Actors Who've Never Been Nominated For An Oscar, But Should Win

Summary

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Actors Who've Never Been Nominated For An Oscar, But Should Win

Episode Title: Actors Who've Never Been Nominated For An Oscar, But Should Win
Release Date: February 24, 2025
Host: NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour
Hosts: Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson, Aisha Harris
Guests: Glenn Weldon, Mark Rivers, Stephen Thompson

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour, hosts Aisha Harris, Glenn Weldon, and Stephen Thompson delve into the intriguing topic of outstanding actors who, despite their remarkable performances, have never received an Oscar nomination. The discussion highlights the systemic biases and industry challenges that prevent deserving actors from attaining this prestigious recognition. The episode features passionate debates, poignant quotes, and insightful analyses, making it a must-listen for cinema enthusiasts and aspiring actors alike.

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Pam Grier – Glenn Weldon’s Champion

Glenn Weldon kicks off the discussion by focusing on Pam Grier, a trailblazing actress renowned for her roles in blaxploitation films such as Foxy Brown, Coffee, Sheba Baby, and Friday Foster. Weldon criticizes the Academy for its narrow recognition pattern, emphasizing that while they frequently honor actors portraying "strong, underestimated women," they overlook those who break the mold with unique and diverse performances.

Glenn Weldon [04:29]: "One actor who has constantly bucked that formula and delivered performance after performance after performance. And here's my criteria. Here's the thing I think we should be rewarding actors for is if you come away from a given performance convinced that only they could play that role."

He argues that Pam Grier's individuality and relentless work ethic deserve Oscar recognition. Reflecting on her role in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, Weldon asserts that Grier was written with Oscar consideration in mind, yet the Academy failed to acknowledge her depth and agency.

Glenn Weldon [05:36]: "Justice for Pam Grier, but also justice. And I think this is gonna be a through line through everything we're saying here. Justice for any actor who isn't playing into the Academy's very narrow parameters of whatever they think is quote unquote, Oscar worthy."

John Goodman – Stephen Thompson’s Advocate

Transitioning from leading ladies to a versatile male actor, Stephen Thompson selects John Goodman as his deserving yet overlooked nominee. Goodman, widely recognized for his comedic roles on Roseanne and voice work in animated films like Monsters, Inc., has delivered memorable performances in critically acclaimed movies such as Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, and The Big Lebowski. Despite his consistent excellence, Goodman has never received an Oscar nod.

Stephen Thompson [11:05]: "John Goodman is the type of character actor who is really always terrific in everything he does, whether the thing he's in is good or terrible."

Thompson highlights Goodman's collaborations with the Coen Brothers, noting how he effortlessly transitions between lovable and menacing characters. He laments the Academy's apparent disregard for Goodman's talent, questioning why such a dynamic performer remains unrecognized.

Stephen Thompson [12:03]: "When you talk about why he wasn't nominated, Inside Llewyn Davis is a perfect example. He wasn't a big enough name. And that's one of the big problems with the Oscars, is, like, you often have to sort of prove yourself as kind of Oscars material before they'll consider you."

Oscar Isaac – Mark Rivers’ Choice

Mark Rivers brings a fresh perspective by advocating for Oscar Isaac, an actor whose performances in films like Drive, Inside Llewyn Davis, and Ex Machina have captivated audiences and critics alike. Despite his profound impact and versatility, Isaac has yet to secure an Oscar nomination.

Mark Rivers [14:24]: "Oscar Isaac is maybe the best actor of his generation. Certainly one of the best actors in his generation."

Rivers praises Isaac's ability to convey deep emotion and authenticity, particularly highlighting his role in the Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis. He points out the challenges Isaac faces within the industry, such as being typecast in major franchises like Star Wars and Dune, which may hinder his Oscar prospects.

Mark Rivers [16:07]: "He’s so electrifying. So when you look them in the eye, you have to believe that we are better. And we are. But you will never do anything as hard as staring someone straight in the eye and telling the truth."

