Who should present Glenn Close the Oscar?
Sunday, June 14, 2026 at 9:00PM 
Glenn Close and Deborah Kerr at the 66th Academy Awards. | © AMPAS
By this point, everyone and their mother has heard about the Honorary Oscar recipients for 2026. It’s been decided by the Academy to bestow these honors on Ridley Scott, Glenn Close, and pioneering Black American animator Floyd Norman. Producers Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon will also receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, with nobody getting a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for the first time since 2020. Much will be written about these artists, here and elsewhere, with plenty of time still to go until the 17th annual Governors Awards are held on November 15. However, to start things off, why not dispel some of the seriousness that comes as a package deal with such honorifics and enjoy a bit of silly speculation. Specifically, who should present Glenn Close with her long-awaited Oscar?
Back in 1994, at the 66th Academy Awards, then five-time nominee Glenn Close had the privilege to deliver six-time nominee Deborah Kerr with the trophy she had earned since her Powell & Pressburger days. In actressexual and Oscar obsessive circles, this momentous occasion is seen with some irony, as it almost feels as if one perpetual Oscar loser passed her legacy to the next generation. Or should we call it a curse? If that’s the case, should Close keep with tradition and doom another thespian to a life without a competitive Oscar win? If that’s the case, the choice of presenter is clear…
AMY ADAMS
Honorary Academy Awards are usually presented by past collaborators of the artist being recognized, so Adams has that covered, as she starred alongside Close in the most recent film that earned the latter a nomination. While that Ron Howard farrago is better forgotten, its leading lady could be a nice pick for the ceremony. Adams does have some career similarities with Close, including a start in theater and many years working up from supporting roles on screen to star status. Maybe it’ll even make Oscar voters think Adams looks good, up there, on that stage, curse Kerr curse be damned.
However, I think there are better options from Close’s vast array of colleagues.
ROSE BYRNE
Adams might have worked with Close on one misbegotten disaster of a Netflix biopic, but Rose Byrne spent five years co-leading one of the great shows of the Golden Age of Television with her. Damages contains some of these women’s finest hours, getting dramaturgically thornier by the year with performances deepening in tandem. The two have often spoken highly of each other, and after Byrne became an Oscar nominee last year, it’d be nice to invite her to the Governors Ball. Getting to witness Close perfecting such a titanic characterization as Patty Hewes would likely yield plenty of anecdotes and keen observations that would elevate the Governors Awards ceremony.
Though, perhaps I’m too focused on actresses. Glenn Close has acted alongside many a great male thespian.
JONATHAN PRYCE
Many pundits and casual Oscar fans, myself included, believed that The Wife was Close’s best ticket to Academy gold. Sadly – or not so sadly, depending on where you stand – it wasn’t to be, with Olivia Colman coming out victorious, and Joan Castleman losing the Oscar to go along with the Nobel that went to her husband for writing that wasn’t his. It’s because of that narrative dimension that Jonathan Pryce would make for such a fun choice. There would be poetic justice in seeing The Wife’s Joe Castleman giving his spouse the public recognition she so deserved. It’s a metafictional lark, perchance a tad too “high-concept” for the occasion, but fun nevertheless.
That being said, my preferred option would actually be someone whose work is done behind the camera, though it invests the screen with sartorial splendor.
ANN ROTH
There is no star in the Hollywood firmament who more enthusiastically shines a light on the art of costume design than Glenn Close. She has often celebrated the craft, collected what garments she could from her filmography, and even donated them to be exhibited to the public. In his twilight years, Anthony Powell was even interviewed on camera by the woman he fashioned into Cruella de Vil and Norma Desmond. But the Oscar-winning costume designer of Travels with My Aunt, Death on the Nile and Tess is no longer among us. You know who is? Living legend Ann Roth, with whom Close worked on five different projects, including the actress’ screen debut, The World According to Garp. Let’s have a titan honor a sister of similar magnificence, both devoted to the performing arts through different disciplines.
Well, these four serious picks that could conceivably come to be. Now, I want to indulge in fantasy.
