Edgerton, Byrne and Elordi vie for AACTA international awards

2 months ago 11

Australia’s film and TV academy has given some early awards-season recognition to the country’s brightest hopes for acting nominations at the Oscars next year: Joel Edgerton, Rose Byrne and Jacob Elordi.

Edgerton, who plays an itinerant logger and railroad labourer in Train Dreams, Byrne, who is a struggling psychotherapist in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, and Elordi, who plays the creature in Frankenstein, are among seven Australians nominated for Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts International Awards.

Rose Byrne, Joel Edgerton, Sarah Snook and Jacob Elordi.

Joining them are Russell Crowe (Nuremberg), Hugh Jackman (Song Sung Blue), Dacre Montgomery (Dead Man’s Wire) and, in the TV categories, Sarah Snook (All Her Fault).

AACTA has held international awards to reflect Australia’s contribution to Hollywood since 2012. It used to hold a ceremony in Los Angeles, but will now announce its winners during the main AACTA Awards on the Gold Coast in February.

Edgerton, Crowe and Jackman are each nominated for best actor against Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme) and Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another).

While Edgerton is an excellent chance of his first Oscar nomination and Chalamet and DiCaprio seem certainties to be nominated again, the AACTA field overlooks such strong contenders as Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Oscar Isaac (Frankenstein), Lee Byung-hun (No Other Choice) and Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine).

Byrne, also a hot tip for her first Oscar nomination, is up for best lead actress against Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another) and Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value).

Elordi, another Australian with a genuine chance of an Oscar nomination, is vying for best supporting actor against Montgomery, Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another), Paul Mescal (Hamnet) and Sean Penn (One Battle After Another).

Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.

The only film acting category without an Australian is best supporting actress, where the nominees are Glenn Close (Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery), Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Mia Goth (Frankenstein), Amy Madigan (Weapons) and Emily Watson (Hamnet).

Snook has been nominated for best actress in a TV series against Erin Doherty (Adolescence), Keri Russell (The Diplomat), Jean Smart (Hacks) and Michelle Williams (Dying for Sex).

The Oscars will have 10 best film nominees, but the AACTA international awards has gone with five: Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sinners and Nuremberg.

While the first four are considered certainties, Nuremberg is an outsider to make the Oscars cut against the likes of Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident, Frankenstein, Train Dreams, Bugonia and The Secret Agent.

The AACTA Awards will be held on February 6 during the AACTA Festival, five days of talks, workshops and screenings.

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