John Williams is now the oldest person nominated for an Oscar – and other feats from this year’s nods

Last Updated on February 8, 2023

When the Academy Award nominations were announced earlier this week, John Williams became the oldest person ever nominated for a competitive Oscar. At 90, the composer earned his 53rd nomination for his The Fabelmans score. Oh, and that 53rd nod means Williams broke his own record for most Oscar nominations for a living person, something he’s been doing for years now.

Adding to John Williams’ Oscar accomplishments, he currently has the second most nominations of anyone in history, behind only Walt Disney’s 59 (and 22 wins, exponentially higher than Williams’ five). And now that Williams has announced he’s not retiring, there’s a chance to nudge even closer to that number.

Tying into The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg also broke his own Oscar record as the only director to be nominated in six different decades, a feat he set with last season’s West Side Story. He also tied Martin Scorsese as the second most nominated director (first place remains William Wyler). Of note, this is the first time in a decade that Steven Spielberg and John Williams earned Oscar nods for the same movie. The Fabelmans’ Judd Hirsch didn’t set any records but was close on two fronts: at 87, he’s the second-oldest acting nominee ever (behind Christopher Plummer) and he has one of the longest gaps between nominations (Katharine Hepburn holds the record, with the first and last coming from 1933 and 1981 films).

In addition to John Williams and Steven Spielberg, another notable returnee also broke their own Oscar record. Diane Warren earned her 14th nod (Best Original Song)–and while this does place her even higher on the list of most nominated for the category, it’s more noteworthy that she has extended her streak of most nominations without, presumably, a single win (she is likely to lose to RRR’s “Naatu Naatu”).

On the acting front, Angela Bassett became the first member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be nominated in any acting category; she is currently the favorite to take home the Best Supporting Actress statue. Another Oscar record came when four Asian performers were nominated in acting categories, three of which are from potential Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All at Once.

After setting the Oscar record for the oldest nominee, do you think John Williams has a chance to win his sixth Academy Award? Could Steven Spielberg win his third Best Director Oscar? Let us know your predictions below!