There are four Oscar winners and one nominee in the cast of “Iron Man.”
Downey, who played the titular Iron Man (aka Tony Stark), has two Oscar nominations to his name and one win for his performances in 1992’s “Chaplin,” 2008’s “Tropic Thunder,” and 2023’s “Oppenheimer,” respectively.
But he’s not the only one. Terrence Howard, who played his best friend, James Rhodes, was nominated in 2006 for “Hustle & Flow,” and his on-screen love interest, Pepper Potts, was played by Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow (who won for “Shakespeare in Love” in 1999).
The villain of the film, Obadiah Stane, was played by Jeff Bridges, who won in 2010 for “Crazy Heart.” He has an additional six nominations under his belt for the films “The Last Picture Show,” “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,” “Starman,” “The Contender,” “True Grit,” and “Hell or High Water.”
Last but not least, Samuel L. Jackson made his first cameo appearance as Nick Fury in the post-credits scene. Somehow, Jackson was only nominated for an Oscar once in his career, for “Pulp Fiction” in 1995. He received an honorary award in 2022.
“The Incredible Hulk” might not be well-regarded, but it’s not for the lack of talent in its cast.
The film’s star, Edward Norton, has been nominated four times: for “Primal Fear” in 1997, “American History X” in 1999, “Birdman (Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” in 2015, and “A Complete Unknown” in 2025.
His two main antagonists in the film, Thunderbolt Ross and Emil Blonsky (aka the Abomination), were played by Oscar winner William Hurt and nominee Tim Roth, respectively.
Hurt, who died in 2022, won for his performance in “Kiss of the Spider Woman” in 1986, and received an additional three nominations in 1987, 1988, and 2006 for “Children of a Lesser God,” “Broadcast News,” and “A History of Violence.”
Roth was nominated in 1996 for his role in “Rob Roy.”
“Iron Man 2” switched out one Academy Award nominee for another.
Terrence Howard was replaced with Don Cheadle for the highly anticipated sequel to “Iron Man.” Cheadle himself was nominated for an Oscar in 2005 for his performance in “Hotel Rwanda.”
But he’s not the only Oscar nominee who joined the MCU in its third film. Scarlett Johansson also made her debut as Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, in this film. She’s since been nominated twice, for “Marriage Story” and “Jojo Rabbit,” both in 2020.
The two villains in this film have also been acknowledged by the Academy. Whiplash was played by nominee Mickey Rourke (nominated in 2009 for “The Wrestler”), while his financier Justin Hammer was played by Sam Rockwell, who won in 2018 for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” He was additionally nominated in 2019 for “Vice.”
Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, and Jeremy Renner are all in “Thor.”
Hopkins is one of the most iconic actors of his generation, with two wins (“The Silence of the Lambs” and “The Father”) and four nominations under his belt. There was no better choice to play the ruler of all Norse gods, Odin.
Thor’s love interest, Jane, was played by Portman, a one-time winner and two-time nominee. Her performance in 2011’s “Thor” was the same year as her Oscar win for “Black Swan.”
Lastly, Clint Barton (or Hawkeye, if you prefer), played by Renner, made a cameo appearance in this film. He’s been nominated twice for performances in “The Hurt Locker” and “The Town.”
“Captain America” star Sebastian Stan joined the ranks of Oscar-nominated MCU actors this year.
Stan was nominated in 2025 for playing Donald Trump in “The Apprentice,” 14 years after making his first appearance as Bucky Barnes in “Captain America: The First Avenger” — and it certainly wasn’t his last. Stan is set to play Bucky once more this summer in “Thunderbolts” after making a brief cameo in “Captain America: Brave New World.”
You’d be forgiven for forgetting that Tommy Lee Jones had a role in the MCU, as he’s never reprised his role as Colonel Chester Phillips. But he’s in there!
In the past, Jones has been nominated for Oscars three times (“JFK” in 1992, “In the Valley of Elah” in 2008, and “Lincoln” in 2013). He also won in 1994 for “The Fugitive.”
Stanley Tucci had a more pivotal role in the film as Dr. Erskine, the kindly scientist who gives Steve Rogers the serum that gives him superpowers.
He was a much creepier character in his Oscar-nominated performance in “The Lovely Bones” in 2010.
Edward Norton was replaced as the Hulk in “The Avengers” by Mark Ruffalo, another Oscar nominee.
