Nominations for the 91st Oscars were announced on Tuesday morning by Kumail Nanjiani and Tracee Ellis Ross, and the full list of nominees included multiple nods for movies such as Black Panther, A Star Is Born, and Vice. The Favourite and Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma led the pack with 10 nominations each, including Best Picture.
After the names were read out, stars reacted to their nominations with a mix of excitement, disbelief, and gratitude. Read below to see a selection of nominee responses:
Rami Malek, who was nominated for Best Actor for portraying Freddie Mercury in Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, spoke to EW about his nomination:
“It’s just something you never expect to happen,” he told EW. “It’s like a distant dream that actors have and hope for to some degree. But it’s never really felt in the realm of possibilities — it’s a pretty joyous occasion to say the least. I’m always so thankful that I get to be a working actor. The percentage of people who get to do this is so small that getting accolades like this seems so distant always, whether you’ve received awards in the past or not. But I think perhaps after getting the Globe, it seemed more attainable — but there’s something about hearing the words that you’re an Oscar nominated actor that are still going to be incredibly shocking. It’s a profoundly humbling moment for me.”
Barry Jenkins’ movie If Beale Street Could Talk was nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score categories (Nicholas Britell). Regina King was also nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category. Jenkins shared his sweet response on Twitter:
As well as his excitement for fellow nominee Spike Lee:
Richard E. Grant was overjoyed at his nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in Can You Ever Forgive Me:
“For a boy growing up in Swaziland, the smallest country in the southern hemisphere, becoming an actor seemed an impossible dream, let alone being nominated for an Oscar. Am literally levitating!!”
Black Panther star Lupita Nyong’o couldn’t believe her movie’s seven nominations, including Best Picture:
The movie was also nominated for Best Original Score and composer Ludwig Göransson responded with elation:
“It is an overwhelming privilege to be nominated by the Academy for my work on Black Panther,” he said. “I share this honor with the brilliant musicians across the globe who performed on the score. My deepest thanks go to Ryan Coogler, a true visionary and great friend, who created one of the most unique and important films of our time. He encouraged me to venture into uncharted musical territories and to combine diverse worlds of sound into a score that pushed my creative limits.”
Glenn Close was overjoyed with her Best Actress nomination for The Wife:
“Everything to do with this movie has been a total joy,” she said. “Bjorn Runge is a great director! Jonathan Pryce is an inspired partner. I’m so proud to be in a little film that has such great resonance with so many people. I’m especially proud to have shared the creation of this character with my beloved daughter Annie. So grateful!”
Yalitza Aparicio who was nominated in the Best Actress category for her performance in Roma shared:
“From the very first casting call to this morning, my Roma journey has been extraordinary,” she wrote. “As a daughter of a domestic worker and an indigenous woman myself, I am proud this movie will help those of us who feel invisible be seen. I am eternally grateful to the Academy for recognizing Roma and am honored to be part of Alfonso’s vision. Congratulations to Alfonso, the entire cast and crew, and my dear friend Marina De Tavira. I am so humbled and honored. Thank You.”
She also told EW:
“It’s so exciting. I’m so happy and I’m amazed for this nomination from the Academy Awards. I am so happy for Roma to receive that many nominations, and for my country, so happy.”
E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, co-directors of Free Solo, shared their excitement for their Best Documentary nomination:
“We are grateful for this recognition and humbled to be in the company of these extraordinary filmmakers during such an incredible year for documentary filmmaking,” they said in a joint written statement. “Thank you to our crew who took on the great responsibility of committing to Alex Honnold throughout his journey, and who trained tirelessly and meticulously for years chasing Alex up and down the mountain to make this film come to life. We would also like to thank Alex for trusting us to tell his story and share it with audiences. He has taught us all many lessons but most notably he has inspired a hope that you can achieve your dreams, no matter how great, through dedication, passion and hard work. We hope that this acknowledgement leads to more people sharing in Alex’s inspiration.”
Subject of the documentary, Alex Honnold, also shared his appreciation:
“I’m so grateful to Chai and Jimmy and the whole team that worked so hard to help capture the experience of free soloing El Cap,” he wrote. “The climb was a lifelong dream that I’m excited to be able to share and I hope that it continues to inspire audiences.”
