Oscars 2026 – Acting (Lead & Supporting) + Casting

Elysia wraps up the CinemaHounds pre-Oscars prep series with special guest Paulo from the Oscar's Death Race Podcast and a deep dive into the acting categories: Best Actress, Best Actor, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress. Who's nominated, who should have been nominated, and who will win? And then they conclude with a look at this year's brand new category: Casting. What is it, why is it here, and who will take home the first statue?Join us on the Lorehounds Discord (see link.tree below) to discuss all this and more in the #awards-season channel – plus a live chat while the ceremony is airing!And send your hot takes about the ceremony to [e-mail] to be included in the wrap-up discussion!Note: All film discussion in this episode is spoiler-free.Check out the Oscars Death Race Podcast w/ Paulo!The nominees:Best Actress (00:16:37)Jessie Buckley as Agnes Shakespeare – Hamnet (to rent, our coverage [subscribers])Rose Byrne as Linda – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (HBO Max, our coverage [subscribers])Kate Hudson as Clare Lavinia – Song Sung Blue (Peacock)Renate Reinsve as Nora Borg – Sentimental Value(to rent, our coverage [subscribers])Emma Stone as Michelle Fuller – Bugonia (Peacock)Best Actor (01:05:52)Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser – Marty Supreme (to rent)Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob Ferguson – One Battle After Another (HBO Max, our coverage: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3)Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart – Blue Moon (Netflix)Michael B. Jordan as Elijah "Smoke" Moore / Elias "Stack" Moore – Sinners (HBO Max, our coverage)Wagner Moura as Armando Solimões / Marcelo Alves / Fernando Solimões – The Secret Agent (Hulu)Best Supporting Actor (01:40:53)Stellan Skarsgård as Gustav Borg – Sentimental Value (to rent, our coverage [subscribers])Benicio del Toro as Sergio St. Carlos – One Battle After Another (HBO Max, our coverage: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3)Sean Penn as Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw – One Battle After Another (HBO Max, our coverage: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3)Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim – Sinners (HBO Max, our coverage)Jacob Elordi as the Creature – Frankenstein (Netflix, our coverage)Best Supporting Actress (01:58:26)Teyana Taylor as Perfidia Beverly Hills – One Battle After Another (HBO Max, our coverage: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3)Wunmi Mosaku as Annie – Sinners (HBO Max, our coverage)Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as Agnes Borg Pettersen – Sentimental Value (to rent, our coverage [subscribers])Elle Fanning as Rachel Kemp – Sentimental Value (to rent, our coverage [subscribers])Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys – Weapons (HBO Max, our coverage)Best Casting (02:14:46)Francine Maisler – Sinners (HBO Max, our coverage)Cassandra Kulukundis – One Battle After Another (HBO Max, our coverage: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3)Nina Gold – Hamnet (to rent, our coverage [subscribers])Jennifer Venditti – Marty Supreme (to rent)Gabriel Domingues – The Secret Agent (Hulu)Other performances discussed: Mikey Madison in Anora (2024, Oscar win, Hulu [US] / Skyshowtime [EU]) & The Social Reckoning (2026, releases Oct 9) Jessie Buckley in The Bride! (2026, in theaters), The Lost Daughter (2021, Oscar nom, Netflix), Wicked Little Letters (2024, Hulu / etc.), Men (2022, Prime / etc.), Dolittle (2020, Prime), Fargo S4 (TV, 2020, Hulu [US], Netflix [EU]), & Chernobyl (TV, 2019, HBO) Co-writer/editor Ronald Bronstein of Marty Supreme (to rent) – Rose Byrne in Bridesmaids (2011, Starz) & Insidious (2010, HBO Max) Kate Hudson in Almost Famous (2000, Oscar nom, HBO Max ) – the true Song Sung Blue story in Song Sung Blue (2008, doc, YouTube) Renate Reinsve in The Worst Person in the World (2021, Tubi / etc.); w/ Sebastian Stan in A Different Man (2024, HBO Max) & Fjord (2026, to premiere at Cannes); w/ Lily Rose Depp & Hoyeon in The Governesses (release TBD); & in Backrooms (2026, in theaters May 29) Emma Stone in Birdman (2015, Oscar nom, Hulu / Disney+), La La Land (2017, Oscar win, Prime [US] / Netflix [EU]), in Lanthimos films The Favourite (2019, Oscar nom, Disney+ [EU] / HBO [EU] / to rent) & Poor Things (2024, Oscar win, BP Oscar nom, Disney+ [EU] / to rent) Chase Infiniti in One Battle After Another (HBO Max, our coverage: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3) – Amanda Seyfried & Lewis Pullman in The Testament of Ann Lee (to rent) – Cynthia Erivo & Ariane Grande in Wicked: For Good (to rent, our coverage) Adrien Brody in The Brutalist (2024, Oscar win, HBO Max [US] / Skyshowtime [EU]) & The Pianist (2002, Oscar win, Prime / etc.) Timothée Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name (2018, Oscar nom, HBO Max), A Complete Unknown (2024, Oscar nom & BP nom, Disney+), & Dune: Part Three (2026, in theaters Dec 18) – Tom Cruise in Digger (2026, in theaters Oct 2)Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic (1997, Disney+ / etc.), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013, Oscar nom, Paramount+ / etc.), The Aviator (2004, Oscar nom, Tubi / etc.), The Revenant (2015, Oscar win, Hulu / Disney+), Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (2019, Oscar nom, ...