2015 Oscars: What’s In An Age?

Thanks to AW forum member stage_star for this rundown of age stats for this year (and last year’s) nominees.

BEST DIRECTOR

Oldest nominee: Richard Linklater, age 51 (last year: Martin Scorsese, age 71)

Youngest nominee: Wes Anderson, age 45 (last year: Steve McQueen, age 44)

Average age: 49 (last year: 55)

Returning winners: – None

Returning nominees:  Alejandro G. Iñarritu, Bennett Miller

First time directing nominees with previous nomination in other categories: Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater (both in writing)

Newcomers: Morten Tyldum
[divider]
BEST ACTOR

Oldest nominee: Michael Keaton, age 63 (last year: Bruce Dern, age 77)

Youngest nominee: Eddie Redmayne, age 33 (last year: Chiwetel Ejiofor, age 36)

Average age: 45 (last year: 47)

Returning winners: – None

Returning nominees:  Bradley Cooper

Newcomers: Steve Carell, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Keaton, Eddie Redmayne
[divider]
BEST ACTRESS

Oldest nominee: Julianne Moore, age 54 (last year: Judi Dench, age 79)

Youngest nominee: Felicity Jones, age 31 (last year: Amy Adams, age 39)

Average age: 39 (last year: 55)

Returning winners: Marion Cotillard, Reese Witherspoon

Returning nominees:  Julianne Moore

Newcomers: Felicity Jones, Rosamund Pike
[divider]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Oldest nominee: Robert Duvall, age 84 (last year: Judi Dench, age 79)

Youngest nominee: Ethan Hawke, age 44 (last year: Amy Adams, age 39)

Average age: 56 (last year: 35)

Returning winners: Robert Duvall

Returning nominees:  Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo

Newcomers: J. K. Simmons
[divider]
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Oldest nominee: Meryl Streep, age 65 (last year: June Squibb, age 84)

Youngest nominee: Emma Stone, age 26 (last year: Jennifer Lawrence, age 23)

Average age: 42 (last year: 44)

Returning winners: Meryl Streep

Returning nominees:  Laura Dern, Keira Knightley

Newcomers: Patricia Arquette, Emma Stone

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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