Let's play the presenter game!
Monday, February 3, 2025 at 10:30PM 
Over the past few weeks, we've heard news from the Academy about the 97th Oscars ceremony. For example, none of the Original Song nominees will be performed, a break with tradition that has caused some uproar within the industry. We'll also get to see the return of the Fab Five format for presenting the acting categories, where past victors introduce the year's nominees. In some ways, it feels like a welcoming of new faces to the Circle of Winners, though using these celebratory mini-monologues isn't to everyone's taste, especially when they came at the expense of proper Oscar clips. However, I confess that I am a fan, and just like last year, I invite you all to a game of conjecture. Let's see who'd be the perfect pairing for each nominee…
There's a bit of criteria to get over before going into each of the four acting races. First, last year's winner must be represented. Second, I'm picking people who haven't already participated in past circles of winners. There are some exceptions, but, at the very least, nobody who presented last year was considered. With that out of the way, these are my picks:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jack Nicholson for Yura Borisov
One of the most interesting things about Jack Nicholson's Oscar record is that every time he won, so did his leading lady. For an actor so synonymous with a particularly macho era in Hollywood history, he's always shined in projects where he gets to act with tremendous stars of the opposite sex, each complementing the other's performance. Wouldn't that be a nice parallel to draw between a legend and Yura Borisov, whose Hollywood journey is just starting and whose performance hinges so much on his dynamic with Mikey Madison?
Michael Caine for Kieran Culkin
Twenty-five years ago, Michael Caine won his second Best Supporting Actor statue for The Cider House Rules. His victory was marked by a speech of incomparable class when Caine used his time on stage to heap praise on his fellow nominees. I would love to see him in a similar manner again. It would be especially sweet because, in that film, one of Caine's troubled wards was played by none other than a young Kieran Culkin. What a lovely full-circle moment this could be.
Christian Bale for Edward Norton
Maybe I'm not thinking straight, but I feel there are a lot of parallels between the careers of Bale and Norton, two ambitious dramatic actors known for their intensity. They have both played superheroes, played historical figures, and even share a connection in James Mangold who has directed multiple movies with Bale. Including Ford v Ferrari, a period piece where, like Norton, the British actor was tasked with playing a real-life character, negotiating the tensions between honoring the person and fulfilling the film's dramatic needs.
Robert Downey Jr. for Guy Pearce
An Iron Man Three reunion sounds like great fun to me. After all, I've often cited it as one of the most underrated movies within the MCU franchise machine. But more than that, Pearce's work in The Brutalist feels related to Downey Jr.'s Oscar-winning turn in Oppenheimer, both portraits of powerful men whose relationship with their film's leading men foreground an antagonistic edge. They both get the insidiousness of these characters but also the pathetic side.
Mark Rylance for Jeremy Strong
I'm all about the reunions when it comes to these Best Supporting Actor presenters. For Strong, I pick Rylance, who once played the lawyer spearheading the defense of the Chicago 7, one of whom was played by this year's The Apprentice nominee. It's an interesting connection that goes beyond professional collaboration. After all, these are both men of theater who take acting seriously, sometimes to levels others would find cringe-worthy. But also, Rylance knows a thing or two about playing those who practice law and shape history to their wiles, those who destroy the world while consolidating their power. Remember the likes of Wolf Hall and Don't Look Up?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lee Grant for Monica Barbaro
One of the best things about this format is how it opens the door for legends to appear on the telecast and remind the world of their greatness. Grant may seem like an odd choice to introduce Barbaro, but why not? She lived through the political tensions that informed so much of the folk music scene in the 60s, suffered many of them in the flesh. I like the idea of highlighting that side of A Complete Unknown, its time capsule qualities. But again, I just really want to see the Dolby Theater receive Grant with a standing ovation.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph for Ariana Grande
I struggled to pair Randolph with any of the year's nominees and decided to go with Ariana Grande on the basis of their shared love for musical theater. That world is at the start of both actresses' careers and further reverberates with the nature of Wicked. Lest we forget that Randolph's big break was in the Ghost musical on Broadway, one of those screen-to-stage musical adaptations that tracked an inverse path to Wicked's own journey. Also, it feels apt to highlight our cinematic Glinda as a theater kid rather than a pop star.