The Favourite producers Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe of Element Pictures were ecstatic, if sleepy, over their 10 Oscar nominations:
“As a small boy in a country town in Australia, whose first movie experience was Herbie goes Bananas, I never dreamed I would be the recipient of an Oscar nomination,” he said. “It’s a thrill to be in a category with so many amazing writers. My thanks to my friend and collaborator Yorgos Lanthimos for his brilliance.”
“I didn’t expect the film would resonate the way it has,” said Crombie who was making lunch with set decorator Alice Felton and nearly missed the announcement at the time. “Being invited to the Oscar table is historic. Being included with my fellow nominees makes me feel included and so excited. I can’t wait to tell my kids when I get home!”
Adding a joint-statement with co-production designer Alice Felton:
“Being invited to the Oscar table is an absolute honour. We are thrilled for Yorgos and the entire team that The Favourite has resonated strongly with audiences and been recognised by AMPAS voters. We cannot wait to celebrate with our fellow nominees!”
The Favourite‘s co-writer Deborah Davis also commented:
“How can I describe the joy and excitement of being nominated by the Academy Awards for my first screenplay? Impossible! When I wake up tomorrow my first thought will be that I must have been dreaming!”
Chris Miller was nominated in the Best Animated Feature Film category for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and responded appropriately and followed up with a separate tweet to pay tribute to other members of the team not named during the broadcast:
Miller also released a statement alongside producer Phil Lord:
“This is an incredible honor,” they said. “We’re grateful to the Academy for recognizing the work of more than 800 artists and filmmakers who came together to tell the extraordinary story of Miles Morales in a groundbreaking way. In the last few months we’ve heard countless stories about parents whose children looked up at them while watching the film and said “he looks like me,” or “they speak Spanish like us,” or “I want to grow up and be like her.” It’s such a simple concept but that is the reason so many people worked so hard – to make a movie that was worthy of Miles and makes everyone feel powerful and seen. Now more than ever, the world needs everyday superheroes and we are counting on everyone.”
Directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman added:
“Although we flew under the radar for years, we always felt that Into the Spider-Verse could be something special,” they said. “We never dreamed, though, that it would have the effect it has had on the diverse, passionate audience it has attracted. While making our movie we tried to push through every boundary we could that dictates what a popular movie can look like — all in the service of a story about finding common ground between different people from different worlds. To be nominated for an Academy Award is a huge honor, and means our movie will continue to reach more people around the world and inspire work that pushes far beyond us. We thank the Academy, our talented colleagues, and the vocal, dedicated audiences who advocated for us and carried us here.”
Mark Ronson, who co-wrote “Shallow” alongside Lady Gaga, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt, for the movie A Star Is Born, was honored to be nominated in the Best Original Song category:
“Such an honour to be nominated for an Oscar,” said Ronson in a written statement. “And it makes it even more special to be nominated as part of this incredible film where the music is so powerful and emotional. Bradley Cooper got right what is nearly impossible in film, to show inside the creative process and make it feel honest and believable. And Lady Gaga’s empowers that vision in the most beautiful and compelling way.”
Rob Bredow, visual effects supervisor on Solo: A Star Wars Story, shared an apt response on Twitter:
Adam McKay, producer, director and writer of Vice, which was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, shared his gratitude:
“My sincere thanks to the Academy for recognizing our incredible cast and crew, who worked so tirelessly on this movie that spans five decades,” he wrote. “I’m just thrilled, flabbergasted and excited!”
His fellow producer, Kevin Messick added:
“We couldn’t be more proud of our fearless leader Adam McKay and our incredible cast and crew for Vice. We’re grateful for this morning’s nominations and couldn’t be happier!”
While star Sam Rockwell weighed in on his nomination for best actor in a supporting role:
“Hot damn!” he said. “I am so truly honored to be recognized by the Academy again this year. Vice is such a special and important film to be a part of and I’m thrilled for Adam, Christian, Amy and Hank, as well as all of the cast and crew.”
As did Amy Adams for her nomination for best actress in a supporting role for Vice:
“Thank you so much to the Academy for this recognition,” she said. “It is an honor to be nominated for a film that I loved making. I am grateful to Adam for writing such rich material and for creating such a wonderful work environment. I also want to congratulate the other nominees, my cast members, the crew and everyone who worked so hard on this film!”
Production designer Hannah Beachler was overwhelmed with her Academy Award nomination for Best Production Design for her work on Black Panther:
“It’s like the night before Christmas when I was a kid,” said Beachler. “I feel crazy because of my friend Carol. She died too young and I’m thinking of her. I’m thinking of my son and being a single mom and all the struggle. And thinking of Ryan who changed everything about my life. He changed everything for me. My great crew who HEARD what I was trying to do. I feel everything … I’m crying my eyes out now.”