Regina Hall – Aisha Harris’ Pick

Aisha Harris champions Regina Hall, an actress whose range spans from broad comedies like Scary Movie to nuanced dramas such as Support the Girls and Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul. Harris contends that Hall's ability to seamlessly navigate diverse roles showcases her as a prime candidate for an Oscar nomination.

Aisha Harris [18:31]: "Regina Hall should have an Oscar. Regina King has one already. Let's get the next Regina."

Harris highlights Hall's performance in Support the Girls, where her portrayal of Lisa, an exasperated restaurant manager, received acclaim from the New York Film Critics Circle, who named her the best actress of the year. Despite this recognition, the Academy overlooked her contribution, prompting Harris to call for a reevaluation of her talents.

Aisha Harris [20:35]: "She should have an Oscar for that. I also think she should have one for a Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul, which came out a few years later."

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Systemic Issues and Industry Biases

Throughout the episode, the hosts discuss the broader systemic issues that contribute to the lack of Oscar nominations for these deserving actors. They touch upon the Academy's tendency to favor certain types of performances and the challenges faced by actors from diverse backgrounds or those primarily associated with comedic roles.

Glenn Weldon [07:20]: "Are we rewarding the actor or are we rewarding their ability to conform to the kind of parameters that we are setting with our expectations of what an Academy Award performance looks like?"

The conversation underscores the need for the Academy to broaden its criteria and recognize a wider array of talents, moving beyond traditional boundaries to honor actors who bring unique and compelling performances to the screen.

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Conclusion

Pop Culture Happy Hour successfully shines a spotlight on talented actors like Pam Grier, John Goodman, Oscar Isaac, and Regina Hall, arguing fervently for their recognition by the Academy. The episode not only celebrates these performers' contributions to the film industry but also calls for a more inclusive and expansive view of what constitutes an Oscar-worthy performance. By addressing these overlooked talents, the hosts advocate for a future where excellence in acting is acknowledged regardless of genre, background, or mainstream appeal.

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Notable Quotes:

• Glenn Weldon [04:29]: "One actor who has constantly bucked that formula and delivered performance after performance after performance..."
• Stephen Thompson [11:05]: "John Goodman is the type of character actor who is really always terrific in everything he does..."
• Mark Rivers [14:24]: "Oscar Isaac is maybe the best actor of his generation..."
• Aisha Harris [18:31]: "Regina Hall should have an Oscar..."

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Listen and Share:

Support the conversation by sharing your thoughts on which actors you believe deserve an Oscar nomination. Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour on Facebook and join the discussion!

Transcript

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[Aisha Harris]

The Standard polite line for awards season goes it's an honor just to be nominated. And yet when it comes to the Oscars, there's quite a long list of great performers who have never received this honor. What gives?

[Stephen Thompson]

This is worse than Glenn Close batting O for eight. This is madness. So instead of debating winners and losers, we're going to honor some of our favorites who've been left out of the game entirely. Who should win an Oscar? Who has never even been nominated? I'm Stephen Thompson.

[Aisha Harris]

And I'm Aisha Harris. And today on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we're talking about actors who should have Oscars.

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[Aisha Harris]

Joining us today is our co host, Glenn Walden. Hello, Glenn.

[Glenn Weldon]

Hey, Aisha. I'd like to thank the Gersh Agency.

[Aisha Harris]

Thank you. And also with us is NPR producer Mark Rivers. Welcome back, Mark.

[Mark Rivers]

Hey, guys. Thanks for having me.

[Aisha Harris]

Great to have you here. So, yeah, our premise is quite simple. We're each going to make the case for a performer who's never been nominated for a competitive acting Oscar but should have at least one on their mantle by now. And the only other criteria that we have is that they have to be living and currently active in the industry. So I'm gonna save my rant for Marilyn Monroe and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes for another episode. Let's get into it now. Glenn, let's start with you. Who is your pick?

