The first-ever Academy Award for Best Casting was presented to Cassandra Kulukundis for her work on Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another.
Her win marks the inaugural Oscar in the category, the academy has created in 25 years.
“I dedicate this to the casting directors who never got the chance to get up here,” Kulukundis said during her acceptance speech.
Oscars 2026: Cassandra Kulukundis Wins Inaugural Casting Award For One Battle After Another
Oscars 2026: The first-ever winner of the Best Casting went to Cassandra Kulukundis, for One Battle After Another.
Summary
Cassandra Kulukundis has scripted history by winning the first-ever Oscar for Best Casting for Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another. Kulukundis defeated the other equally qualified candidates, Nina Gold (Hamnet), Jennifer Venditti (Marty Supreme), Francine Maisler (Sinners) and Gabriel Domingues (The Secret Agent).
Cassandra Kulukundis Oscar win for Best Casting
This is the first new category created by the Academy in 25 years since it introduced the best animated feature film category in 2001. The Casting Directors Branch was formed in July 2013 and has nearly 160 members.
What Cassandra Kulukundis said during her Oscar speech
While accepting the award, Kulukundis thanked the Academy for adding the category and "for the casting directors who fought tirelessly to make it happen despite everything in their way."
"I dedicate this to you and to the casting directors who never got a chance to get up here, who didn’t even get a chance to get their name on the movie. So to you guys," she said and added, "When Paul calls you, you enter the witness protection program and literally don’t talk to your friends and family unless they have somebody that’s right for the movie. I put them all to work and get mad at them when they haven’t provide."
Towards the end, she thanked the crew, saying, "who I’m in all of your departments, whether you like me or not, whether it’s locations, stunts, production, art directors, everyone, and editors, obviously. Thank you. This is a thing and I just thank you for — ten movies, we’ve done this over 30 years."
"The truth is, no one knows what we do. They don’t understand it. We’re in this weird dungeon all by ourselves. It is an art, and it’s also a science, because we have to deal with DNA, and I take it super seriously," Kulukundis added.
For the unversed, Kulukundis worked as the casting director on past Oscar winners The Brutalist (2024) and There Will Be Blood (2007).
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