These stars already want you to know it's an honor just to be nominated.
After Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid announced the 2024 Academy Award nominations during a Jan. 23 ceremony, several of those recognized shared their heartfelt responses—including Robert Downey, Jr., who scored a Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination for Oppenheimer.
"Waking up to all of these nominations for Christopher Nolan and his many talented collaborators is an absolute delight," the 58-year-old said in a statement. "It's been the honor of a lifetime to be part of the cinematic masterpiece that is Oppenheimer, and it's a privilege to be an Academy member nominated alongside such esteemed company."
Robert's Best Supporting Actor nod was just one of several nominations Oppenheimer scored—which also include Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Cinematography. (Check out the full list of nominees here.)
Likewise, Emma Stone also celebrated her nod for Best Actress in Poor Things.
"11 nominations for Poor Things feels like a surreal dream," the actress, who previously won the award for La La Land in 2016, said in a statement. "I am beyond grateful to the Academy for including me as both an actress and producer among this group of exceptional nominees and for recognizing our film in so many categories."
In addition to congratulating the fellow nominees for the Yorgos Lanthimos film, she expressed her gratitude for the experience playing her unique character.
"I am forever thankful for the opportunity to play Bella and see the world through her eyes," she continued. "She has shown me that life is so much more than just sugar and violence. And to Lily [Gladstone], Carey [Mulligan], Sandra [Hüller], and Annette [Bening]. It's the biggest honor just to be in your company."
And although Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig were snubbed for Oscars nominations in the Best Actress and Best Director categories respectively, Barbie has dominated through award season—with the film itself earning a Best Picture nod.
In fact, at the Golden Globes Jan. 7, Barbie took home the brand-new award for Cinematic Box Office Achievement—beating out Taylor Swift's Eras Tour film and Oppenheimer—as well as Best Original Song for Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?"
Meanwhile, Cillian Murphy and Robert are continuing a streak—both also taking home Golden Globes for their Oppenheimer performances, while Christopher Nolan picked up his first Best Director award. The biopic also walked away with the Best Motion Picture, Drama Golden Globe.
But there is still a little over a month until the honorees find out who will take home the hardware at film's biggest night. The 96th Oscars ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air March 10 at 7 p.m. EST on ABC.
In the meantime, keep reading to see the stars' heartfelt reactions to their nominations below.
Emma Stone, Best Actress in a Leading Role
“11 nominations for Poor Things feels like a surreal dream. I am beyond grateful to the Academy for including me as both an actress and producer among this group of exceptional nominees and for recognizing our film in so many categories. Congratulations to Mark [Ruffalo], Tony [McNamara], Robbie [Ryan], Holly [Waddington], Blackfish, Nadia [Stacey] & Mark [Coulier], Jerskin [Fendrix], Shona [Heath], James [Price], Szusza [sic] [Zsuzsa Mihalek], Andrew [Lowe], Ed [Guiney], and the captain of our ship, Yorgos Lanthimos on their nominations, as well as Searchlight Pictures and all of those in front of and behind the camera who brought this film to life. The team of artists who contributed to Poor Things gave it everything and I am forever thankful for the opportunity to play Bella and see the world through her eyes. She has shown me that life is so much more than just sugar and violence. And to Lily [Gladstone], Carey [Mulligan], Sandra [Hüller], and Annette [Bening]. It’s the biggest honor just to be in your company.”
Lily Gladstone, Best Actress in a Leading Role
"I am so deeply grateful to the Academy for this unparalleled honor. It has been a great blessing in and of itself to be a working actor at all, and to get to tell a story like Killers of the Flower Moon is beyond wha tI could have ever hoped for. I both share and owe this moment ot the incomparable Martin Scorsese, who honored the voices and wishes of the OSage Nation with such fortitude, and to my gracious and legendary costars Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, and especially Leonardo DiCaprio. His immense, exceptional talent and heart made this possible, I am forever a proud and grateful friend. I also want to acknowledge the rest of the amazing cast and crew that I was lucky enough to work with, including so many talented Osage and Indigenous artists, activists, leaders and storytellers. Indigenous excellence shaped this magnificent film, both in front of and behind the camera, at all levels of production. It's all the more sweet to get to share this honor with legendary Six Nations Cayuga and Mohawk musician Robbie Robertson, Osage Nation composer Scott George, Marty, Bob, Thelma Schoonmaker, Jacqueline West, Rodrigo Prieto, Jack Fisk and all who were a part of bringing this difficult and necessary story to fruition on such a masterful scale. A heartfelt congratulations to Annette, Sandra, Carey and Emma—you are all astounding and inspire me endlessly—I struggle to believe I'm in your company. To each of these humans, I say Iitaamiiksistsikomiit."
