We wait years for a new Oscar category — and then two come along in swift succession, recognising casting and, eventually, the fall guys.
When the Academy unveils its annual Oscar shortlists on December 16, there will be a new category nestled among regulars like international and documentary feature, sound and visual effects. For the first time ever, 10 films containing some of the most celebrated work of the year by casting directors will be among the selection.
The shortlist is the latest staging post in a journey that has taken more than a decade to reach the run-up to the 98th Academy Awards. On March 15, 2026, up to two credited casting directors will step onto the stage at Ovation Hollywood to receive the inaugural achievement in casting Oscar.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) does not introduce new categories very often, and last presented one in 2001 for best animated feature. The casting directors branch was formed in 2013, housing individuals previously known as members-at-large. They have voted on other Oscars but, until now, never for a category dedicated to their expertise.
“It is quite thrilling that it’s actually happening,” says branch governor Richard Hicks. “We have been talking and hoping for years.”
Casting the net
The groundswell of support within the Academy has increased over time, and US eyes were watching when Bafta introduced a casting award in 2020. “That was an important milestone for the casting community,” says Hicks. “It helped everyone better understand the role of the casting director.”
Several years ago, the casting directors branch executive committee approached the Academy’s awards committee to advocate for an annual award. It then led to a presentation for the board of governors, explaining in more depth the role of the casting director.
“We spend our lives gathering information about the constellation of an actor’s strengths and possibilities, and storing that so one day you can imagine combining actors to give a movie its best version,” says Hicks. “We are a little bit like alchemists. We collaborate with the director and the producer to assemble this cast, and then they go off and make the movie.”
Within 18 months, the board greenlit the new Oscar category and the Academy announced it in February 2024. “The governors felt it was the right time to finally recognise this,” says Hicks, whose credits include Gravity, Hell Or High Water and Bread & Roses. “Casting as a craft wasn’t a big thing during the studio system. It came about as the studio system declined and the job of a casting director blossomed in the ’60s and ’70s… To have this recognition is quite extraordinary.”
Once the 10 films voted on by active members of the casting directors branch are announced in the shortlists, there will be “bake-offs” in Los Angeles and London on January 9 and New York on January 10. That is when all eligible Academy voters have to watch excerpts of selected scenes that illustrate the casting achievements, as well as pre-recorded Q&As.
Hicks says the idea of the bake-off is to steer voters towards a deeper understanding of the process. “Hopefully Academy members aren’t only voting for the flashiest casting,” he says, “but see how the craft of casting contributed to the alchemic success of particular movies.”
All eligible Academy members will take part in final voting and, guided by the rules, judge achievements based on “significant engagement and collaboration with a film’s director and producers in the creative consideration and selection of the actors who comprise the acting ensemble of the film”.
The Oscar will be presented live during the telecast, with Hicks and his fellow branch members watching on with pride. “I’m moved,” he says, “by the idea that some kid watching the Oscars can see casting as a category and step into a life they had no idea existed, and find a joyous, fulfilling career like I found in this industry by working in casting.”
Awards traction
These days, waiting for new Oscar categories is a bit like waiting for a bus — nothing comes along for ages, then two arrive in short order. Earlier this year, the Academy announced the Oscar for best achievement in stunt design at the 100th awards ceremony in 2028.
One person heavily involved behind the scenes was director and former stunt ace David Leitch. He put Ryan Gosling through his paces in 2024 action tentpole The Fall Guy, playing a stunt performer dispatched to find a missing movie star. The feature was loosely based on the 1980s TV show starring Lee Majors.
“I have been involved for five years, but the ambition to get stunts recognised has been around for a couple of decades,” says Leitch, who runs 87North Productions with his wife Kelly McCormick. “It just never got the traction it deserved, so when Kelly and I came onto the scene we just helped accelerate a process that had already been discussed quite a bit at length.”
He adds: “The Fall Guy was such a love letter to the craft of what stunt designers do. It was a whole campaign in its own right. Even Ryan and [co-star] Emily [Blunt] knew I was making this out of love for my own career of being a stunt designer for so many years and as a stunt performer, so they were on board to help promote this idea inside the Academy.”
Creative touch
After The Fall Guy wrapped production in Australia in 2023, Leitch and stunt designer Chris O’Hara approached Academy CEO Bill Kramer and then-president Janet Yang. They pivoted away from a prior notion to honour stunt co-ordinators, which had caused confusion. “Was the Academy being asked to celebrate the best single stunt?” says Leitch, citing people’s prior concerns. “And would stunt teams endanger themselves by trying to break records? It’s not a daredevil thing.” He continues: “The semantics of co-ordinator makes it feel like a technical job, which it is, but this is also a full-on creative job that amplifies the film in so many different ways and brings your characters to life.
“A production designer designs sets, a costume designer designs costumes, stunt designers design action sequences for film. And that’s what we wanted to celebrate — the craftsmanship of the design element that is given to the director that makes the film impactful, that moves the characters forward.”
Kramer and Yang were supporters and the category became official once the board approved. “They really understood the commercial value of having a stunt award, an award that recognises some films that might be more accessible to a larger audience,” says Leitch. “Bill said, ‘I want to get this done.’”
The category rules will be announced in 2027 and it remains to be seen if and when the Academy will anoint a stunt branch. Leitch belongs to the production and technology branch, which was introduced in 2023 and encompasses former members-at-large.
Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor said in an email to Screen International: “Stunt professionals are not only an integral part of filmmaking, but they’re also a deeply respected part of our membership.”
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