Gladiator II Could Earn Denzel Washington Oscar #3

Denzel Washington has consistently delivered outstanding performances—including as a director in recent years!—throughout his decades-long career. He already has two Oscars to his name and could be on his way to a third Academy Award for his role in Ridley Scott‘Gladiator II’.

In this sequel to the film that won Best Picture in 2000, Lucius (Paul Mescal) as Lucius, the grandson of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Lucius is forced into slavery, but decides to fight as a gladiator under the leadership of power broker Macrinus. Enter Washington. The titanic Washington plays Macrinus, who is Lucius’ mentor figure and also opposes the rule of Emperor Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn).

We predict Washington will be nominated for Best Supporting Actor, along with Samuel L. Jackson (“The Piano Lesson”), Clarence Maclin (“Sing, sing”), Kieran Culkin (“A real pain”), and Stanley Tucci (“Conclave”). This would be his 10th Oscar nomination. He has twice won the Best Supporting Actor award — for “Cry Freedom” in 1988 and “Glory” in 1990. He has also been nominated for Best Actor seven times, for “Malcolm X” in 1993, “The Hurricane” in 2000, “Training Day” in 2002, “Flight” in 2013, “Fences” in 2017, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” in 2018 and “The Tragedy of Macbeth” in 2022.

Ten bids would tie him with Bette Davis And Laurence Olivier (Nine noms is the same number as Spencer Tracy, Paul NieuwmanAnd Al Pacino). Jack Nicholson And Katharine Hepburn each received a dozen nominations Meryl Streep achieved a record number of 21.

If Washington were to win, he would join this exclusive three-time champion:

Walter Brennan — Best Supporting Actor for “Come and Get It” in 1937, Best Supporting Actor for “Kentucky” in 1939 and Best Supporting Actor for “The Westerner” in 1941.

Ingrid Bergman — Best Actress for “Gaslight” in 1945, Best Actress for “Anastasia” in 1957 and Best Supporting Actress for “Murder on the Orient Express” in 1975.

Jack Nicholson — Best Actor for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in 1976, Best Supporting Actor for “Terms of Endearment” in 1984 and Best Actor for “As Good as it Gets” in 1998.

Meryl Streep — Best Supporting Actress for “Kramer vs. Kramer” in 1980, Best Actress for “Sophie’s Choice” in 1983 and Best Actress for “The Iron Lady” in 2012.

Daniel Day-Lewis — Best Actor for “My Left Foot” in 1990, Best Actor for “There Will Be Blood” in 2008 and Best Actor for “Lincoln” in 2013.

Frances McDormand — Best Actress for “Fargo” in 1997, Best Actress for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” in 2018 and Best Actress for “Nomadland” in 2021.

Hepburn holds the record for most acting Oscars with four wins. She won Best Actress four times: in 1934 for “Morning Glory,” in 1968 for “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” in 1969 for “The Lion in Winter,” and in 1982 for “On Golden Pond.”

Hepburn also holds the record for the largest gap between acting Oscars, with 48 years between her respective wins for “Morning Glory” and “On Golden Pond.” If Washington were to win, it would be 22 years after his last win for “Training Day.” For more stats on the largest gap between acting bids, visit here.

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for the best prediction accuracy scores. Check out our last prediction champions. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Don’t forget to keep your predictions up to date, as they influence our latest racetrack odds, which are sending Hollywood chefs and stars into a frenzy. Don’t miss out on the fun. Speak up and share your angry opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders hang out every day to follow the latest awards buzz. Everyone wants to know: what do you think? Who do you predict and why?

TO REGISTER for Gold Derby newsletters and updates