Ruffalo is a four-time Oscar nominee, with nods for “The Kids are All Right” in 2011, “Foxcatcher” in 2015, “Spotlight” in 2016, and “Poor Things” in 2024.
“Iron Man 3” has two Oscar nominees in its cast.
Spoilers for “Iron Man 3,” but it turns out that Ben Kingsley was actually playing an unsuccessful actor named Trevor Slattery, not Iron Man’s archenemy, the Mandarin, in a controversial plot twist.
Thankfully for Kingsley, his real career is going much more smoothly. He won in 1983 for “Gandhi ” and received three additional nominations for “Bugsy” in 1992, “Sexy Beast” in 2002, and “House of Sand and Fog” in 2004.
Guy Pearce played Iron Man’s real foe in this film, Aldrich Killian. In 2025, Pearce received his first Oscar nomination for his performance in “The Brutalist.”
Legendary actor Robert Redford joined the MCU in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
Redford has been nominated three times for an Academy Award: in 1973 for “The Sting” as an actor, and then as a producer and director for “Quiz Show” in 1994.
He’s also won twice. First, in 1981 for best director of “Ordinary People,” and then he received an honorary award in 2002.
In “Winter Soldier,” he plays a shady governmental figure named Alexander Pierce.
The cast of “Guardians of the Galaxy” is one of the most nominated in the MCU.
First up with the smaller roles. Djimon Honsou, who had a small but pivotal role as Korath the Pursuer in the film, has been nominated twice for “In America” in 2004 and “Blood Diamond” in 2007.
John C. Reilly, who also had a small role as a Nova Corps corpsman, was nominated in 2003 for “Chicago.”
Benicio del Toro plays the Collector, an alien who does exactly what his name says. He won in 2001 for “Traffic,” and received another nod in 2004 for “21 Grams.”
Somehow, eight-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close is also in this film with a small role as Nova Prime Rael. Her most recent two nominations were for 2017’s “The Wife” and 2020’s “Hillbilly Elegy.”
One of the true co-leads of the film, Gamora, is played by Zoe Saldaña, who received her first Oscar nomination this year for the controversial film “Emilia Pérez.”
But, most famously, 12-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper is in this movie, voicing Rocket the Racoon, in a vocal performance that’s frankly been wrongfully ignored by the Academy.
Cooper has been nominated as an actor, producer, and screenwriter in various combinations for “Silver Linings Playbook” (released in 2012), “American Hustle” (2013), “American Sniper” (2014), “A Star Is Born” (2018), “Joker” (2019), “Nightmare Alley” (2021), and “Maestro” (2023).
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” has two Oscar nominees in the cast, but you might’ve missed them.
When Tony Stark needed to replace the AI in his suit, he just so happened to choose the voice of Oscar-nominated actor Kerry Condon. Her voice has been heard in multiple MCU movies as FRIDAY, Tony’s replacement for JARVIS, his old AI who became Vision.
Condon added Oscar nominee to her résumé after getting nominated for “The Bashees of Inisherin” in 2023.
Julie Delpy, who was nominated as a screenwriter for “Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight,” appears in flashbacks to Natasha Romanoff’s time in the Red Room as a child. Those experiences were explored in 2021’s “Black Widow,” sans Delpy’s character.
Two-time Oscar winner Michael Douglas plays Hank Pym in “Ant-Man” and its sequels.
Douglas, who won for his acting in “Wall Street” in 1988 and for producing best picture winner “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in 1976, has played the original Ant-Man Hank Pym since 2015’s “Ant-Man.”
A few Oscar winners and nominees were cast in “Captain America: Civil War.”
Most prominently was Chadwick Boseman, who joined the MCU as T’Challa/Black Panther in “Civil War.” He received a posthumous nomination in 2021 for his performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” after his death in 2020.
Marisa Tomei, winner for “My Cousin Vinny” in 1993 (and additional two-time nominee for “In the Bedroom” and “The Wrestler”), was cast as Peter Parker’s Aunt May, a role she’d reprise multiple times.
But even glorified cameos were cast with Oscar nominees in this film. Alfre Woodard, 1984 nominee for “Cross Creek,” plays a grieving mother who makes Tony Stark reconsider his position on certain political matters.
Plus, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Jim Rash (also an actor) has a small role as an MIT employee.
Four of the biggest roles in “Doctor Strange” are populated by Oscar nominees.
Most obviously is the titular Dr. Stephen Strange, who was played by two-time nominee Benedict Cumberbatch — he was nominated for “The Imitation Game” in 2015 and “The Power of the Dog” in 2022.
