Oscars Announce New Category for 2026 Awards

Starting in 2026, the Academy will have an award for casting directors.

By Michael Hein

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is adding a new category to the Oscars starting in 2026: "Achievement in Casting." The Board of Governors announced the new award last week, explaining that they will soon have a system in place for professional casting directors to nominate and honor each other along with the rest of the industry. The details on eligibility and voting will not be announced until next spring.

"Casting directors play an essential role in filmmaking, and as the Academy evolves, we are proud to add casting to the disciplines that we recognize and celebrate," Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a press release. "We congratulate our Casting Directors Branch members on this exciting milestone and for their commitment and diligence throughout this process." The Casting Directors Branch of the Academy was created in July 2013 and now has almost 160 members, according to a report by Entertainment Tonight.

The leaders of that branch, Richard Hicks – Kim Taylor-Coleman and Debra Zane – made a statement as well. They said: "On behalf of the members of the Casting Directors Branch, we'd like to thank the Board of Governors, the Awards Committee and Academy leadership for their support. This award is a deserved acknowledgment of our casting directors' exceptional talents and a testament to the dedicated efforts of our branch."

This will be the first new category added to the Academy Awards since 2001 when the award for "Best Animated Feature Film" was introduced. The criteria for nominations and voting will be announced in April 2025. Typically, the Oscar Awards are decided by other professionals in each specific field – so actors nominate and vote for actors, directors nominate and vote for directors, and so on.

This won't be the first time casting directors have gotten recognition at an award show. The Casting Society of America has been recognized at the Artios awards, and the Screen Actors Guild has an award for "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture." Still, for many the Oscars are the most prestigious awards in Hollywood, and even a nomination can do wonders for a career.

The new category won't be included in this year's Oscars, which are coming up fast. The 96th Academy Awards will be televised live on Sunday, March 10 starting at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.

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