The announcement of the 2021 Oscar nominations this morning I was not without its share of disappointing surprises and contempt, but there are still some exciting premieres worth noting (although, as is often the case with award premieres, the sense “why did it take so long?” is predictably difficult to get rid of). To begin with, Steven Yeun is now the first Asian American to receive a Best Actor nomination (for his work in Minari), while Riz Ahmed is the first Muslim to receive a Best Actor nomination (for Sound Of Metal), making this the first time that two actors of Asian descent have applied for this category at the same time. Yeun’s Minari co-star Yuh-jung Youn is also the first South Korean person to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Ahmed, in a statement for Deadline, offered a humble opinion on his appointment:
Whether you see me as the first Pakistani Brit or the first Wembley guy, you know, there are so many ways to see it. But as long as it seems like an opportunity for more people than ever to connect and feel included in this moment, this is a blessing.
Elsewhere, Viola Davis was nominated for Best Actress for Black Bottom by Ma Rainey makes her the first black woman to receive more than one Best Actress nomination, with her first coming from The help in 2011. She is also now the most nominated black actress in Oscar history, having been nominated four times (Doubt, The help, and Fences the other three being).
This year is also the first time in the history of nearly a century of Oscars that more than one woman has been nominated for Best Director, with Nomadlandis Chloé Zhao and Promising young womanEsmeralda Fennell of both receiving nods. Zhao is also the first black woman to be nominated in this category and the first woman in Oscar history to receive four nominations in a single year (she is ready to write, produce and edit as well).
We’ll see how those appointments affect when the 93rd Academy Award aired on ABC on Sunday, April 25 at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT.