Oscars 2021 – live: Winners, acceptance speeches and highlights from the Academy Awards

Chloé Zhao wins Best Director while Frances McDormand earns Best Actress prize

Chloe Zhao first woman of colour to win Best Director

Road movie Nomadland won the top prize at the 93rd Academy Awards, which fulfilled many expectations but threw in a couple of surprise wins in an unusual ceremony.

The film’s director Chloe Zhao also made history, becoming the first woman of colour to win the award for directing, and the second woman in history — and the film scooped the Best Actress prize for its star Frances McDormand.

Sir Anthony Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar — his first since The Silence of the Lambs in 1992 — for his performance in The Father, about a man slipping into dementia, defeating presumptive favourite Chadwick Boseman, who died last year aged 43 following a private four-year battle with colon cancer.

Daniel Kaluuya, who was born in London to Ugandan parents, is the first black British winner of the best Supporting Actor prize for his turn as community organiser and member of the Black Panther Party Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah.

There were a number of surprise wins. David Fincher’s Mank led the pack with 10 nominations, but ultimately won two.

Due to coronavirus, the Oscars moved out of their usual venue, the Dolby Theatre, and were based out of Los Angeles’s Union Station instead. The ceremony’s format was overhauled too, with attendees observing social distancing and some joining via video link from other parts of the world.

Nomadland had been a favourite to win Best Picture; it fulfilled that expectation, beating The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Minari, Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal, and The Trial of the Chicago 7.

Minari actor Youn Yuh-jung also won over the crowd in her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress, which was presented to her by Brad Pitt. “Mr Brad Pitt, finally, nice to meet you!” she told him after making her way onto the stage. She then proceeded to acknowledge the ways in which her name has been mispronounced throughout the awards season, telling the crowd: “Tonight, you are all forgiven.”

With her win, Youn became the first Korean actor to take home an Academy Award.

• Full list of winners
• Best-dressed stars on the red carpet
• Daniel Kaluuya’s mum steals show with embarrassed reaction
• Chloé Zhao becomes first woman of colour to win Best Director

Follow our liveblog for highlights from the ceremony and the buzz-worthy aftermath.

[25 April 2021 05:00 · Annabel Nugent]

While the Oscars are designed to celebrate the best of cinema, sometimes the greatest go unrewarded.

It feels egregious that the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal, Marilyn Monroe, Jessica Chastain, James Dean and John Goodman haven’t been feted with the prestigious accolade.

Here are 37 actors who you won’t believe have never won an Academy Award.

[25 April 2021 06:00 · Annabel Nugent]

“Judas is elevated to greatness by its performances, particularly those of Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield” writes Louis Chilton.

Shaka King’s potent historical drama Judas and the Black Messiah is one of eight contestants in the Best Picture race.

[25 April 2021 07:00 · Annabel Nugent]

In a missive sent around to this year’s Oscar nominees, stars were told to“read the room” when delivering speeches at the Academy Awards this month. Translation: Get off the stage before the orchestra is forced to awkwardly play you out.

Some actors, however, know that not every story needs to be so long and that brevity is an undervalued quality.

From Joe Pesci to Patty Duke, these actors and their speeches (some consisting of five words or less) definitely left us wanting more. This year’s nominees, take note.

[25 April 2021 08:00 · Annabel Nugent]

Happy Oscars day! It’s finally here – and you can follow along with every update right here on the live blog.

In the UK, viewers will be able to watch the ceremony live on Sky Cinema’s Oscars channel, starting at 1:00am.

You can also stream the ceremony online through NOW.

The Oscars usually last around three hours, although the exact duration varies depending on the length of acceptance speeches and other segments.

[25 April 2021 09:00 · Annabel Nugent]

The Best Picture category this year is especially crowded, featuring a number of films worthy of taking home the big prize.

Among them is Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal. Despite receiving six nods, the film – about a small-time noise-punk drummer who suddenly loses his hearing – is an underdog in today’s race.

A conspicuous absence in the Best Director category stalks its chances like a black dog; only five films across the Oscars’ 93-year history have taken home Best Picture without receiving a directing nomination too.

As part of our Battle for Best Picture series, Annabel Nugent puts forward her case for why Sound of Metal should beat the odds.

[25 April 2021 10:00 · Annabel Nugent]

Every year, Oscar conversation quickly comes to revolve around the same perennially snubbed faces, from Glenn Close to Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams.

To unpack the controversy, Adam White speaks to superfans and awards experts.

“Give Amy Adams her Oscar,” he implores.

[25 April 2021 11:00 · Annabel Nugent]

UK viewers won’t be watching the Oscars until 1:00am – so there’s plenty of time for a Best Picture marathon.

Here you can find a full list of every Academy Award-winning film. Not including La La Land.

Ahead of the awards ceremony, take your pick from the best of the best and settle in for a day of critically acclaimed binging.

[25 April 2021 11:04 · Roisin O'Connor]

Hello! Welcome back to the Oscars liveblog, I’m your temporary* host for today until our dedicated film team take over this evening, for the actual ceremony.

A reminder:

The 93d Academy Awards begin at 1am UK time on Monday 26 April.

This year’s ceremony is taking place two months later than usual, after the awards season was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In the UK, you’ll be able to watch the Oscars live from Sky Cinema’s dedicated Oscars channel, and also on Sky Cinema’s sister service Now (formerly Now TV).

[25 April 2021 11:27 · Roisin O'Connor]

“The films nominated this year – the budget may be small, but in terms of storytelling, the scale is huge. They really are emotionally sweeping films,” says the producer Kathy Benz. InMinari andNomadland, hope is cradled within the wide expanse of the American plains. InJudas and the Black Messiah, it lies in the hands of the people. And, in Benz’s film,Sound of Metal, a drummer with sudden hearing impairment rediscovers himself thanks to the love and support of the deaf community. In a year shaped by instability and uncertainty, Benz says that it’s been an opportunity for “reflection for all of us, industry and audience”. As a result, 2021’s Best Picture nominees capture the spirit of change.

Read our film critic Clarisse Loughrey’s take on the Oscars here:

[25 April 2021 11:50 · Roisin O'Connor]

“A win for Chadwick Boseman would be a triumph at the Oscars for Black artists,” writes our columnist Micha Frazer-Carroll.

“Protests against white, male-dominated lists of nominees had become deafening, and the Academy had no option but to recognise women and artists of colour. But it still has more to do.”