2 Oscar Voters Didn’t Vote for Ralph Fiennes, Mistakingly Believing ‘He Won Before’

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It’s surprising to think that the 97th Oscars are just around the corner! To get a feel for what might take home the golden statuettes, Variety collected anonymous ballots from Academy voters. The results were startling. One interesting fact that emerged was that two Oscar voters failed to vote for Ralph Fiennes in Conclave, as they wrongly believed he had already won an award.

Ralph Fiennes, renowned for his remarkable acting skills, took charge of the Pope selection thriller drama titled Conclave. He recently clinched a SAG Award for his outstanding portrayal and is currently up for an Oscar nomination. The deadline for Oscar voting was on February 18th, and the ballots are now being tallied.

When Variety aimed to understand Academy voters’ preferences this year, an intriguing revelation surfaced. Although one voter praised Ralph Fiennes as “one of the top-tier actors who consistently delivers exceptional performances,” it turned out that he wasn’t the preferred Best Actor choice for two separate voters. The reasoning behind this was due to a misunderstanding; these voters thought Fiennes had already won an Oscar for Schindler’s List in 1993, unaware that he actually lost to Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive in that year.

Despite winning an Oscar for his role in The Pianist in 2002, Adrien Brody’s performance in The Brutalist was surprisingly chosen by voters in a recent poll, demonstrating that the decision-making process isn’t always logical.

What other findings came from the anonymous Oscar ballots?

For the Best Picture category, a film isn’t necessarily chosen if it gets the most first-place votes. In fact, having several second or third-place votes can boost its chances significantly. Unfortunately, The Brutalist’s devoted supporters may not be enough to secure the win as many voters have ranked the period drama quite low, typically at No. 5 or below.

In summary, movies such as Anora, Conclave, Wicked, and A Complete Unknown have been consistently appearing in second place. On the other hand, Dune: Part Two, The Substance, and Nickel Boys could potentially be removed from contention since they’ve received the least number of top positions. It seems that Anora or Conclave, both starring Ralph Fiennes, are strong favorites for the top spots.

There’s a good deal of uncertainty surrounding the votes, as several films could potentially win various awards. The film that wins Best Picture might not necessarily be the one with the most awards that year. Moreover, remember that Oscar voters often change their minds, so the outcome on March 2nd will determine who takes home the gold – whether it’s Ralph Fiennes, SAG Award winner Timothée Chalamet, or Adrien Brody.

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2025-02-26 01:10