The Unlikable Character Takes Center Stage in Oscar Season 2026
This year's Oscar season has witnessed a remarkable shift in the types of performances garnering Academy attention. Traditionally, acting Oscars have favored characters who are either lovable or lovably hateable, but the 2026 nominations showcase a harder-to-love group of spiky, difficult personalities that defy conventional standards of likability.
Breaking from Tradition: A New Breed of Oscar Contenders
Historically, Oscar winners have fallen into two broad categories: those portraying fascinatingly bad behavior, such as Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs or JK Simmons in Whiplash, and those embodying sheer delight through lovable characters, like Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump or Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love. This year's nominations, however, present a stronger-than-usual strain of characters who actively resist easy audience sympathy.
While there are still traditional rooting interests among the nominees—Michael B. Jordan brings charm to his dual gangster roles in Sinners, and Benicio del Toro's even-keeled activist in One Battle After Another remains highly lovable—the standout performances often feature characters who challenge viewer affection.
The Likability Factor in Oscar Campaigns
The importance of likability in Oscar campaigns parallels its significance in political races, with performers essentially campaigning twice: for themselves as actors and for their characters as part of cinematic legacy. This dynamic has long fueled the trend of awards going to actors portraying real-life figures, where the extra rooting interest comes from embodying already-admired individuals like Freddie Mercury, Winston Churchill, or Judy Garland.
Gender disparities persist in this arena, with male actors enjoying more leeway to play unsympathetic characters. Recent winners Adrien Brody for The Brutalist and Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer portray figures who commit questionable acts yet remain ultimately sympathetic as historical forces shape their journeys. In contrast, the best actress category has traditionally favored real-life figures, ingenues, underdogs, and Frances McDormand's unique ability to make difficult characters enormously likable.
This Year's Challenging Performances
Emma Stone's nomination for Bugonia represents a significant departure, as she plays a chilly CEO attempting to negotiate her way out of a kidnapping by a fanatic who believes she's an alien. While her predicament generates baseline sympathy, the film actively undermines this through her portrayal as an insufferable corporate girlboss and a finale that refuses to offer endearing resolution.
Even more challenging is Rose Byrne's performance in If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, where she portrays a caregiver to a sick child who consistently makes what feel like wrong decisions, pressing on the bruises of motherhood rather than offering comforting resolution.
Across Categories: A Pattern of Difficulty
This trend extends throughout the acting categories. In best actor, Timothée Chalamet's performance in Marty Supreme puts his character through a gauntlet of bad luck and self-destructive choices, sparking debate about whether he's too noxious to endure. Ethan Hawke's portrayal of Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon similarly refuses to glorify its subject, breaking from the traditional Oscar-nominated artist biopic formula.
Supporting performances follow suit: Stellan Skarsgård plays such a chilly, selfish father in Sentimental Value that even reconciliation with his adult children doesn't register as genuine change. Teyana Taylor's revolutionary character in One Battle After Another betrays her comrades and abandons her infant child, complicating her steely charisma with morally challenging actions. Even traditional villainy gets a difficult makeover with Amy Madigan's thoroughly off-putting witchy Aunt Gladys in Weapons, lacking the charismatic evil of a Hannibal Lecter.
Not Entirely Without Sympathy
This year's nominations aren't completely devoid of traditionally sympathetic performances. Kate Hudson's almost annoyingly ingratiating portrayal in Song Sung Blue and Delroy Lindo's poignant depiction of alcoholism in Sinners offer more conventional emotional anchors. Jessie Buckley seems poised to win best actress for playing Agnes Shakespeare, though even her suffering through a child's death carries pricklier edges than most such portrayals.
Broader Implications for Cinema
This shift toward difficult characters may reflect broader cinematic trends. While it could indicate weariness with outright villainy or unvarnished heroism, the real world hasn't been particularly short on genuine villains in recent history—perhaps explaining the presence of Sean Penn's cartoonish yet believable Steven Lockjaw in One Battle After Another.
As general audiences become less enthralled by particular stars, this trend might represent a long-overdue separation between recognizability and actor-flattering likability. Two of this year's most famous nominees—Emma Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio—were selected for performances that actively undermine their radiant charms in both comic and poignant ways.
The High-Wire Act of Unlikability
Playing unlikable characters allows performers like Timothée Chalamet to demonstrate their range without bending to traditions of cinematic heroism, showcasing talent and good looks while committing bad acts on screen. While most Oscar performances involve some careerist calculation, this year's trend feels liberating, resulting in an especially strong group of nominees: no hammy impressions, no de facto lifetime achievement awards, virtually embarrassment-free.
Ultimately, this year's batch of unlikable characters represents performances that are, paradoxically, weirdly easy to love for their artistic bravery and complexity, marking a significant evolution in what the Academy considers award-worthy acting.
