There will soon be a new category at the Oscars: achievement in stunt design.
Starting with movies released in 2027, for the ceremony the following year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will honor the people who make some of the most memorable and audience-pleasing moments.
It is recognition that to many people is a long time coming.
Jack Gill, a stuntman turned second unit director, joined the academy in 1991 with the hopes of getting himself and his colleagues recognized. He was told then it would take three to five years to make that happen.
More than 30 years later, the director and former stunt man David Leitch took up the mantle, making several presentations to the academy and centering his 2024 movie, “The Fall Guy,” on the unsung heroes of the stunt community. During its Hollywood premiere, the movie’s star, Ryan Gosling, told the audience, “This movie is just a giant campaign to get stunts an Oscar.”
“It finally happened,” Gill said in a text on Thursday after the academy announced the new category.
Category rules for eligibility and voting for the inaugural award will be announced in 2027. More than 100 stunt professionals are members of the academy’s production and technology branch.
“We are proud to honor the innovative work of these technical and creative artists, and we congratulate them for their commitment and dedication in reaching this momentous occasion,” Bill Kramer, the academy’s chief executive, and Janet Yang, the academy’s president, said in a statement.
Last year, the academy added achievement in casting to its list of awards. The category’s inaugural prize will be handed out in 2026 for films released this year.