[Glenn Weldon]

Okay. Well, I kind of zeroed in on the lead actress category because only lately has the Academy kind of disabused themselves of a very annoying habit of hurling Oscars at actors portraying the same kind of people. Strong, underestimated women who are nobly suffering in the face of adversity. Julianne Moran's Still Alice, Jessica's Chastain in the eyes of Tammy Faye, Meryl Streep in the Iron Lady, Nicole Kidman in the Hours, Hilary Swank and Million Dollar Baby, Renee Zellweger and Judy Holly Hunter in the Piano. On the surface, very different movies, very different roles. But here's the thing. They aren't, though. I mean, we are slotting these women in some very similar boxes telling some very similar stories as if they're the only kinds of stories about women worth telling. One actor who has constantly bucked that formula and delivered performance after performance after performance. And here's my criteria. Here's the thing I think we should be rewarding actors for is if you come away from a given performance convinced that only they could play that role.

[Mark Rivers]

I'm on the edge of my seat here.

[Glenn Weldon]

That's why I came up with Pam Grier.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, yeah.

[Glenn Weldon]

Pam Grier, folks know, made her bones in blaxploitation films playing gorgeous badasses. Basically, Foxy Brown Coffee, Sheba in Sheba Baby and Friday Foster. And look, I'm not gonna lie, there's a sameness to those roles. Yes, there is, because there' and genre has a formula, but there is an individuality to each of those performances. There's nothing cookie cutter or pat about them. Another thing we should be rewarding actors for. You have to respect the grind Right. She puts in the work that should be rewarded. She's been in a Steven Seagal movie. She did women in prison movies. She's the best thing in Scream. Blaculous Scream.

[Mark Rivers]

Missed that one.

[Glenn Weldon]

Just recently, she was in a Pet Sematary movie. Right. And, Aisha, recently on the show, you talked about Jackie Brown.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes. Yes.

[Glenn Weldon]

Jackie Brown is the 1997 Quentin Tarantino film. She plays an LA flight attendant who smuggles money for a gun runner. I think it is widely agreed that that should have been her moment. Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

That she should have won. She should have won.

[Aisha Harris]

Absolutely.

[Glenn Weldon]

Say what you will about Quentin Tarantino and how he writes women, and there's plenty to say, but he wrote that role for her, and I don't think it's a stretch to think that he wrote it with the Academy in mind. Right. Yeah, of course. It's like all of his films. It's a pastiche. He gave her depth and vulnerability. But the important thing is not just vulnerability. Right. Cause Jackie Brown is resourceful, she's savvy. She's always looking for an angle. She makes her own agency. And I think he wanted her to come to the attention of the Academy, and she damn well should have.

[Aisha Harris]

I just came over here to talk to you, to talk the way I see.

[Glenn Weldon]

And you and me got one thing.

[Sponsor]

To talk about, one thing.

[Aisha Harris]

And that's what you are willing to do.

[Mark Rivers]

For me, the movie was on the Academy's radar, you know, I think. Oh, absolutely.

[Stephen Thompson]

Robert Forster was nominated.

[Glenn Weldon]

This is my point.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, rightfully so. He's fantastic.

[Mark Rivers]

He's great. It's a subdued and nuanced performance that's not loud and big, and it's not necessarily visually transformative the way Oscars like to go for. But what I love about Jackie Brown and what I love about that pen, Great performance, is that it's not only great in isolation, but it's calling upon that whole history of films that you talked about, Glenn, that history of black exploitations. He's bringing that to the performance in a way that elevates it and kind of transcends those past roles. But it's so grounded, it's so human. And I think maybe Helen Hunt won that year for as Good As It Gets. I haven't watched that movie since, but I've watched Jackie Brown numerous times since, and at this point, it might be my favorite. Tarantino and Pam Gray is a large. It is the biggest reason why the movie is so wonderful.

[Glenn Weldon]

Love Helen Hunt. Hate that win. And it's even more galling because again, you could tell yourself, yes, it's pulpy. It was Tarantino back in 1997. They were ignoring Tarantino, but they weren't. Now, Robert Foster, he had a long and storied career. Talk about the grind, right?

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, my gosh, the definition.

