Jun 15, 2026 1:15pm PT
How Actors From Penélope Cruz to Brad Pitt Could Score Multiple Oscar Nods in the Same Race
Can any of this year’s Oscar acting contenders receive a double take?
One of the most notable rule changes for the 99th Oscars allows an actor to earn multiple nominations in the same category, provided each performance ranks among the top five vote getters. Previously, only the highest finisher advanced. The move finally aligns the acting races with the rest of the ballot. The change has the potential to neutralize some of the presumed “category fraud,” at least for actors with two performances in play in the same year, in which a campaign team strategically pushes one turn into supporting to dodge a vote split.
Oscar historians can point to dual turns like Leonardo DiCaprio in 2006’s “Blood Diamond” and “The Departed” or Kate Winslet in 2008’s “The Reader” and “Revolutionary Road” as instances where a performer might have claimed two slots in one race.