Danielle Brooks, Best Actress in a Supporting Role
“My heart is so full from the Academy’s recognition for my work as Sofia. It’s one thing to dream of this occasion but to have it actually happen is mind blowing. This role demanded a lot from me mentally and physically because of the emotional complexity Sofia carries, but I would do it over and over again in a heartbeat because the importance of this character is so crucial to humanity, to who we all are, to learning to stand up for ourselves and get back up when the world pushes us down. What I love about playing Sofia is how she taught me that I am worthy, and I hope others can relate to that as well because we all deserve to feel like we have a place in this world. It’s been a journey to get to this moment: from being at Juilliard scraping pennies together to take the subway to any local theatre audition I could get, to playing this role on Broadway and being Tony nominated, to auditioning for this film then having Ms. Oprah pass the baton to me, and to now being Oscar nominated. I am overcome with happiness and gratitude. I stand on the shoulders of every incredible person that worked on this film and am extremely grateful to the Academy for this honor.”
America Ferrera, Best Actress in a Supporting Role
"I’m stunned and so moved to be nominated among the brilliant artists who have done beautiful and important work this year. And I’m so proud to get to bring Latiné representation to this year’s Academy Awards, along with my fellow Latiné nominees. May the diversity of voices acknowledged by the Academy continue to grow! I’m thrilled to celebrate my phenomenal Barbie family and all their achievements. Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie made history and raised the bar with Barbie. The cultural and industry impact they’ve achieved will be felt for generations and I’m so thankful to them for asking me to be a part of it."
Robert Downey Jr., Best Actor in a Supporting Role
“Waking up to all of these nominations for Christopher Nolan and his many talented collaborators is an absolute delight. It’s been the honor of a lifetime to be part of the cinematic masterpiece that is Oppenheimer, and it's a privilege to be an Academy member nominated alongside such esteemed company.”
Cillian Murphy, Best Actor in a Leading Role
“It’s very, very humbling," the 47-year-old actor told the New York Times. "I’m kind of a little in shock. It’s just a real honor to be involved in a film that has connected so powerfully with people in a way that we never expected."
Jeffrey Wright, Best Actor in a Leading Role
"My thanks to the Academy for this recognition not only of my work, Cord [Jefferson]’s, Sterling [K. Brown]’s and Laura [Karpman]'s but the work of everyone who poured their talent into our film. We did this together. We loved making American Fiction. We thought it might be special. To be included among the other nominees this year is a beautiful acknowledgment of our efforts to make it so. And thank you to MRC, T-Street and Orion/Amazon/MGM for walking the walk with us, so that our film could be made, seen and touch others the way it touched us. 'Let them love all of you.'"
Bradley Cooper, Best Actor in a Leading Role
“We are all so grateful to be recognized along all of these incredible works of art this year. And the performances from every actor who I so admire. Thank you to Jamie, Alex & Nina Bernstein for allowing their parents’ story to be out there in the world and thank you to the Academy. We are very honored to be included.”
Mark Ruffalo, Best Actor in a Supporting Role
"I have the unbelievable privilege of making movies as a job. To be recognized by The Academy among the best is an honor that exceeds all one's expectations as an actor. Thank you to our brilliant filmmaker, Yorgos [Lanthimos] and thank you to the audiences who gave this film a chance. Congratulations to my Poor Things family for all the love today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Paul Giamatti, Best Actor in a Leading Role
"I'm genuinely flabbergasted by this morning's news. It's such an incredible honor to be acknowledged by the Academy like this. And such an amazing thrill to be a part of such a wonderful Hollywood tradition. I'm so happy for this beautiful film, for the entire cast and incredible crew, for the great folks at Focus, for our producer Mark Johnson, writer David Hemingson, and my Holdovers family, Da'Vine [Joy Randolph] and Dominic [Sessa]. Alexander Payne has been an incredible friend and collaborator, and I will be forever grateful to him for giving me the kind of role every actor hopes to play. My love and thanks to everyone!"
