Oscar Season Embraces “Difficult” Characters Over Likable Heroes

For decades, Oscar campaigns have thrived on likability. Whether it’s Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump or Diane Keaton in Annie Hall, audiences and Academy voters alike have often gravitated toward characters who are lovable—or at least charmingly villainous. But this year’s crop of nominees is shifting the narrative, spotlighting performances that lean into complexity, discomfort, and outright unlikability.

A Break From Tradition

Historically, actors portraying real-life figures have enjoyed an advantage, thanks to the built-in admiration for icons like Freddie Mercury, Winston Churchill, or Judy Garland. Suffering and resilience have also been reliable pathways to empathy. Yet, this year’s nominees include characters who resist easy sympathy, challenging audiences to engage with nuance rather than comfort.

Notable Performances

• Emma Stone in Bugonia plays a cold corporate CEO whose kidnapping ordeal undermines any baseline sympathy.
• Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You portrays a mother whose decisions consistently feel wrong, even as she cares for a sick child.
• Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme embodies a self-destructive young man whose flaws spark debate over whether he’s too toxic to root for.
• Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon refuses to glorify his subject, Lorenz Hart, presenting him as witty but wheedling.
• Stellan Skarsgård in Sentimental Value plays a selfish father whose reconciliation with his children feels incomplete.
• Teyana Taylor in One Battle After Another portrays a revolutionary who betrays comrades and abandons her child, complicating her charisma.

Even supporting roles, like Amy Madigan’s witchy Aunt Gladys in Weapons, avoid the allure of charismatic villainy, opting instead for unsettling realism.

Shifting Standards

Male actors have historically had more leeway to play flawed or morally ambiguous characters. Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) and Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) both won Oscars for roles that were far from heroic. Female nominees, however, have often been rewarded for playing real-life icons, ingenues, or sympathetic underdogs. This year’s lineup challenges that pattern, with Jessie Buckley’s portrayal of Agnes Shakespeare standing out as a prickly yet powerful contender.

What It Means for the Oscars

The rise of “difficult” characters may reflect a broader cultural appetite for nuance. Audiences are less enthralled by star power alone and more willing to embrace performances that defy traditional heroism. For actors like Chalamet and Stone, this shift allows them to showcase range by undermining their natural charisma.

Ultimately, this year’s Oscar season demonstrates that unlikable characters can still deliver performances that are deeply compelling—and, paradoxically, easy to admire.