Revisit USA TODAY’s interviews with Oscar nominees Timothée Chalamet, Kate Hudson, Jesse Buckley and more.
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The Academy Award nominations were announced on January 22nd, and we were thrilled to see so many of our favorite performances included (albeit some surprising shutouts). Bubble-era favorites Elle Fanning (“Sentimental Value”) and Emma Stone (“Bugonia”) came in with one second remaining, while Jesse Buckley (“Hamnet”) and Timothée Chalamet (“Marty Supreme”) continued to dominate the awards.
We’ve talked about these nominees and many more over the past few months, waving the flag for the year’s biggest and best movies, as well as some of the smaller films that might be making waves right now.
Revisit all interviews with 2026 Oscar-nominated actors.
jesse buckley
Buckley, who is competing for Best Actress for Hamnet, likened working with director Chloé Zhao to a “fever dream” and said she couldn’t have made a Shakespearean play with another director. “We just broke the seal and were open to each other from the jump,” Buckley told USA TODAY.
rose byrne
Byrne, who was nominated for Best Actress after a number of exciting comedic performances in films such as Spy, Bridesmaids and Get Him to the Greek, said it was an honor to take on the dramatic role in Kick You If I Had Legs. “It’s a great honor. I’m very emotional,” Byrne told USA TODAY. “I’ve been doing this work for a long time, so I’m grateful to have had this amazing opportunity with this character.”
Timothée Chalamet
Chalamet, who received his third Best Actor nomination for Marty Supreme, opened up to USA TODAY in a wide-ranging interview about his marketing acumen, his inspiration for ballet, his struggle with anxiety and more. “The last couple of years have reaffirmed the authorship that I had very organically early in my career, which is slowly being whittled away in the entertainment industry,” Chalamet says.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro
DiCaprio and del Toro, who are nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, spoke to USA TODAY about the rough-and-tumble revolutionaries at the center of Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. “These flawed characters are just trying to find their way against imperialist forces,” DiCaprio says. “This is genius because it defies all expectations.
Jacob Elordi
In a candid conversation with USA TODAY, Elordi, nominated for Best Supporting Actor, revealed how playing the Creature in Frankenstein helped him break out of a creative rut. “I had reached a point where I didn’t know what I was doing or didn’t like the way I was doing it,” he says. “And when I got to play this character, I felt completely reborn.”
Elle Fanning
Fanning, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” said she was “really moved” after seeing the film with her younger sister, Hollywood veteran Dakota. “Joachim brought to screen what the relationship between an older sister and a younger sister is like. Who becomes the guardian and how does that change as they get older?” Fanning told USA TODAY. “I was really impressed.”
kate hudson
Hudson was nominated for Best Actress for her role as one half of a Neil Diamond tribute band in Song San Bleu. In an interview with USA TODAY, the A-lister recalled her 22-year-old son Ryder’s sweet reaction to her performance. “You could see his pride,” Hudson said. “He looked at me and was like, ‘Mom!’” And he said, “Wow!” ”
Michael B. Jordan
Jordan, who was nominated for Best Actor for his role as twins in Ryan Coogler’s genre-defying Sinners, created a detailed backstory to differentiate the two characters. “I’m sure they were tallying up who was right and who was most wrong,” Jordan explained to USA TODAY. “What grudges do they still have against each other? Who left the toilet seat up last? That kind of dynamic was interesting.”
Inga Ebsdotter Lileas
Lillias is not only the emotional center of “Sentimental Value,” but she’s also currently a nominee for Best Supporting Actress. Norway’s Breakthrough revealed to USA TODAY how working with seniors in a nursing home prepared her to become an actress. “You’re, in a sense, a detective trying to figure out who these people are,” Lilleas says. “That’s what you do as an actor. You’re looking for the underlying thing.”
amy madigan
“Field of Dreams” star Madigan made an unforgettable comeback last summer in “Weapons,” winning Best Supporting Actress for her role as Aunt Gladys next door. Madigan, 75, spoke to USA TODAY about what it means to him to still have such an exciting role at this stage in his career. “It’s hard for women in business, but it gets harder for women as we get older,” she says.
Wagner Moura
In an in-depth conversation with USA TODAY, Moura discussed his unexpected journey from working as a reporter in Brazil to working on The Secret Agent, for which he was nominated for Best Actor. “I wanted to be a journalist like the one you see on ‘The President’s Men,’ but that didn’t really happen,” Moura says.
Renate Reinsve
Reinsve, nominated for Best Actress for “Sentimental Value,” spoke candidly to USA TODAY about her rebellious youth, her aptitude for carpentry and why she has avoided making romantic comedies since “The Worst Man in the World.” “I didn’t think any of it was good enough, and I didn’t want to do anything commercial right away,” she says.
emma stone
Stone, a two-time Oscar winner who was nominated for Best Actress for “Bugonia,” told USA TODAY how she prepared for her young daughter’s bald head in the chilling sci-fi comedy. “I just said, ‘I’m going to shave my head,'” Stone recalled. “‘When you pull your hair out, it grows back. Isn’t that so silly and fun?'”