[Glenn Weldon]

He's a great addition to the movie. But as we are all saying, Pam Grier is that movie, and they completely ignored her. And I think one of the things that's come out of this discussion that we're having is are we rewarding the actor or are we rewarding their ability to conform to the kind of parameters that we are setting with our expectations of what an Academy Award performance looks like? Because if you wanted to have Pam Grier give you, like, typical lead actress performance, she can do it. She can give you indomitable, resolute, persevering. But she's Pam Grier. She can also give you sexy, badass. She can give you intelligence, defiance, resourcefulness. So justice for Pam Grier, but also justice. And I think this is gonna be a through line through everything we're saying here. Justice for any actor who isn't playing into the Academy's very narrow parameters of whatever they think is quote unquote, Oscar worthy.

[Mark Rivers]

And I think that particularly tracks when it comes to black women. Right. I think you can see the kind of roles the Academy has nominated or awarded in the past when it comes to black women, whether they're the mammy role, playing a slave, or playing some kind of servile, subservient role. Just last year, Dava and Joy Randolph won for the Holdovers. It's the kind of performance that Octavia Spencer gave in the Hill. Bur the Shape of Water.

[Aisha Harris]

Let's not go too far. I think that that is actually a very subversive, different kind of role. But we're not here to talk about that.

[Mark Rivers]

Right. I got takes on the Holdovers.

[Aisha Harris]

The last thing I will say about this is that I think that when it comes to being. To Mark's point about being a black, and especially for women, to a point especially in the 90s, it was kind of like you could say you were playing to the Academy, but really you were just playing to what was available to you. And the fact that this is a. The rare role from that era that was written with Pam Grier specifically in mind, with a black woman in mind is, I think, what makes it such a unique thing and also makes Quentin Tarantino such a fascinating, complicated figure in our filmmaking. I support this choice, Glenn. She was actually kind of in my while I was thinking about this. So I'm glad you.

[Glenn Weldon]

I actually said when we submitted names, I said Pam Grier. Unless Aisha picks.

[Aisha Harris]

I came very close. So thank you. Yes, I am all for it. Pam Grier should have an Oscar. Let's get on it. Let's get her like another role. Let's see if that happens. She's still working.

[Mark Rivers]

Please.

[Aisha Harris]

All right. Well, Steven, what is your pick? I'm very excited to hear this.

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, it's hard to find too much connective tissue between Glen's pick and mine. Except for the fact that both actors that were, I think, have been dinged by the academy because they weren't known at first as quote unquote, like serious cinematic actors. I think there is a ton of snobbery. My pick first became known as a comic actor on tv. I think has perhaps seen his Oscars pedigree suffer because of his work in kids movies. I am not talking about Jim Carrey who often turns up on lists of actors who've never been nominated for Oscars. I think he had a a similar hill to climb from a standpoint of he was known as Ace Ventura. I'm talking about John Goodman.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes.

[Stephen Thompson]

John Goodman was best known at first for playing Dan Connor, the lovable TV dad on Roseanne and he's still playing.

[Aisha Harris]

That role pretty recently.

[Stephen Thompson]

Resumed playing that role on the rebooted Roseanne and then the Conners. John Goodman spent a chunk of the 90s playing Fred Flintstone and King Ralph. He does marvelous voice work in the various Monsters Inc. Movies in the various Emperor's New Groove properties. Aisha, I know you to be a gigantic Emperor's New Groove fan, as am I.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes. Love it.

[Stephen Thompson]

But John Goodman is the type of character actor who is really always terrific in everything he does, whether the thing he's in is good or terrible. In terms of movies that feel Oscars y he is a big part of the Coen brothers movies, including perhaps his most iconic film performance.

[Glenn Weldon]

Smokey, my friend, you're entering a world of pain. Walter, man, you mark that frame and eight, you're entering a world of pain. I'm not A world of pain.

[Stephen Thompson]

Look, dude, this is her partner.

[Glenn Weldon]

Cause the whole world gone crazy.

[Stephen Thompson]

So that is John Goodman as Walter.

[Mark Rivers]

In the Big Lebowski, one of the all time comedies.

