Oscars to Have New Award for Casting Directors

A new category of award recognizing the achievement of a casting director in a film has been added to the Oscars by the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The first award in the new category will be handed out in 2026.

This new Academy Award for Achievement in Casting would be introduced to the Oscars’ 98th edition to honour the films released in 2025.

“Casting directors play an essential role in filmmaking, and as the Academy evolves, we are proud to add casting to the disciplines that we recognise and celebrate,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a joint statement.

The rules for eligibility and voting for the inaugural award in this new section will be announced in April 2025.

The last new award category created by the AMPAS was Best Animated Feature Film, back in 2001. The Academy had announced a new category, named the Academy Award for Best Popular Film, in 2018 but it was never made part of the ceremony.