Oscars breaks record with most ethnically diverse nominations and nods for female directors

Chloe Zhao, Daniel Kaluuya and Riz Ahmed (from left to right). Credit: AP

The Oscars has had its most ethnically diverse slate of nominees ever, while female directors also made history.

Nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards were announced on Monday by Hollywood couple Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas. The two-part presentation was streamed live online.

With box offices across the globe shuttered by the coronavirus crisis, streaming services lead this year's nominations. Candidates for the biggest awards were also more diverse than in recent years.

Only five women have ever been nominated for the best director award, meaning this year's female nominees, Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell, have made history. Zhao is also the first woman of Asian descent to be included in this category.

This year's candidates are also a far cry from the all-white acting nominees who spawned the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag five years ago. Nine of the 20 acting nominees are people of colour, including a posthumous best actor nomination for Chadwick Boseman, and nods for Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Steven Yeun (Minari), Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield (Judas and the Black Messiah), Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night in Miami), Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Andra Day (The People vs. Billie Holiday) and Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari).

On Monday, Viola Davis became the most nominated black actress ever and the only black woman to scoop two best actress nominations.Mank - the story of the screenwriter behind Citizen Kane - led the nominations with ten nods. It was nominated for best picture, alongside Promising Young Woman, Nomadland, Judas and the Black Messiah, Sound of Metal, Minari, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Mank.

Brits nominated this year include Olivia Colman (best supporting actress in The Father), Daniel Kaluuya (best supporting actor in Judas and the Black Messiah), Sascha Baron Cohen (best supporting actor in The Trial of the Chicago 7), Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) and Riz Ahmed (best actor in The Sound of Metal).

Chadwick Boseman received yet another posthumous best actor nomination for his role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom on Monday. He scooped the award at this year's Golden Globes and has also received a Bafta nomination for his final role.

Boseman, who played an ambitious trumpeter in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, died from colon cancer last August. He was 43-years-old when he passed.

The Academy Awards, which were delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, are scheduled to take place on April 25.

Best picture

  • The Father

  • Judas and the Black Messiah

  • Mank

  • Minari

  • Nomadland

  • Promising Young Woman

  • Sound of Metal

  • The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best director

  • Thomas Vinterberg - Another Round

  • David Fincher - Mank

  • Lee Isaac Chung - Minari

  • Emerald Fennell - Promising Young Woman

  • Chloe Zhao - Nomadland

  • Minari - Lee Isaac Chung

Daniel Kaluuya has been nominated for best supporting actor. Credit: PA

Actor in a leading role

  • Riz Ahmed - Sound of Metal

  • Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

  • Anthony Hopkins - The Father

  • Steven Yeun - Minari

  • Gary Oldman - Mank

Actress in a leading role

  • Viola Davis - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

  • Andra Day - The United States vs. Billie Holiday

  • Vanessa Kirby - Pieces of a Woman

  • Frances McDormand - Nomadland

  • Carey Mulligan - Promising Young Woman

Best supporting actress

  • Maria Bakalova - Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

  • Glenn Close - Hillbilly Elegy

  • Olivia Colman - The Father

  • Amanda Seyfried - Mank

  • Yuh-Jung Youn - Minari

Best supporting actor

  • Paul Raci - Sound of Metal

  • Lakeith Stanfield - Judas and the Black Messiah

  • Leslie Odom Jr. - One Night in Miami

  • Daniel Kaluuya - Judas and the Black Messiah

  • Sacha Baron Cohen - The Trial of the Chicago 7

Original screenplay

  • Judas and the Black Messiah

  • Minari

  • Promising Young Woman

  • Sound of Metal

  • The Trial of the Chicago 7

Adapted screenplay

  • Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

  • The Father

  • Nomadland

  • One Night In Miami

  • The White Tiger

International Feature Film

  • Another Round - Denmark

  • Better Days - Hong Kong

  • The Man Who Sold His Skin - Tunisia

  • Collective - Romani

  • Quo Vadis, Aida - Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Want more from the world of arts and entertainment? Listen to the latest ITV News podcast, Unscripted