[Stephen Thompson]

Part of what has made John Goodman's film career so fascinating and so rewarding is that but because he came to film with such a deep reputation for playing lovable figures and the Coen brothers, they'd Put him in Raising Arizona before he'd taken off, like, really, really early in his career. So he'd been on their radar for ages. But one thing the Coen brothers, in particular love to do with John Goodman is bring him in and you think, oh, it's lovable John Goodman. And then you make him terrifying. And they did that in the Big Lebowski. They did that in Barton Fink. Oh, brother, where art thou? He pops up in these movies again and again, often as figures of menace. And when you talk about John Goodman, performances that should have been nominated for Oscars, you can certainly bring up the Big Lebowski, which was nominated for zero Academy Awards. But when I looked at his filmography to kind of try to pinpoint, well, he should have been nominated for this. He should have been nominated for this. What I would often see is extremely memorable performances in movies that were either too idiosyncratic, like Barton Fink, or where his role was too small. He is very often brought in to just bring a pop of something.

[Mark Rivers]

He's like the guy who kind of comes off the bench and gets you, like, 15 points, 10 rebounds, and then doesn't play for the rest of the game. You know, like, you know, he gives this iconic performance in the Big Lebowski, and I think for a lot of viewers, they would look at some of his work after that as kind of variations of that work, in the same way that performances post Jeff Bridges kind of feels like variations of the Dude.

[Glenn Weldon]

Right.

[Mark Rivers]

And there's a sense with the Coen brothers that they have this kind of, like, traveling circus of actors, you know, traveling circus of clowns, you know, and we know that Academy doesn't really take comedy that seriously or historically tends to not favor comedy well.

[Stephen Thompson]

And I think one thing that sets him apart from, for example, Jim Carrey is I don't get the feeling that there has been as much of a concerted effort in the industry to get him nominated.

[Glenn Weldon]

Exactly.

[Stephen Thompson]

Whereas Goodman is one of those people where you just wake up and you're like, how did that guy never get nominated?

[Aisha Harris]

Is like, John Goodman's brand of comedy can be broad, and Roseanne was very broad, but it was not like Jim Carrey levels of broad. Like, in the same way. And that's a much more giant leap you have to make than with John Goodman. I think John Goodman is a great pick, and again, it could so happen. At some point, a Cohen maybe will make a movie for him. We'll see. All right, Mark, what is your pick?

[Mark Rivers]

I think this person should have Three to four Oscar nominations by now. And it's not. It's the fact that we should be putting him in everything. And my pick is Oscar Isaac. Okay, maybe the best actor of his generation. Certainly one of the best actors in his generation. This is a guy I first saw in Drive from 2011, playing a very small and kind of stereotypical role. He was kind of former felon, you know, Latino, out of prison. But what I remember from that performance is not the kind of criminality aspect. It's the intimacy, the connecting that you see him do with Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan on screen. When he's gazing at you, you can just trying to connect with the other person on screen. And he really. I think the closest he came to an Oscar nomination was speaking of the Coens inside Llewyn Davis from 2013, for sure. I think this is one of the kind of great breakthrough performances that we've had in the last decade or so. It is the only time I've genuinely, genuinely cared about a Coen protagonist in a way where I felt close to this guy's pain and agony. He does his own singing in the role and the scene. Just. There's such an authenticity to this guy. I don't wanna. Don't send me off into outer.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah, but we want to go to the studio.

[Mark Rivers]

The pop up, please, into the. Into the verse. Really?

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah.

[Mark Rivers]

I think this is someone who would have flourished in the 70s and 80s with folks like Dustin Hoffman, De Niro, Pacino, where it's not less about the plot and more about reveals of character. But if he were born, then maybe his Latino ethnicity would have held him back the same way. Like, Andy Garcia didn't get the roles he did. And today someone like Oscar Isaac is forced to be blue in, like, in an X Men movie, or, you know, he's forced to be in a Disney show when you could tell what he really wants to do is stuff like a Most violent year from 2014, where.

[Aisha Harris]

He gives, like, love that movie.