Robert De Niro, Best Actor in a Supporting Role
“It was a privilege and a joy to work with Marty Scorsese, Leo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and the full cast and crew of Killers of the Flower Moon. It was also a mission for us. We committed to honestly and sensitively representing the history and spirit of the Osage People. To Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear and the entire Osage Nation, thank you for trusting us with your story.”
Martin Scorcese, Best Director
“It’s deeply gratifying to receive this recognition from the Academy, for myself and for so many of my collaborators on Killers of the Flower Moon. It was a remarkable experience to make this picture, to work together with the Osage community to tell the story of a genuine American tragedy, hidden in the shadows of official culture for far too long. I only wish that Robbie Robertson had lived to see his work recognized—our many years of friendship and Robbie’s growing consciousness of his own Native heritage played a crucial role in my desire to get this film onscreen.”
Emily Blunt, Best Actress in a Supporting Role
“I’m completely overcome and overjoyed! Weak legged and immensely grateful for this moment. It goes without saying that this staggering film has changed my life. Colossal congratulations to my OppenHomies who ALL blew the doors off the place in their fields—we are a family in this so to raise a glass alongside my friends is a euphoric feeling indeed.”
Annette Bening, Best Actress in a Leading Role
"I’m thrilled and over the moon with excitement to be nominated for an Academy Award alongside my partner in the film, NYAD, Jodie Foster. Onward!!!"
Colman Domingo, Best Actor in a Leading Role
“To be amplified for my work for portraying this American Hero is everything to me. When my name is called, so is Bayard Rustin’s. What an extraordinary honor. My heart is bursting with joy.”
Jon Batiste, Best Original Song
“Thank you to the Academy for recognizing "It Never Went Away." Making music is an act of survival. There was a stretch of time during which my wife Suleika [Jaouad] was in the hospital and we weren't sure she'd make it. This song began as a lullaby, so she could have a restful aura in the hospital room. Congratulations to my co-writer, Dan Wilson, and thank you to Netflix, Mercury Studios, Higher Ground and our brilliant director, Matthew Heineman, for sharing our story with the world. We are grateful to be surrounded by love.”
Jodie Foster, Best Actress in a Supporting Role
"Wowza! I couldn’t be more proud and thrilled for our foursome today. Hooting alongside Annette [Bening] (my partner in crime) and Diana Nyad and Bonnie Stoll who inspired it all. This definitely beats swimming in shark infested water!”
Carey Mulligan, Best Actress in a Leading Role
"We poured so much love and joy into Maestro. I’m brimming with gratitude today and huge pride for the rest of the maestro team! Thank you to Bradley [Cooper] for handing me this gift of a role and an experience. I fiddled with Felicia's lighter all morning, keeping the point of all of this close to my heart. I’m so grateful to the Academy—we are going to have the best time ever dressing up and paying tribute to this extraordinary couple."
Celine Song, Best Original Screenplay
“Thank you so much to the Academy for this tremendous recognition — it’s such an unbelievable honor. I am overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude. And for my first film—crazy. Some of the experience working on a debut film is secretly questioning if you belong, if people will support your vision. It has been equal parts scary and rewarding to make this film and release it into the world. It is with immense gratitude to those who championed my vision that I now get to be among these giants of screenwriting. Congratulations to my amazing producers–Christine [Vachon], David [Hinojosa] and Pamela [Koffler]–and A24 for nurturing this film and working tirelessly for it. And thank you to our incredible cast—Greta [Lee], Teo [Yoo] and John [Magaro], our film would not exist without you. There’s an Eastern concept in our film called In-Yun, which is the miraculous connection and love we have with each other just by being in the same place at the same time. It’s the result of thousands of lives we’ve shared before this one. Our entire filmmaking team felt this deeply while making Past Lives. Today’s news makes me feel like many of our filmmaking peers felt the same way. Thank you.”
