Among those recognized by the 93rd Academy Awards are a slate of first-time nominees, including Riz Ahmed, Amanda Seyfried, Lakeith Stanfield and more who are all up for one of the four acting categories. Following the announcement of the full list of nominees on Monday morning, the newly anointed stars took to social media to share their excitement and react to the news.
“Wow! I’m honoured to be nominated by my fellow actors alongside such inspiring performances, and am grateful to the Academy for their support and encouragement. I’m equally thrilled for our visionary writer-director Darius Marder and the brilliant Paul Raci, as well as our editor Mikkel, sound designer Nicolas, and co-writer Abe Marder. These nominations represents the time, generosity and talents of so many — all of our incredible cast, crew, producers, and in particular I’d like to thank my mentors in the drumming, addiction recovery, and D/deaf communities,” Ahmed shared.
The 38-year-old performer is nominated for Best Actor for his leading role in the Amazon film, Sound of Metal, which he said “is about how a health crisis can cut you off from your life and loved ones, and force you to grow in unexpected ways. In a challenging year for so many, I hope this story can inspire us to forge new and deeper connections with ourselves and others.”
Meanwhile, his co-star, Paul Raci, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actor said, “Thank you to the Academy for this honor.”
He added, “During my 40-something-year acting career, I have always been about the work. I’ve continued to work in small theater houses, like Deaf West Theatre, doing what I was trained to do from my Chicago Theater years, but to be validated in this way is gratifying on a level that I can only describe as heavenly. I’m so grateful to Darius Marder for directing and writing a script and a character seemingly for me without even knowing me that changed my life, and to Amazon for the love and support they have provided me. My heart is full, and as always, I look forward to the work and am grateful for the stillness.”
Maria Bakalova, who was recognized in the Best Supporting Actress category her performance alongside Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, said, “Wow Wa We Waa!”
The 24-year-old breakout star added, ”Thank you to the Academy for this honour! I really can’t believe this – to hear my name in the company of these remarkable women and their breath-taking performances is a dream come true! I am so grateful to Sacha Baron Cohen and my Borat family and congratulations to them for their Adapted Screen play nomination.”
“Working with David Fincher on Mank has been the highlight of my career, and being recognized by the Academy for an experience that brought me this much joy and fulfillment feels surreal. I won’t be able to thank David enough for trusting me with this role and for the honor of reintroducing the world to the Marion Davies that I’ve come to know. To get to study this brilliant, humble woman and help restore her legacy has been a true privilege. Congratulations to David, Gary, and the whole cast and crew of Mank today — your brilliance has not gone unnoticed and I am humbled to share this recognition with you.” said Seyfried, who is up for Best Supporting Actress for Mank.
“I’m nominated for an Oscar,” Stanfield posted to Instagram alongside a loudly crying face emoji. The 29-year-old is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Bill O’Neal in Judas and the Black Messiah.
“Never in my dreams did I ever think a Korean actress would be nominated for an Oscar, and I can’t believe it’s me! I am incredibly humbled by the honor. Thank you so much AMPAS, A24, Plan B, my Minari family and our entire cast and crew. We made this film with love, and I thank you for loving us back. And thank you, Isaac. This is all because of you!” said Yuh-Jung Youn, who is the oldest first-time acting nominee of the bunch at 73 years old for her supporting role in Minari.
The late actor, Chadwick Boseman, is also nominated for his first Oscar ever for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The posthumous nomination comes six months after his death in August, 2020 at age 43, with the Netflix movie marking his final film role.
