'The Help' just keeps on being an Oscar good luck charm!
Tuesday, March 29, 2022 at 11:22PM by Nathaniel R
from Jessica Chastain's Instagram
They is kind. They is smart. They is important. They is winning Oscars. Have you noticed that the cast of The Help, one of 2011's biggest hits (just behind the first Captain America, no joke, that year) just keeps collecting golden statues?! The Help had detractors from the start but it was hugely popular with the public considerably raising the profiles of all of its cast members, except the ones who were already enduring stars (hey Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, and Cicely Tyson! xo). It's greatest legacy might now be the Oscar winners it shoved towards the Dolby Theatre stage...
Before The Help, Emma Stone was just 'the girl from Superbad and the promising dazzler from Easy A' and Viola Davis was only then a draw for theatergoers (*cough* it me) and prestige film fanatics (who loved her in Doubt, Solaris, and Far From Heaven) and so on. But what's been really been surprising in the years that followed is how many of its cast members (who shared the SAG win for "Outstanding Cast" that year) went on to win Oscars. It's hard to think of a film that is its equal in this regard in the past decade...
The Help cast winning the SAG Award
Six of The Help's cast members have received Oscars in the 11 years since its release
Octavia Spencer won for The Help (2011)
Viola Davis won for Fences (2016)
Emma Stone won for La La Land (2016)
Allison Janny won for I, Tonya (2017)
Cicely Tyson received her Honorary Oscar (2018)
Jessica Chastain won for The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)
Who is next? Will it be...
Aunjanue Ellis? (Nominated for King Richard this season)
David Oyelowo? (Surprisingly snubbed for Selma)
Anna Camp?
Ahna O'Reilly?
Bryce Dallas Howard?
Mike Vogel?
Christopher Lowell?
Leslie Jordan?
... or a surprise new Oscar run for Sissy Spacek or Mary Steenburgen? Hey, we can dream! (Thank you to our reader Marcos who inspired this article by pointing this out to us!)
Reader Comments (13)
It's certainly a fun fact amongst Actressexuals,I think Sissy must have one more nom in her,if Dame Judi can get 4 nods after the age of 70 i'm sure Sissy could,other than that i'd say one of the winners wins another Davis or Spencer maybe.
Thank you, Nathaniel! I had forgotten my beloved Aunjanue Ellis was in it!
From the New Records post the night of the Oscars:
I didn't mention the men (or the director) because I think they're all longshots for future Oscars (although I would have nominated Oyelowo twice by now).
I think a lot of the cast members who have already won the Oscar can definitely repeat, or at least get nominated again. Other than Oyelowo I can't picture anyone else adding to The Help Oscar tally.
My dark horse guess for next up: Bryce Dallas Howard winning an Oscar...but for directing a short film. (She's actually proven to have skill directing some "The Mandalorian" episodes and she would absolutely have some industry love in her corner.)
Ellis definitely seems poised to be next, given how much love there was for her all season. I hope she gets great film roles. The shout out to Howard's directing chops too would be fun, though I do think she is a talented actress (her Black Mirror episode being her best work to date.) Oyelowo would be deserving, though he hasn't had many good roles or films post Selma, which is such a shame. I also wouldn't count out Chris Lowell, who whilst currently stuck on TV, I think is a great actor with a lot of potential.
Funny how I wouldn't vote for any ot them in their respective races.
Re-release Nosedive in theatres and give it to Bryce
I keep thinking that Ellis won this year so I think she'll definitely be next. After that, I think they should go back to rewarding the cast of The Hours. I'd love to see Toni Collette, Miranda Richardson, Ed Harris, Jeff Daniels, Stephen Dillane, Claire Danes, John C. Reilly, Eileen Atkins and Margo Martindale walk away with Oscars.
I love fun facts like these! It was the first thing I thought of when I saw DON’T LOOK UP — how many winners and nominees there were.
Chris Lowell should have been in the Emmy conversation for his fearless, funny, and heartbreaking work on GLOW.
I agree with others that Howard will probably win for directing- either a feature film, short, or documentary. She seems to be well liked- I never heard anything bad about her- so she might sweep a win that way. And she would be following in her father's footsteps. Oscar just eats that stuff up.
Ellis got the biggest audience reaction from the clips shown- I didn't mishear that right? Hers was the loudest?- which means that she is now considered overdue. If she is getting a moment now, similar to the one that Coolidge and Smart are having she needs to get into a project quick and she might sail to a win in the next two years.
I went way too deep down a rabbit hole trying to find precedents that match this. Short answer: I don't think any runs for a movie are quite as amazing (though my search was surely not exhaustive!). A few others with similar later-career runs for a cast:
The Thin Red Line (1998) - Sean Penn (2), Adrien Brody, George Clooney, Jared Leto (plus nominees Nolte, Reilly, Harrelson, and potentials John Cusack, John Travolta)
The Hours (2002) as mentioned above - Kidman for the film, Streep's 3rd, Julianne Moore, Allison Janney (with many other potential future winners, Toni Collette, Clare Danes, Ed Harris, John C Reilly)
A Bridge Too Far (1977) - Michael Caine (2), Anthony Hopkins (2), Sean Connery, Liv Ullman honorary, Robert Redford directing and honorary, with previous winners Gene Hackman, Maximillian Schell, and Laurence Olivier
Ocean's Twelve (2004) - George Clooney, Casey Affleck, Brad Pitt, previous winners Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones (plus nominees Damon, Cheadle)
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) - Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey (2), Alan Arkin, previous winner Jack Lemmon (plus nominees Pryce, Baldwin, Harris)... and that's a small cast!
Godfather Part II (1974) - De Niro for the film, Pacino, Keaton, Duvall
True Romance (1993) - Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Patricia Arquette, Sam Jackson honorary, previous winner Christopher Walken, (plus nominee Dennis Hopper)
Again not exhaustive but aside from cameo-fests like The Player or Around the World in 80 Days, I can't find any examples except the Thin Red Line of a movie's cast having 4 future Oscar winners (not previously awarded), and Thin Red Line had no previous winners and no winners for the film itself.
Peter -- ooh love this. THE THIN RED LINE. I never would have thought of that one. TRUE ROMANCE is an interesting one in this contet too.
The Help was released 11 years ago?!?!?! This makes me feel very old!
Time does fly and we're mostly wasting it on BS.