In a recent announcement, organizers of the Academy Awards have revealed plans to introduce a new Oscar category for Best Casting starting from the year 2026.
This marks the first addition of a competitive category to the ceremony since the introduction of Best Animated Feature in 2002.
The decision to include a category for casting comes after years of campaigning by casting directors who have advocated for recognition akin to other film crafts such as sound, costume, hair, and makeup.
In a statement, Academy bosses said casting directors “play an essential role in filmmaking”.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang continued: “As the Academy evolves, we are proud to add casting to the disciplines that we recognise and celebrate.
“We congratulate our casting directors branch members on this exciting milestone and for their commitment and diligence throughout this process.”
The category won’t be introduced until the 2026 ceremony due to the extensive planning that goes into awards campaigns.
The Academy has attempted in recent years to shorten the Oscars ceremony in an attempt to maintain viewer interest, but the decision has been made. The show frequently goes far beyond its allotted three hours.
‘Exceptional talent’
Currently, the Oscars ceremony presents 23 awards, although public interest primarily centers around major categories such as Best Picture, the acting awards, and Best Director.
The Academy has not confirmed whether the new casting category will be featured during the telecast, and a decision is likely to be made closer to the event.
Casting directors play a pivotal role in the early stages of film production, contributing significantly to the shaping of major Hollywood projects. Their responsibilities include selecting A-list actors for leading roles and casting performers for supporting roles.
While casting directors have been recognized for their vital contributions, stunt performers have also advocated for their own category at the Academy Awards, though without success thus far.
One of the key precursor ceremonies, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, introduced a stunt category in 2007. Last year, it was won by the team who worked on Top Gun: Maverick.
Responses to the news of the casting category have been much warmer than that of the popular film category, which the Oscars attempted to introduce in 2018.
The proposed prize was a populist move designed to recognise films that had been successful at the box office but were less likely to be nominated in the traditional categories, such as summer blockbusters and superhero franchises.
However, the move prompted criticism, as many high-profile industry figures said such a category would dilute the prestige and integrity of the Oscars.
Instead, the Academy a few years later experimented with a “fan favourite” prize, a viewer vote that was not strictly a formal Oscars category. It was won by Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead but was not repeated the following year.
This year’s Oscars ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will be held in Los Angeles on 10 March.
After the casting prize was announced, the three governors of the Academy’s casting directors branch – Richard Hicks, Kim Taylor-Coleman and Debra Zane – thanked the Academy.
“This award is a deserved acknowledgement of our casting directors’ exceptional talents and a testament to the dedicated efforts of our branch,” they said.