J.A. Bayona, Best International Feature
“We are so grateful to the Academy for recognizing Society of the Snow with two wonderful nominations today. We are happy to be able to tell this story that, through the power of cinema, aims to show how, in the worst moments, we can give the best of ourselves. I share the Best International Film nomination with the entire Spanish film industry, our Uruguayan, Argentinean and Chilean crew and all the human group behind the society of the snow. Like the Andes odyssey, it has been a collective effort. I share the joy with all of them. Vamo' arriba!”
Matthew Libatique, Best Cinematography
"This is an honor that will never get old. Thank you to all my fellow cinematographers in the Academy for bestowing this high honor. Thank you to the intrepid crew of Maestro and most of all thank you to Bradley Cooper for bringing me aboard this beautiful journey."
Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik, Best Original Screenplay
“We are shocked and deeply moved, thank you to the Academy! This means so much coming from the writer’s branch which surely contains every one of our heroes. We are forever indebted to Todd Haynes for his mastery and singular vision. Thank you to Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton who brought these characters to life with such nuance and vulnerability. Thank you also to our wonderful producers Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Sophie Mas, Christine Vachon & Pam Koffler, the entire cast and crew, and Netflix who has championed the film with such love and care. We’re gonna go celebrate with a thick, sweet, dry slice of coconut cake.”
David Hemingson, Best Original Screenplay
“I am thrilled and honored to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay alongside so many amazing films. I’m overjoyed for my good friends and fellow Holdovers, Paul Giamatti, Da’vine Joy Randolph and Kevin Tent. All love and glory to our director, the brilliant Alexander Payne, who made this dream a reality and without whom none of this would have happened. Dominic Sessa: you are a young genius with perfect hair, and I love you. Thanks to Mark Johnson, Focus Features and Miramax, and massive thanks to the Academy for warmly embracing our story of three broken people, stranded on a snowy island, who find love and form a family.”
Misan Harriman, Best Live Action Short
“Words cannot describe how incredibly happy we are! David [Oyelowo], Nicky [Bentham] and I would like to thank the Academy for recognizing this film. We also want to thank our team who all played their part in this labour of love and finally Netflix for giving us the opportunity and platform to reach so many people through the magic of film. Through this film we hope to share the message that it's ok not to be ok.”
Edward Lachman, Best Cinematography
“I am so appreciative that my crew, Pablo Larraín, Fabula Productions, and Netflix have been honored with this recognition for all of our work.”
Jonathan Glazer and James Wilson, Best Picture
“Thank you to the Academy for recognizing The Zone of Interest. We’re humbled by these five nominations. Thank you on behalf of everyone in Poland, Germany and the UK who came together over the nine years it took. Especially Ewa Puszczynska, our producer partner in Poland where the film was shot. To A24, Film4, Access and the Polish Film Institute who walked the walk throughout. To Dr. Piotr Cywinski and all at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum who were so collaborative. The film is trying to ask questions about modern humanity and empathy. Whether there are people over our wall now, as a group, whose safety or freedom we care about less than our own. We’re grateful to the Academy for giving it such visibility.”
Johnnie Burn and Tarn Willers, Best Sound
"This is such an extraordinary moment in my life to be honored by the Academy. Three years ago, Jonathan Glazer said to me we are going to make a film about the Holocaust but we are only ever going to hear the atrocities, and never go inside the camp. To be honest, I panicked at the responsibility and thought he was mad. I am so grateful to Jonathan, Jim Wilson, Ewa Puszczyńska, A24, Film4 and Access for their faith in the sound, and I really couldn't have done this without Simon Carroll, Brendan Feeney, and Max Behrens and all at Wave Studios. But mostly I am so very happy that more people will get to see the movie and its powerful message.” —Johnnie Burn
“I am thrilled to receive this nomination! I’m delighted and at the same time humbled that our work has been recognized in such a way. This nomination of course extends to Mateusz Stasiak, Jimi Ogden and Fillip Sulima, and my team whose work and creative ideas made this possible. And thank you to Jonathan Glazer, Jim Wilson, Ewa Puszczyńska, A24, Film4 and Access for their dedication to this important film.” —Tarn Willers