PATTI LUPONE
Like Marie Kondo, I love mess. And after Sunset Blvd. lawsuits, generational drama, feuds everlasting, there’d be nothing messier than having the original singing Norma Desmond of the London stage present her most infamous replacement with an Oscar. I don’t suppose Patti Lupone would turn the Governors Awards into a soap opera, yet I’m sure she’d have some amazing venom to spill over Andrew Lloyd Webber’s name. Some insult comedy could be fun, right? As long as it doesn’t target Close herself, though I might be overestimating Lupone’s restraint in assuming she’d hold her tongue for the night’s guest of honor.
If Lupone would be a hater brought on to the lovefest, then it’s only fitting for me to suggest Glenn Close’s biggest fan to complete this half dozen suggestions.
KEVIN JACOBSEN
The Film Experience has many friends over the interwebs and film-loving scene. Among them, you’ll find Kevin Jacobsen, who has taken part in endeavors like the Supporting Actress Smackdown and even invited various members of the Team Experience into his own passion projects. In years past, his podcast, And the Runner-Up Is, covered every Best Picture and Best Actress Oscar race. Nowadays, it’s been rebaptized The World According to Glenn, covering every available work in the actress’ career, from film to TV, with some theater in the middle there. I know no greater fan of this year’s Honorary Oscar queen and, even though it’s an impossible dream, one can’t help but wish for a world where he’d get to present his idol with her own little golden man. Close would be so lucky to have her biggest fan present.
If not this, I hope the Academy regards Glenn Close as they once did Paul Newman, and give her a competitive trophy after the honorary. For Kevin’s sake.
Who would you pick? Is it one of my six possibilities or someone else altogether? Please, sound off in the comments and help us start a conversation.
Reader Comments (17)
Adams would be great, she's a warm presence and very funny, but I think even Close wants to forget that movie.
Pryce would be absolutely charming and eloquent, but even though he's a former nominee I don't think he's a big enough name.
In terms of past co-stars Michael Douglas, Malkovich, Pfieffer, everyone and anyone from The Big Chill.
Get Julianne Moore out there just to remind people Cookie's Fortune exists.
I'm sure they'll go with Meryl. They're good friends and she always delivers a sweet tribute with a few little roasts.
I also think Streep. When the cast of the 1977 Off-Broadway production of Uncommon Women...and Others reprised their roles for a Great Performances TV adaptation, Streep replaced Close, who was performing on Broadway at the time. They've also done two films together (for better or worse).* They were up for the Best Actress Oscar at the same time three times; neither won the first two times, but Streep won for The Iron Lady over Close in Albert Nobbs.
* In addition, Streep turned down the role of Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction; Close was considered for the role of the Witch in Into the Woods; and both were considered at various times for the title role in Evita.
(There's also Oscar winner Jeremy Irons, by the way: four collabs with Close, one on stage.)
I would love to see Streisand celebrate Close at the ceremony this Fall. Streisand is on record calling Close a brilliant actress and produced her Emmy winning film Serving in Silence. I think the combination would be electric.
I'd say that Michael Douglas should present her with the award, thus reminding the world that Close deserved this award for her performance in Fatal Attraction.
It should be John Malkovich, no brainer!
(Sorry, TOM, Cher was the clear winner of the Fatal Attraction year)
It would be great to have, say, 5 people extolling Close's legacy in the theatre, television and film.
Theatre - It would be great to have John Lithgow (who starred with Close in "A Delicate Balance"), perhaps Jeremy Irons ("The Real Thing") or Jim Dale ("Barnum"), or even Andrew Lloyd Webber himself.
Tv - there are plenty to choose from but I'd go with Rose Byrne, Michael Chiklis, Christopher Walken, Janet McTeer, Patrick Stewart
Film - any castmates from The Big Chill, Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons, but it would be great to have unexpected names like Mia Wasikowska and Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs), Mila Kunis (Four Good Days, Wake Up Dead Man), Cailee Spaeny.
Or why not people who intersected her life: Frances McDormand, Kevin Kline, Lady Gaga, Bette Midler, Whoopi Goldberg, Woody Harrelson, Keanu Reeves, Isabelle Huppert, Josh O'Connor
I think it should be Actress on Actress,I say it could be Michelle Williams,are the Academy going to be son on the nose though with her with Amy Adams.
A Weaver or a Pfeiffer would also be great.
Claudio, what a fun article. I must say I never seen the two words "LuPone" and "restraint" in the same sentence together! That's a funny match-up. And thank god we never got that film version of that musical...Norma should be 50, not 80!