His love interest, Christine Palmer, was played by Rachel McAdams, who was nominated in 2016 for “Spotlight.”
His frenemy Mordo was played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who received a nomination in 2014 for “12 Years a Slave.”
Last but certainly not least was his mentor, the Ancient One, played by Tilda Swinton, who won in 2008 for her performance in “Michael Clayton.”
Three-time Academy Award nominee Sylvester Stallone played Stakar Ogord, or Starhawk, in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”
Stallone has the rare honor of being nominated twice for playing the same character. First, he was nominated for playing boxer Rocky Balboa in “Rocky” in 1977. Thirty-nine years later, in 2016, he was nominated for playing Rocky again in “Creed.”
Stallone was also nominated for the screenplay of “Rocky.”
The main villain of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is Academy Award nominee Michael Keaton. But did you know the AI in Peter’s suit is voiced by an Academy Award winner?
Keaton played Adrian Toomes, aka the Vulture, in “Homecoming.” His lone Oscar nomination is also avian in nature — he was nominated in 2015 for “Birdman (Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”
When Peter, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, gets his own tricked-out suit from his mentor Tony Stark, it comes with its own AI. Peter chooses to name her Karen.
Karen is voiced by none other than Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly, who won in 2002 for her performance in “A Beautiful Mind.”
Fun fact: Connelly’s husband is Paul Bettany, the voice of JARVIS/Vision, another Marvel AI.
In “Thor: Ragnarok,” the villain is played by two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett. But she’s not the only one with some hardware in the cast.
Blanchett played Hela, the goddess of hell, and Thor and Loki’s long-lost sister. In her career, she’s received six nominations and won twice: first in 2005 for playing Katharine Hepburn in “The Aviator,” (making her an Oscar winner for playing an Oscar winner) and then again in 2014 for “Blue Jasmine.”
Jeff Goldblum also joined the MCU in “Ragnarok” as the dictatorial leader of a planet called Sakaar. Goldblum’s Oscar nomination came for directing the short film “Little Surprises” in 1996.
Director Taika Waititi also has a role in this film, playing a rock creature called Korg. Waititi won an Oscar for his screenplay of “Jojo Rabbit” in 2020. He was also nominated as a producer for best picture.
Most hilariously is the cameo Matt Damon made as an actor playing Loki in a hilarious play depicting the events of the MCU thus far.
Damon is also an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, as he won in 1998 for co-writing “Good Will Hunting.” He was also nominated for his acting in the film, as well as in 2010 for “Invictus” and 2016 for “The Martian.” He also produced “Manchester by the Sea,” earning an additional nomination for best picture in 2017.
“Black Panther” made MCU history when it became the first Marvel film to be nominated for best picture. With this much talent in the cast, it makes sense.
In addition to the previously nominated Chadwick Bosman, the rest of the cast included legends and highly respected actors.
T’Challa’s love interest, Nakia, was played by Lupita Nyong’o, who won an Oscar in 2014 for “12 Years a Slave.”
T’Challa’s best friend, W’Kabi, was played by Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya. He was recognized for his performance in “Judas and the Black Messiah” in 2021. He had previously been nominated in 2018 for “Get Out.”
T’Challa’s mother and queen of Wakanda, Ramonda, was played by Angela Bassett. She was nominated first in 1994 for “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” but she later made history in 2023 by becoming the first actor to be nominated for their performance in an MCU movie after the release of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in 2022.
After Bassett lost in 2022, she received an honorary award in 2024.
But that’s not all! T’Challa’s father figure, Zuri, was played by Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker, who was awarded in 2007 for “The Last King of Scotland.”
Finally, T’Challa’s Uncle N’Jobu was played by Sterling K. Brown, who received his first nomination for “American Fiction” in 2024.
Josh Brolin made his first credited appearance as Thanos in “Avengers: Infinity War.”
Brolin had appeared in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” before this film, but “Infinity War” was the first real look viewers got of Thanos, the biggest bad of the MCU to date.
Brolin had been nominated for an Oscar for his performance in “Milk” in 2009.
Kenneth Branagh, Oscar winner for the screenplay of “Belfast,” among many other nominations, and director of “Thor,” also made an uncredited cameo as the voice behind a distress call at the beginning of the film.
Michelle Pfeiffer and Laurence Fishburne joined the MCU in “Ant-Man and the Wasp.”
