Ralph Fiennes has carved a reputation as one of the greatest actors of a generation, and has been part of both some of the world’s biggest franchises – as M during the last movies of Daniel Craig’s James Bond tenure, and Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies – and quieter independent and intimate movies, such as his newest Oscar contender, Conclave . However, he has never managed to secure an Oscar for his work, and a bizarre bit of misinformation among Academy voters could prevent him from finally receiving his dues at this year’s ceremony.

According to Variety, at least two separate members have admitted to not voting for Fiennes, who is nominated this year in the Best Actor category for his role in Conclave, and has already landed several wins for the part during awards season. While this is not unusual in itself, the reason they did not put an X in Fiennes’ box is because they mistakenly believed that he has won the award before. Although the actor did receive nods for his roles in 1993’s Schindler’s List and 1996’s The English Patient, he was pipped to the post by Tommy Lee Jones and Geoffrey Rush, respectively.

The anonymous ballot conversations are obviously just that, so we will never know who is voting for actors based on whether they believe they have won before, but after being corrected about Fiennes’ lack of statuette ownership, one of those interviewed very rightly responded by saying, “Oh sh*t.” What possibly makes the mistake even more bizarre is that the same pair voted for Adrien Brody for his role in The Brutalist, despite him previously winning Best Actor for The Pianist back in 2002.

Like so much else in the entertainment industry, the Academy Awards rely on one of the most fickle and inconsistent things out there: opinion. Academy members voting for the awards make their decisions based on who they feel deserves a win, which film ticks certain boxes that may not have to do with the quality of the acting or the crafting of a good story, and potentially the outside influence of events that have no connection to the end product itself.

The kind of oversight that has been revealed in relation to Fiennes in the eyes of two voters could be something that is more widespread among those making the ultimate decision of who walks away with the biggest prize in cinema. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences comprises professionals who have dedicated their lives to film, but that doesn’t mean they are not fallible. In the end, should an actor’s previous wins have any kind of bearing on how their latest nomination is viewed? Probably not, but when a decision comes down to individuals, then those are the kind of factors that begin to creep in.

Regardless of who does win the award on Sunday night, there will be a fallout the following morning from the public who believe that someone else was more deserving, the winners won for the wrong reasons, and many other rumblings of discourse that will all be forgotten by the time next year’s ceremony arrives to rinse and repeat the process.

Source: Variety