The Oscars are considered the premier ceremony of the year, and just being nominated is seen to be the ultimate honor. But on rare occasions, actors have managed to impress the Academy so well that they’ve been nominated for both leading and supporting categories.
Many of these performers are extremely high-profile, but others are lesser-known while still being incredibly accomplished. Checking out the actors’ roles is also a good way to uncover their filmography since quite a few of them are independent movies that deserve a larger audience, and should make viewers appreciate the actors’ talents further.
Emma Thomspon (1994) - The Remains Of The Day & In The Name Of The Father
Emma Thompson is known to young audiences for her involvement in Disney-related roles, but she’s been a prolific performer in all genres. The Remains of the Day garnered Thompson a nomination for the Best Actress, while In the Name of the Father got her an honor for the Best Supporting Actress variety.
Her leading role was about a woman from an affluent family who was close to the butler and looked into their ensuing relationship. The supporting role was as a lawyer who tried to get clients off from a guilty charge for crimes they didn’t commit and that she needed to prove wasn’t related to them.
Jessica Lange (1983) - Frances & Tootsie
Jessica Lange has made a name for modern audiences through her roles in the American Horror Story series, although she was already an established actress for decades prior. Two big roles in Frances and Tootsie got her major recognition, with Lange winning for the latter.
Frances saw her in the leading role as a troubled actress during the 1930s where her mental health issues aren’t understood by her peers, while Tootsie is a romantic comedy that had her play another actress, this time being the love interest of the main character.
Barry Fitzgerald (1945) - Going My Way
Barry Fitzgerald is the most unique person to be nominated for both leading and supporting actor because they were for the same movie. Going My Way is about a young priest who takes over for an older veteran, with Fitzgerald playing the older priest who has to vacate his position.
Since the story revolves around Fitzgerald’s character even though Bing Crosby is the proper lead, Fitzgerald was nominated in the leading actor category as well. He ended up winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, although still remains the only person to be nominated in two categories for one role.
Holly Hunter (1994) - The Piano & The Firm
Jane Campion is primed to win an Oscar in the 2022 ceremony, which would be a repeat from The Piano. Here, she directed Holly Hunter as a mute Scottish woman who relocates to New Zealand due to an arranged marriage that conflicts with her deeply.
Hunter won the Best Actress award for The Piano, but was a prominent supporting actor in The Firm, playing an erratic secretary who aids Tom Cruise’s lead character in digging up information about the titular organization. The contrast in the two roles handily demonstrates the range that Holly Hunter commands.
Julianne Moore (2003) - Far From Heaven & The Hours
There are a lot of great movies that Julianne Moore has in her filmography, with Far from Heaven and The Hours arguably the peak of her critical success. Moore was the lead in Far from Heaven, playing a 1950s housewife whose life starts falling apart in a society not designed to benefit women.
She was one of the three characters The Hours centered around, where she again played a 1950s housewife who’s deeply unhappy and looks to escape. The two performances got Moore the recognition she deserved at the big awards ceremony, but she lost in both categories.
Cate Blanchett (2008) - Elizabeth: The Golden Age & I'm Not There
There should be no doubting Cate Blanchett’s acting skills considering how different her roles in Elizabeth: The Golden Age and I’m Not There are. The former sees her reprise the historic role in a sequel, where she plays Queen Elizabeth I during the latter part of her reign.
Blanchett portrayed Bob Dylan during a phase of his life in I’m Not There, garnering a Supporting Actress nomination because the role was shared by six different actors in the movie. Blanchett didn’t win in either category, but the performances can still be appreciated.
Sigourney Weaver (1989) - Gorillas In The Mist & Working Girl
Sigourney Weaver had to contend with two contrasting environments for her Oscar-nominated roles, with Gorillas in the Mist sending her into the Rwandan jungle while Working Girl was set in an office environment where relationship drama was on the cards.
Weaver received the Best Actress nomination for her Gorillas in the Mist, playing real-life researcher Dian Fossey as she tries to preserve the gorillas’ habitat. Working Girl saw her as the villain who looked to sabotage the lead character’s role in the company, which got Weaver the Supporting Actress nomination.
Al Pacino (1993) - Scent Of A Woman & Glengarry Glen Ross
Al Pacino was due for an Oscar win for decades before bagging it for Scent of a Woman, where he played a retired blind Army lieutenant who strikes up a friendship with a preparatory school student. The same year, Pacino was part of Glengarry Glen Ross’ ensemble cast about salesmen.
Pacino’s lead role was appreciated for the way he played a grumpy but very well-meaning man, while his supporting role remains critically acclaimed, as he appeared as a duplicitous salesman who has to con clients in order to meet his company’s lofty sales expectations.
Scarlett Johansson (2020) - Marriage Story & Jojo Rabbit
Mainstream fans like to point toward Black Widow as Scarlett Johansson’s best character, but she got her best critical acclaim for Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit. She’s the lead in the former, where she appears as a mother embroiled in a divorce that veers out of control.
Jojo Rabbit has her firmly in the supporting category, appearing as the mother to the titular young boy in WWII Germany where she secretly helps people evade the Nazis. It’s a shame that Johansson didn’t win in either category considering the powerful performances, but she did get the honor of being nominated twice in the same year.
Jamie Foxx (2005) - Ray & Collateral
Jamie Foxx was known mainly as a comedian before he landed big on the scene with Ray and Collateral. Ray sees him in the titular role as musician Ray Charles, playing the character across 30 years of his life. Collateral is a neo-noir thriller where Foxx’s cab driver character is forced to accompany a hitman throughout his assassinations.
Foxx didn’t win in the Supporting Actor category but closed out the Oscar ceremony by bagging the Best Actor award. The impact of the nominations can still be felt on Jamie Foxx’s career, who ascended into the A-list and has remained there ever since.