After being mentioned in “Ant-Man,” Hank Pym’s wife, Janet Van Dyne, was played by three-time nominee Pfeiffer in the sequel three years later. Her nominations came from “Dangerous Liaisons” in 1989, “The Fabulous Baker Boys” in 1990, and “Love Field” in 1993.
Hank’s frenemy Bill Foster (also known to comics fans as Goliath) was played by Laurence Fishburne, who was nominated in 1994 for “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”
The titular Captain Marvel was played by Oscar winner Brie Larson. Other nominees joined her in the cast.
Perhaps the most powerful person in the MCU, Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers has been played by Larson since 2019. She won an Oscar in 2016 for portraying a kidnapped young woman in “Room.”
She was joined by five-time nominee Annette Bening, who had a dual role in the film as Mar-Vell, Carol’s mentor, and the human representation of an AI known as the Supreme Intelligence. Bening picked up her fifth nomination last year for “Nyad,” after previous nominations for “The Grifters” in 1991, “American Beauty” in 2000, “Being Julia” in 2005, and “The Kids Are All Right” in 2011.
Carol’s Kree mentor Yon-Rogg was played by Jude Law, who has been nominated twice in his career: for “The Talented Mr. Ripley” in 2000 and “Cold Mountain” in 2004.
Jake Gyllenhaal and J. K. Simmons were cast in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.”
Gyllenhaal played illusionist Quentin Beck, or Mysterio, in the film. He had been nominated in 2006 for “Brokeback Mountain.”
Simmons reprised his role as J. Jonah Jameson from the original Tobey Maguire “Spider-Man” trilogy. In between those films wrapping up and this one, he won an Academy Award in 2015 for “Whiplash.” He received another nod in 2022 for “Being the Ricardos.”
In “Black Widow,” we met two more highly accomplished assassins, played by Florence Pugh and Rachel Weisz.
To match Scarlett Johansson’s nominations, Marvel cast two equally formidable actors to play her adopted sister, Yelena, and mother, Melina.
Yelena was played by Pugh, who was nominated in 2020 for “Little Women.”
Melina was played by Weisz, who won in 2006 for “The Constant Gardener,” and was nominated again in 2019 for “The Favourite.”
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” made history as the first MCU movie about an Asian superhero, so they pulled out the big guns with Michelle Yeoh.
Yeoh was already an icon before her 2023 win for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” but it certainly was the cherry on top of an illustrious career — one that included playing Shang-Chi’s aunt Ying Nan.
But did you know that Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu is also in this movie?
Hsu, who was nominated for playing the daughter of Yeoh’s character in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” has a small scene at the end of the film as the disbelieving friend of Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and Katy (Awkwafina).
Five of the 10 Eternals have been nominated for Oscars.
In alphabetical order: Angelina Jolie (Thena) won in 2000 for “Girl, Interrupted” and was nominated in 2009 for “The Changeling,” and also received a humanitarian award in 2014; Barry Keoghan (Druig) was nominated in 2023 for “The Banshees of Inisherin”; Brian Tyree Henry (Phastos) was nominated in 2023 for “Causeway”; Kumail Nanjiani (Kingo) was nominated in 2018 for co-writing the screenplay of “The Big Sick”; and Salma Hayek (Ajak) was nominated in 2003 for “Frida.”
Mahershala Ali also had a voice-only cameo in this film’s post-credits scene as Blade, who will (hopefully) one day be the star of his own film. Ali has won two Oscars: first in 2017 for “Moonlight” and then in 2019 for “Green Book.”
Since “Spider-Man: No Way Home” brought in characters from different universes, multiple Oscar nominees were pulled into the film.
First, another version of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, played by Andrew Garfield in “The Amazing Spider-Man” and its sequel, made his triumphant return in this movie. Garfield has been twice nominated for performances in “Hacksaw Ridge” in 2017 and “Tick, Tick…Boom!” in 2022.
One of the villains from “Amazing Spider-Man 2” was Electro, played by Jamie Foxx. Foxx was nominated twice in one year, winning for his performance in “Ray” in 2005, and settling for just a nomination for “Collateral.”
Willem Dafoe reprised his role as the Green Goblin from 2002’s “Spider-Man.” Across his career, Dafoe has been nominated for Oscars four times: in 1987 for “Platoon,” in 2001 for “Shadow of the Vampire,” in 2018 for “The Florida Project,” and in 2019 for “At Eternity’s Gate.”
