When Lily Gladstone was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for Killers of the Flower Moon, she sparked hope that she would become the first Native American to win the prize, in the Academy Awards’ 96th year.
And though she received robust applause when her name was announced, her journey ended in disappointment as Emma Stone claimed the lead actress honor instead.
There was surprise even on stage: Jennifer Lawrence, one of the presenters, lifted her hands to her mouth in shock as Michelle Yeoh read Stone’s name.
The honor followed her BAFTA win for Yorgos Lanthimos’ spin on the Frankenstein drama, in which Stone plays a woman who finds liberation and self-actualization after being brought back to life by an eccentric surgeon.
As a producer on the film, Stone also was nominated for best picture, capping off a triumphant year offscreen as well: Through Fruit Tree, Stone’s production company with husband Dave McCary, she was behind acclaimed TV series The Curse, recent indie release Problemista and Sundance films, “I Saw the TV Glow” and “A Real Pain.”
“Killers of the Flower Moon” came up short in other categories, including Robert De Niro for supporting actor and Scorsese for director. (Gladstone’s co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio, was not nominated for his leading role.)
Indeed, as awards season entered its later stages, it became apparent that Gladstone represented the film’s only chance for an Oscar win.
She received near-universal acclaim for her performance as real-life figure Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman who is targeted along with other members of her family and the broader Native population of Osage County, Okla., during the 1920s as part of a murderous plot to steal the rights to their oil-rich land.
And since the film earned a lengthy standing ovation last May when it world premiered at the Cannes Film Fest, in May.
Gladstone had gone on to win precursor awards from the Screen Actors Guild. Still, some Oscar watchers feared that her relatively limited screen time and the narrative’s focus on DiCaprio’s character might hurt her chances against a leading role like Stone’s.
