At the 100th Oscars, the stunt community will finally get its props. The Academy has established the Achievement in Stunt Design category that will be introduced to celebrate films released in 2027. The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the announcement on Thursday.
“Since the early days of cinema, stunt design has been an integral part of filmmaking,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a statement. “We are proud to honor the innovative work of these technical and creative artists, and we congratulate them for their commitment and dedication in reaching this momentous occasion.”
For the stunt community, the Academy’s recognition for their work is long overdue. More than 100 stunt professionals are members of the Academy’s Production and Technology Branch, and given the importance of stunt work in contemporary filmmaking (particularly for blockbusters), it stands to reason that the Academy would acknowledge that work officially. The Emmys already have three stunt categories — Outstanding Stunt Performance, Outstanding Stunt Coordination for Drama Programming and Outstanding Stunt Coordinating Work for Comedy Programing — and the Screen Actors Guild Awards has stunt categories whose winners are announced on the red carpet prior to the beginning of that show.
At the 2024 Oscars, The Fall Guy costars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt paid tribute to stunt professionals and pointed out the fact that there was still no Academy Award for them, despite their being an integral part of Hollywood since the beginning. (That film’s director, David Leitch, started as a stunt performer and coordinator and was involved in the community’s initiative to make Achievement in Stunt Design an official Academy Award category. He and stunt coordinator and designer Chris O’Hara made presentations to the Academy.)
In a statement after the Academy announcement, Leitch said, “Stunts are essential to every genre of film and rooted deep in our industry’s history — from the groundbreaking work of early pioneers like Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Charlie Chaplin, to the inspiring artistry of today’s stunt designers, coordinators, performers, and choreographers.
“This has been a long journey for so many of us. Chris O’Hara and I have spent years working to bring this moment to life, standing on the shoulders of the stunt professionals who’ve fought tirelessly for recognition over the decades. We are incredibly grateful. Thank you, Academy.”
Achievement in Stunt Design is the first new category since Achievement in Casting, which was announced last year and will kick off with the 98th Academy Awards for films released in 2025. Before that, no new category had been added to the Oscars since Best Animated Feature in 2002.
In announcing the stunt award, the Academy did not promise that the category would be presented on the 100th Oscars telecast in 2028. Instead, it said, “The specifics of the award’s presentation will be determined by the Academy’s Board of Governors and executive leadership at a future date.”
The Academy had made a similar distinction when it announced the new casting Oscar. This leaves the door open for the possible creation of a Governors Awards-type event at which some awards could be presented rather than adding the new categories to a show that already hands out awards in 23 categories and is widely criticized for its length.
Steve Pond contributed to this report.
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