I maintain that The Wife is an objectively bad movie, with leaden dialogue, painfully heavy-handed directing, and a clunky and obvious performance from Pryce. Colman acted circles around Close that year, in my opinion. But it's fun that that race will always be so hotly debated (like Yeoh and Blanchett...it's still shocking that Blanchett didn't win for one of the century's greatest pieces of acting).
Thanks for pointing out that Close's only collab with Adams is the execrable Hillbilly Elegy...that alone seems like it should disqualify her? For an honorary award, you want someone who was matched with her in one of her classics (Douglas, Pffeiffer) or a star of her magnitude.
I'm not a Close fanatic, but she should certainly have an Oscar, and this was a great choice by the Academy!
Glenn Close receiving an Honorary Oscar feels long overdue after decades of acclaimed performances and eight Oscar nominations. The discussion around who should present the award is fascinating because so many collaborators from her career could make the moment meaningful. Whether it's Amy Adams, Rose Byrne, Jonathan Pryce, or another longtime colleague, the presenter should ideally reflect Close’s remarkable impact on film and television. It's great to see the Academy finally recognizing one of the most respected actresses of her generation.
I've long thought, to parallel Kerr receiving her honorary Oscar from Close, Close should receive her Honorary Oscar from Adams, but only when they were "old enough," forgetting that Close is now older than Kerr was and Adams is now older than Close was in 1994. Anne Archer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rose Byrne, Janet McTeer, and even Andra Day could also all be fun female costars to be part of the presentation. In terms of male costars, Close really could have her pick, from John Lithgow and Kevin Kline to Michael Douglas and John Malkovich to Jeremy Irons and Christopher Walken, but it'd be really great to have Len Cariou on stage to honor her, having known her the longest. But the Kevin Jacobsen mention is really nice, as I've been following TWATG from the beginning and am really enjoying learning more about her career this way!
As tradition, Best Actor of 1987, Michael Douglas, should have the honor of presenting the Best Actress Oscar (1988), to who it should’ve gone to, Glenn Close. (cal roth).
Since Emma Stone played the younger version of one of Close's iconic roles, it might be delightful to see the two time Oscar winner costumed in full Cruella de Vil regalia and in character to toast Close at this special event.
Hmmm....
Lauren Bacall: Anjelica Huston
Eli Wallach: Clint Eastwood
James Earl Jones: Ben Kingsley
Angela Lansbury: Robert Osborne
Gena Rowlands: Nick Cassavetes
Donald Sutherland: Jennifer Lawrence
Cicely Tyson: Ava DuVernay
Wes Studi: Christian Bale
Samuel L. Jackson: Denzel Washington
Liv Ullmann: John Lithgow
Angela Bassett: Regina King
Tom Cruise: Alejandro González Iñárritu
I always got the vibe that Glenn wasn’t well networked (or maybe even well liked) in the Hollywood community of her generation: Her loss for The Wife felt pointed in a way that seemed personal.
Meryl seems similarly aloof and “East Coast” but she’s tossed out stories about joint kids’ birthday parties with Jack Nicholson in Beverly Hills, etc. I don’t think Glenn ever had that.
Weirdly Glenn seems to have a lot of chemistry/camaraderie with the younger casts she’s worked with recently.
It should be Michael Douglas for sure.
How I wish Robert Redford and Anthony Powell were still with us. They would have been wonderful. Powell would have been able to bridge Close's stage and screen career. (I know..it's a film award...I know).
I jokingly blame Jodie Foster for causing all this debate/nastiness about Glenn Close and the Oscar. If Close had won for Dangerous Liaisons then all would be right in Oscar world. Foster would go on to win for TSOTL and the 2019 Colman/Close debacle wouldn't be an issue because Close had her Liaisons Oscar.
Please don't come for me in the comments. I'm not saying Foster didn't deserve to win or that Colman was Supporting, blah blah blah. My comment/thought is just silly banter.
@DK - I actually think it was the broadening of the Academy membership that cost her the win in 2018 (younger, more international). I would assume all of her peers voted for her. I remember Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas posting in her favor on Instagram the day of the Oscars that year.
My Top 3 choices are Rose Byrne, Michael Douglas, or Jeremy Irons.
WilliamCarey I think most Oscar fans think this way and to me Olivia is supporting.