[Mark Rivers]

He gives the best Al Pacino performance that Al Pacino never gave in that movie. Just, he's. He's so electrifying. So when you look them in the eye, you have to believe that we are better. And we are. But you will never do anything as hard as staring someone straight in the eye and telling the truth.

[Stephen Thompson]

I mean, Mark, you say that he was forced to give these performances. Well, he's forced to take bags and bags of money acting in Star wars movies. He's in Dune movies. He basically pivoted into a lot of big franchise work. When you talk about why he wasn't nominated, Inside Llewyn Davis is a perfect example. He wasn't a big enough name. And that's one of the big problems with the Oscars, is, like, you often have to sort of prove yourself as kind of Oscars material before they'll consider you.

[Glenn Weldon]

Well, that said, there was buzz around him for Inside Llewyn Davis. There was a very inward performance. But, you know the way the world of that movie keeps punching him in the gut. You see the weight of every blow in his face. And his whole physicality. His physicality changes over the course of that movie. He's funny in Star wars, in Ex Machina.

[Mark Rivers]

He's the best thing about Ex Machina.

[Glenn Weldon]

Of all the people we've talked about so far. I do feel, though, this. We're kind of timestamping this episode. Cause I think a nomination for this guy is inevitable in a way. I don't necessarily feel, unfortunately about the others.

[Aisha Harris]

It's interesting because I think, like, with everyone in the industry at this point has been in a Disney or Marvel, like, there's no. There are no.

[Mark Rivers]

You can't escape the mouse.

[Aisha Harris]

That's just what it is these days. He's still dabbling in these sort of like, quote, unquote, prestigey.

[Mark Rivers]

He did a movie with Paul Schrader also. He's doing those roles. But I think someone like Oscar Isaac, he needs the way Leo had Martin Scorsese. I would love someone consistently saying, oscar Isaac's my guy. I'm gonna put him in all my work the same way Brian Coogler puts Michael B. Jordan in all his work. I think someone like Isaac might need.

[Glenn Weldon]

That as a partial defense. Yes. He's in the Marvel television series Moon Knight. He's not wasting his time there. He gets to play Goofy. He gets to play. He gets to have a lot of fun in that role. Cause he's playing two roles, so.

[Mark Rivers]

But was this a good show, Glenn?

[Glenn Weldon]

It was not a good show, but it was a fun performance.

[Aisha Harris]

It's hard out here for actors.

[Mark Rivers]

It is. It is.

[Aisha Harris]

Mark, I think this is a good pick. I also agree with Glenn that it's just a matter of time before he. He gets that nomination.

[Mark Rivers]

I'm impatient, Aisha. I'm impatient.

[Aisha Harris]

We'll see. Well, for my pick, I am going with someone who kind of like actually like John Goodman. The first time that I think a lot of people noticed her. The first time I noticed her was in none other than Scary Movie, the Scary movie franchise, which is, you know, as broad as broad can be, as inappropriate, as uncouth as everything you can think of. Of course, I'm talking about Regina hall, who in Scary Movie played Brenda, who was basically the black woman in the movie, except she gets to survive. But she comments a lot, and there's a lot of references to her being a black person in the movie. It's a great role. She handles the very tacky, just, like, tasteless jokes so perfectly well. And it plants the seed for what Regina hall can do. She can do everything. She can do the broadest comedy possible, but she can also do the dramas and the nuance and all of the layers of her character. The shot that I would have loved to have seen her have is to get nominated for the 2018 film Support the Girls.

[Glenn Weldon]

Ah, yes, yes.