Cold War director Paweł Pawlikowski, who was nominated for Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film (the film also received a nomination for Best Cinematography for Łukasz Żal) shared how honored and grateful he felt:
“It is an incredible honor to be included amid this group of filmmakers, and I’m so grateful to the Academy,” he said in a statement. “Sharing this very personal film with the world over the last year has been an unforgettable journey. I couldn’t have done it without my producers Tanya Seghatchian and Ewa Puszczyńska, my luminous star Joanna Kulig, as well the support of Amazon Studios, which brought this film to the US. And a special congratulations to Łukasz Żal, whose brilliant lighting brought the film to life.”
Mirai’s directer and writter Mamoru Hosoda was surprised to be nominated in the Best Animated Feature category:
“I have just received word that Mirai has been nominated for the 91st Academy Awards,” he said. “I am really surprised and also deeply honored. This film is about the everyday life and growth of a young child, depicted in a matter-of-fact way. The fact that it has been chosen with the other films about heroes is very meaningful and significant to me. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for selecting this film.”
Jeremy Dawson, producer of Isle of Dogs expressed his joy at being nominated for Best Animated Feature:
“Thanks to the Academy for recognizing Isle of Dogs with a nomination for Best Animated Feature,” he said. “Our very large crew of talented actors, artisans, animators and their various four-legged friends are very excited for this honor. And congratulations to Alexandre Desplat as well on his nomination for his wonderful score!”
“We’re honored and humbled by this recognition. We are thinking of all the beautiful people who invited us into their lives at their most difficult moments. We hope viewers find comfort and empathy in these acts of kindness. Thanks for our doc branch members and to Netflix for bringing this to a global audience.”
Green Book screenwriters Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie, Peter Farrelly thanked the Academy for the honor of their nomination:
“We thank the Academy for honoring us with this nomination,” they said. “It is all the more life-changing as it comes from our peers, who themselves work to create memorable stories from blank pages. This is the highlight of the journey we have taken with Tony and Dr. Shirley, and we’ll forever relive this moment. We want to thank our partners Participant Media, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures, our wonderful actors Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali and Linda Cardellini, and the rest of our incredible cast for bringing their characters to vibrant life.”
Göran Lundström, nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for his work on Border, shared:
Caleb Deschanel was “floored” by nomination for Best Cinematography in Never Look Away:
“I am really floored and humbled by the nomination — I thought nobody had seen the movie!?” he said. “So all the better and unexpected. I am lucky to be in such wonderful company with so many great movies this year. But I am especially excited that Never Look Away has gotten a foreign language nomination, so more people will want to see Florian’s powerful film.”
Hulu CEO Randy Freer weighed in to share his excitement for Minding the Gap earning a nomination for Best Documentary Feature:
“Hulu is honored to work with groundbreaking documentary filmmakers like Bing Liu to bring their creative vision to life,” he said. “The moment we saw Minding the Gap we knew we wanted to share his deeply personal and culturally relevant story about young men navigating race, class, and the transition into adulthood, and we are proud that it has resonated with so many people. Congratulations to Bing, Diane Quon, and all those involved, and thank you to the Academy for recognizing their powerful film.”
Producer Diane Quon added:
“I am still in shock from the wonderful honor of Minding the Gap being nominated! It is so true that making a film takes a village, and I cannot thank everyone enough – our participants, our family and friends, and all the partners who got us where we are today: Kartemquin, ITVS, POV, Sundance Institute, and Hulu. But nothing would have been possible without Bing. I’m grateful to have been on this journey with him, and thankful to all the other filmmakers of 2018 documentaries, who make me so proud to do this work.”
While director Bing Liu fought delirium to comprehend the news:
“I’ve been bedridden with a feverish flu the past couple of days, so waking up to this news this morning in the middle of my delirium made it all seem that much more unreal. I’m so thankful for the loving and caring people I’ve gotten the chance to work with and know over the years and over this past year especially. Honored to be amongst a crop of amazing films and filmmakers; thanks to the Academy for getting even more eyes on Minding the Gap!”
Related content:
- See the full list of 2019 Oscar nominations
- The Awardist: Ambitious tales dominate the Best Director race
- The Awardist podcast chats with Vice director Adam McKay
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