Executives at the Academy Awards have confirmed that preliminary discussions have begun to establish a category of award that recognizes the work of stunt performers.
It’s been noted that they played an essential role in the development of cinema as an art form throughout the silent film period. They are critical to some of cinema’s most memorable moments and have enhanced some of the best films of all time.
The Oscars, the most prestigious awards ceremony in the world, have ignored the fantastic (and risky) job that stunt performers undertake for much too long. Because of this, the stunt performer community had to hold its award ceremonies, such as the Taurus World Stunt Awards, to celebrate its community, as other extensive programs on the awards circuit have likewise mostly ignored the stunt sequences category.
Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, actors of The Fall Guy, paid tribute to the best stunt performers of all time at the 96th Academy Awards in March, and in conversations with the press, they expressed their desire for stunt awards.
During an interview in Cannes, Academy CEO Bill Kramer mentioned that they are in discussions with stunt community members who are also Academy members.
He said they are open to those discussions and went on to say that in two years, they will announce a new award just for casting directors.
The first new Academy Award announcement in 22 years, since the Best Animated Feature in 2002, was the Casting Director Oscar, which was unveiled in late February.
It is uncertain when the Academy will be prepared to declare a stunt Oscar, but the first Casting Director Oscars will be presented in 2026.
The nature of the award—whether it be for individual stunt performers or whole stunt teams—remains unknown.
The Emmys recognize stunt teams as well as individual performers in the same category.
Lateef Crowder won two Emmys for his stunt work on The Mandalorian: one in 2021 for individual efforts and another in 2023 for team efforts.