Thomas Haden Church popped up as Sandman, reprising the role from “Spider-Man 3” in 2007. He was nominated in 2005 for his performance in “Sideways.”
Finally, Tom Hardy made a brief post-credits cameo as Eddie Brock/Venom, the star of his own trilogy from 2018 to 2024. Hardy was nominated for best supporting actor in 2016 for “The Revenant.”
Charlize Theron had a post-credits cameo in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.”
Theron was introduced as Stephen Strange’s future love interest, Clea, in the post-credit scene.
Fans were excited, as Theron is a high-caliber actor, with two Oscar nominations (“North Country” in 2006 and “Bombshell” in 2020) and a win (“Monster” in 2004) to her name.
Three more Oscar nominees joined the MCU in “Thor: Love and Thunder.”
Of the three additions, Christian Bale as Gorr the God-Butcher is the most significant as the film’s main antagonist.
Bale is no stranger to superhero films, as he famously played Batman in three films. He also has real acting cred, with a 2011 Academy Award win for “The Fighter” and three additional noms in 2014 (“American Hustle”), 2016 (“The Big Short”), and 2019 (“Vice”).
A secondary antagonist was Zeus, played by Russell Crowe, also a convert from DC movies. He played Jor-El, Superman’s dad, in “Man of Steel.” Crowe has also won an Oscar, in 2001 for “Gladiator.” He was previously nominated in 2000 for “The Insider,” and in 2002 for “A Beautiful Mind.”
Following in Matt Damon’s footsteps was Melissa McCarthy, who appeared in the play-inside-the-movie as an actor playing Hela in a reenactment of the events of “Ragnarok.” McCarthy has been nominated for Oscars twice: in 2012 for “Bridesmaids” and in 2019 for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Two Oscar winners joined the MCU in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” though you might only be aware of one.
After Disney bought 20th Century Fox in 2019, it was only a matter of time before Deadpool made his way into the MCU. But as the title suggested, he wasn’t alone. Instead, he was joined by Hugh Jackman, reprising his role as Logan, aka Wolverine, one of the most popular comic-book performances of all time.
But Jackman doesn’t just play gruff Canadian superheroes. In 2013, he was nominated for an Oscar for playing Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables.”
“Deadpool & Wolverine” was filled to the brim with cameos, but one of the quicker ones was Matthew McConaughey voicing a cowboy variant of Deadpool, complete with a hat, boots, spurs, and a Texan drawl, aptly named Cowboypool.
McConaughey won an Oscar in 2014 for his performance in “Dallas Buyers Club.”
The Disney+ shows also cast highly talented people. In the cast of “Loki” alone, there are two Oscar nominees and one winner.
In the first season of “Loki,” viewers were introduced to time traveler extraordinaire Mobius, played by Owen Wilson, who received a nomination in 2002 for co-writing the screenplay of “The Royal Tenenbaums.”
We also met a variant of Loki played by Richard E. Grant, who was nominated in 2019 for his performance in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Season two added newly minted Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan as Ouroboros (or OB). He won in 2023 for his performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
When “Hawkeye” premiered on Disney+, it was clear that the torch was getting passed from one nominee to another.
The original Hawkeye, Clint Barton, was played by two-time nominee Jeremy Renner. Over the course of the show, he bonded with a protégé, Kate Bishop, played by Hailee Steinfeld.
Steinfeld was 13 years old when she landed her Oscar-nominated role in 2010’s “True Grit.”
Bishop’s mother, Eleanor, was played by Vera Farmiga, who was nominated in 2010 for “Up in the Air.”
Now for the projects that haven’t been released yet but have confirmed casts. First, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”
Vanessa Kirby, nominated in 2021 for her role in “Pieces of a Woman,” will play Sue Storm, aka Invisible Woman.
She’s joined by Emmy winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (The Thing), SAG Award winner Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (Human Torch).
Another member of the cast — though we don’t know who he’s playing yet — is John Malkovich. Malkovich was nominated in 1985 for “Places in the Heart” and in 1994 for “In the Line of Fire.”
At some point in 2025, “Ironheart” will be released on Disney+, starring Oscar nominee Sacha Baron Cohen.
It’s not been officially confirmed who Cohen will be playing in “Ironheart,” but there’s heavy speculation he’ll be playing a certain devilish character who was teased way back in “WandaVision.”
Cohen has been nominated for three Academy Awards: for the screenplays of “Borat” and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” and for acting in “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
Read the full article here