[Aisha Harris]

Written and directed by Andrew Bujkowski. I was shocked kind of that she didn't get a nomination for this. Because, of course, Glenn, as you were saying, oftentimes with women, especially black women, there's this need for them to be suffering to the utmost degree. This is not that kind of movie. But it is the kind of role that does occasionally get nominated if you're a white actress. She plays Lisa, an exasperated manager of a restaurant sports bar. She basically has to deal with all of the little annoyances and challenges at work and in her personal life. Her boss is bad at his job. Her employees each have their own dramas going on, and she's kind of like the mother hen. And she's also in the process of separating from her aimless husband. And I feel like if she were to be nominated for an Oscar, this is the scene that would be playing when they're like. And Regina hall, am I not trying hard enough? Tell me if you need me to sit on the couch and be sad with you sometimes, then maybe I should do that. Sad dudes is my business. You know, I'm not afraid of saying, I didn't say you were my customer room. But at least they try. They try to enjoy themselves. You know, maybe that's the difference. So she's talking to her aimless husband, exasperated. So, ugh, she's not yelling in that scene. She's not, like, crying heavily. And that. This is not that kind of movie. It's a movie where, like, she's got to go from point A to point B. She has to deal with all these different little fires and the way she just, like, is able to both seem like, you know, a boss lady, but also someone who's, like, slowly unraveling because everything around her is going up in flames. And who also just, like, cares for other people. Now, the New York Film Critics Circle named Hall the best actress of that year. And sadly, she was the first black woman to win that award. That's a whole other thing to, you know, talk about. And the Oscar nomins for that year included Olivia Colman, who won for the favorite.

[Mark Rivers]

Okay, Defendable.

[Aisha Harris]

She was great. I liked some of the performances in that batch of Oscar nominees, but I just think that it's the type of role that you don't usually see black women getting and doing. She should have an Oscar for that. I also think she should have one for a Honk for Jesus, Save her Soul, which came out a few years later. I didn't think it was quite as successful as Support the Girls, but I do think she is playing a completely different kind of character. The first lady of a Southern Baptist megachurch whose pastor husband is embroiled in a sex scandal. And the way that she also just, like, has to keep it in, but is also slowly unraveling in this, like, very, like, weird satire. Regina hall, she should have an Oscar. Regina King has one already. Let's get the next Regina.

[Mark Rivers]

Let's get Regina's in. Ayesha, I'm so glad you mentioned Regina Hall. You know, I've loved her ever since Scary Movie. I think she's by far the funniest thing in those movies.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes, yes.

[Mark Rivers]

And like you said about support, the movie does not raise its voice until the very end. And I think also one of the great final endings in, like, recent years.

[Aisha Harris]

Literally. Literally.

[Mark Rivers]

Yeah, literally. It's the kind of role that, you know, maybe you could have put her in a Sean Baker film, you know, or something where that would get recognized, where it's just very ordinary and it's very approachable, but we haven't given her enough chances to show just what she can do. Like, I think she just has such beautiful range. She's just such an authentic presence on screen. And Support the Girls. Great movie. And should have gotten more attention.

[Glenn Weldon]

Should have gotten more attention because it is an Oscar worthy performance according. Because you can only imagine her in that role. I mean, I'm always gonna pull for actors who come from comedy. She put in her time, as you mentioned, Scary Movie, she didn't get a statue, but she got a meme. Scary Movie made her a meme.

[Mark Rivers]

And these days, memes are almost as important.

[Glenn Weldon]

Exactly. You know, she grounded girls trip in kind of doing that. Same way. She can go broad. She can be the still presence in the chaos without being boring, right? Without being a stick in the mud. And that film girls trip, great film. Needs grounding, needs some presence like hers that can bridge the gap. She's great.

[Aisha Harris]

Well support Regina, support these picks that we all talked about. I think they are all worthy of Oscars. You should definitely let us know what actor you think should have an Oscar. Find [e-mail] PCHH that brings us to the end of our show. Mark Rivers, Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon, thanks so much for being here. This was very, very fun.

[Mark Rivers]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Aisha Harris]

And just a reminder, signing up for Pop Culture Happy Hour plus is a fantastic way to support our show in public radio. And you get to listen to all of our episodes sponsor free. Please go find out [e-mail] happyaour or visit the link in our show notes. This episode was produced by Liz Metzger and edited by Mike Katseff. Our supervising producer is Jessica Reedy and hello, Come in provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to welcome back to Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr. I'm Ayesha Harris and we'll see you all next time.

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