Rachel Weisz for Felicity Jones
I wanted a British star for Jones, one that has made their way into American cinema in some way. So, we have Rachel Weisz, who once shared the screen with the Brutalist actress, on the Johnny Worricker TV trilogy. She's also a thespian who has engaged with some of the themes in Corbet's film, like those crushed in the shadow of artistic greatness – Youth - and the memory of the Holocaust, the scars it left on people, history, the world – Bent and Denial. Hell, she even took part in another odyssey of a Hungarian Jewish family across the 20th century – Sunshine.
Laura Dern for Isabella Rossellini
An obvious choice, but also the right one. I hope the Academy finds other ways to acknowledge the passing of David Lynch, but bringing together two of his muses, the great ladies of Blue Velvet, would be a nice start. Furthermore, it would make me cry, and I always like a good cry during my Oscars viewing.
Catherine Zeta-Jones for Zoë Saldaña
Another pick that feels so obvious, I'd be shocked if the ceremony's producers haven't already thought of it too. Let's show some love for this category's long history of honoring musical powerhouses, glamorous amorality, and sickening moves. They were also in The Terminal together, so there's that.
BEST ACTOR
F. Murray Abraham for Adrien Brody
Abraham's Salieri remains one of the defining portraits of artistry on film, shown in all its genius and perfidy, the greatness and the smallness, the arrogance, the inspiration, the devotion. I'd love to hear him expound on the strengths of Brody's work in The Brutalist. They're not just connected by these grandiose roles. Abraham and Brody are both part of Wes Anderson's troupe, another example of their shared wavelength as performers who can explore naturalistic registers and stylization, who can go big but also pull back.
Jamie Foxx for Timothée Chalamet
What does it take to portray an icon? What's it like to efface oneself to honor a legend? What kinds of pressures must an actor withstand when trying to dramatize a generational talent whose presence, image, voice, are so near and dear to the audience? Few people can say, but Jamie Foxx and Timothée Chalamet are among them. Some might want to go with Rami Malek for similar reasons, but the less we have to be reminded of Bohemian Rhapsody's Oscar triumphs, the better.
Denzel Washington for Colman Domingo
A film about theater's transformative, even redemptive, power needs a megastar of the stage who knows and respects the art like few others. Denzel Washington feels like the perfect fit for this presenting gig, and that's even before one considers his connection with Domingo. Remember that Washington produced the Ma Rainey's Black Bottom movie, which would have earned Domingo his first Oscar nomination in a just world. I hope the Oscars recognize how perfect this pairing is and bring Denzel to the ceremony. Sure, he wasn't nominated for Gladiator II, but that's no reason to miss the big night.
Cillian Murphy for Ralph Fiennes
Embodying a man plagued by a sense of duty, one that feels the weight of the world on his shoulders, is no easy feat. Neither is leading a vast ensemble full of formidable supporting turns, yet remain strong as a steady presence within a cinematic whirlwind. There's much that Cillian Murphy can share about the difficulty of such challenges, illuminating what makes Fiennes' Cardinal Lawrence such an awards-worthy work. And isn't that what these presentations should be about?
Daniel Day-Lewis for Sebastian Stan
Two of Daniel Day-Lewis' three Oscars came from playing figures woven into American history one way or the other. There's Abraham Lincoln, of course, but also Daniel Plainview. While the presidential character comes from reality, the latter is a fictionalized summation of the oil man as a rapacious figure, a flawed man taking the path of greed and violence until he's little more than a monster preying on the land's resources, squashing people, so self-interested he becomes a black hole. Having Lincoln introduce Trump may sound ludicrous, but I feel the great Irish thespian would make it work. And make no mistake, Stan deserves all the praise he'll get.
BEST ACTRESS
Julie Andrews for Cynthia Erivo
Gravity-defying magical women unite! Maybe I just want to see Julie Andrews on my screen, especially now that her voice will fade from the Bridgerton series. Maybe it seems fitting for the first woman to win the Best Actress Oscar for a musical – The Great Ziegfeld is a showbiz biopic before it's a musical – should be here, honoring the latest stage star to take their musical prowess to the big screen and the Academy's acclaim. Maybe both are true. Whatever the case, bring Julie Andrews back to the Oscars!
Marion Cotillard for Karla Sofía Gascón
Let's acknowledge the elephant in the room, shall we? The resurfacing of Karla Sofía Gascón's racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic, misogynistic, fatphobic, and heavens what other flavors of bigoted social media posts has imploded her campaign. At first, it seemed like things would stay on social media and it would all blow over. After all, her dubious accusations against Fernanda Torres' team were brushed aside rather quickly. But then, it kept getting bigger, with some of the most insufficient and insincere apologies ever seen in this era of cancel culture and all that.
