of the Serpent – Colombia
Mustang – France
Son of Saul – Hungary
Theeb – Jordan
A War – Denmark

Best Cinematography
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario

Best Costume Design
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

Best Documentary Feature
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom

Best Editing
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Make-up and Hair
Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
The Revenant

Best Original Score
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Original Song
Earned It, The Weeknd – Fifty Shades of Grey
Manta Ray, J Ralph & Antony – Racing Extinction
Simple Song #3, Sumi Jo – Youth
Til It Happens To You, Lady Gaga – The Hunting Ground
Writing’s On the Wall, Sam Smith – Spectre

Best Production Design
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

Best Sound Editing
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Sound Mixing
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Visual Effects
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens