by Nathaniel R
Given that this year brought us only one repeat acting nominee from last season (Olivia Colman, from The Father to The Lost Daughter) we thought it would be a fun detour to look back at thespians that Oscar was obsessed with for a relatively intense stretch of time. Which of the 20 actors nominated this year will be back again next year and start a run towards this rarefied list?Care to make a guess? Maybe it'll be Olivia Colman a third consecutive time. We could see it if Empire of Light opens in time.
Now, it's pretty easy to return again and again at The Emmys given that one series can last for several years (and the TV Academy falls out of love slowly), but for the Oscars, where it's new projects and characters every year, it's very dificult to hold interest for years on end...
For the purposes of this list we're only looking at actors since the craft categories are much different beasts (for instance, John Williams, who the Academy can't live without, had 8 consecutive nominations and he did the five-times-consecutively thing that only two actors have ever done not once but thrice at different points in his career.
History has plenty of consecutive acting nominations but it's fairly rare to return for three or more years in a row so let's look at the 21 people who've done it. Two thirds of them won during this intense stretch when Oscar was stanning them.
5 consecutive nomination club in chronological order...
* indicates that all of these nominations were leading roles
Jezebel. © Warner Bros
* Bette Davis (38-42)
Jezebel ★, Dark Victory, The Letter, The Little Foxes, and Now Voyager
The craziest thing about Davis's half-decade consecutive run is that she deserved each and every one of these nominations; None were coasting on her fame/acclaim!
Mrs Miniver (1942). © MGM
* Greer Garson (41-45)
Blossoms in the Dust, Mrs Miniver ★, Madame Curie, Mrs Parkington, and Valley of Decision
Both of these runs were over by the mid-40s. No actors in the subsequent 75+ years have equalled it with consistent every year Oscar favor.
4 consecutive nominations club in chronological order...
Jennifer Jones (43-46)
Song of Bernadette ★, Since You Went Away, Love Letters, and Duel in the Sun
Thelma Ritter (50-53)
All About Eve, The Mating Game, With a Song in My Heart, and Pickup on South Street
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). © Warner Bros
* Marlon Brando (51-54)
A Streetcar Named Desire, Viva Zapata, Julius Caesar, and On the Waterfront ★
* Elizabeth Taylor (57-60)
Raintree County, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Suddenly Last Summer, and BUtterfield 8★
Al Pacino (72-75)
The Godfather, Serpico, Godfather Pt II, and Dog Day Afternoon
3 consecutive nominations club in chronological order...
* Spencer Tracy (36-38)
San Francisco, Captains Courageous ★, and Boys Town ★
* Gary Cooper (41-43)
Sergeant York ★, Pride of the Yankees, and For Whom the Bell Tolls
* Ingrid Bergman (43-45)
For Who the Bell Tolls, Gaslight★, and Bells of St Marys
* Gregory Peck (45-47)
Keys of the Kingdom, The Yearling, and Gentleman's Agreement
The King and I (1956). © Twentieth Century Fox
* Deborah Kerr (56-58)
The King and I, Heaven Knows Mr Allison, and Separate Tables
* Richard Burton (64-66)
Becket, Spy Who Came in From the Cold, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Sometimes a hot consecutive run will make you overdue and a winner even with tough competition later on (see Peck). Other times it will mean they missed their window to award you (see Kerr & Burton)
* Jack Nicholson (73-75)
Last Detail, Chinatown, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ★
* Jane Fonda (77-79)
Julia, Coming Home ★, and China Syndrome
Silkwood © ABC Motion Pictures
* Meryl Streep (81-83)
The French Lieutenant's Woman, Sophie's Choice ★, and Silkwood
It's a bit surprising to notice that Streep has only done a three-consecutive once, given the frequency of her nominations! And while we're here, I will take every opportunity to remind people that Silkwood is Meryl's best performance. You heard me.
Glenn Close (83-85)
World According to Garp, Big Chill, and The Natural
* William Hurt (85-87)
Kiss of the Spider Woman ★, Children of Lesser God, and Broadcast News
* Russell Crowe (99-01)
Insider, Gladiator ★, and A Beautiful Mind
Renée Zellweger (01-03)
Bridget Jones Diary, Chicago, and Cold Mountain ★
Silver Linings Playbook (2012). © The Weinstein Co
Bradley Cooper (12-14)
Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, and American Sniper
Too many actors have been nominated twice in a row to list them all. It's common. So that's the whole list! Any observations?