What's more, Gascón seems to be acting against Netflix's wishes, so much so that their latest FYC ads have erased her altogether. Even people beyond the entertainment industry and cinephile circles are hearing about this, and some Oscar voters have even started to feel conflicted about voting for Emilia Pérez in any category. It's a huge clusterfuck.
I've been a detractor of Audiard's film and his leading lady's turn since TIFF, and even wished for further critical re-assessments, if not lashings, back when reviewing the film in September. I could have never anticipated this implosion, however, and it's now hard to picture a Hollywood agent letting their client get on the Dolby stage to celebrate Gascón's achievement. Many have suggested Hilary Swank, who played a trans character to Oscar glory and could comment on the industry's evolution. A ciswoman who played a transman now gets to applaud a transwoman playing a transwoman. And yet, I'm not sure bringing attention to political or representation issues when introducing Gascón is a good idea. So, I'm going with another sort of connection.
Marion Cotillard also achieved Oscar glory through French cinema and a song-heavy film of sorts. Moreover, she has worked with Jacques Audiard and could frame her presentation around that experience. Not to mention that Cotillard isn't a stranger to making controversial statements that offend half the world. Of all possibilities, she is the safest option.
Emma Stone for Mikey Madison
Moving on from that can of worms, we have Emma Stone, who just last year won for starring in a big festival champion where she played a sex worker. That connection seems enough to justify this pairing, without even going into similarities between careers and how Madison feels like the next ingenue in the Emma Stone model.
Cher for Demi Moore
Remember when Demi Moore was part of a Cher tribute and chastised the audience, demanding respect for the Oscar winner? I sure do. I also see two women who struggled to be respected as actresses, who've lived through audiences laughing at their strides into respectability, and who've embraced camp to major success. Natalie Portman and Kathy Bates could be interesting alternatives, having won for horror movies, but I prefer The Queen of Reinvention.
Jane Fonda for Fernanda Torres
No, don't even think about Gwyneth Paltrow. Fernanda Torres deserves to have her moment at the Oscars be about her, her film, her performance – not her mother's loss at the 71st Academy Awards. Moreover, who better to celebrate a movie about political resistance and the tumultuous rise of authorities in the 60s and 70s than Jane Fonda? She can also empathize with another daughter of a magnificent star who has collaborated with their parent in front of the camera. I think that Montenegro reflection is enough but not too much to the point it would overwhelm the scene.
But what about you, dear reader? Who would you pick to present each of this year's acting Oscar nominees? Any overlap with my lists? Let's play the presenter game!
Reader Comments (3)
These are great picks.
I’d love to see Lee Grant! She’s a legend who has had a fabulous bob and bangs for decades. But at 99, I’m not sure it will happen.
I’m not sure Denzel is right for Domingo. I love the reasons you list, but Denzel feels like he should only be presenting Best Picture at this point. I think Jamie would be an okay fit, but F. Murray Abraham is a theater guy too. But he’s great where you put him. I could see Sean Penn for Chalamet.
Marion feels right for Gascon. Not just because of her (strange) history, but I could see her really enjoying Emilia Perez. If it were set in France it’s easy to see her with a major role in it.
If Ellen Burstyn is up for it, I’d love to see her present to Torres. Given Glenn Close’s love for Montenegro, she would have been a fun choice if she’d have ever won.
I like these picks. Let's just hope the Oscars don't invite John Travolta as he always tend to make an ass of himself in these events. Also, no sports entertainers like John Cena and the Crock.
I have a strong suspicion they might pair Renee Zellweger with Cynthia Erivo. She got an Oscar nom for a Big Broadway Musical Movie and won for playing Judy Garland (so the Wizard of Oz connection is there).
I also think Meryl Streep will be invited to present something and if so then I think she'd be good for Fernanda Torres. She did lose to Paltrow along with Torres' mom after all. And if not Torres then perhaps Streep can give out Best Director.
Your reasoning for Day-Lewis to go with Sebastian Stan is next level, but I too was thinking going meta and picking Robert De Niro instead especially with his absolute hatred of Donald.
Zeta-Jones with Zoe Saldana seems inspired, but I think they might go with Ariana DeBose. Either that or they'll pair DeBose up with another musical Ariana... Grande. You just know DeBose auditioned for WICKED.
Cate Blanchett for Monica Barbaro would be a fun zag since she played Bob Dylan previously.
And finally, do we really think they won't go for the easy FIGHT CLUB reunion with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton?