Not even a week into August, and it already seems clear that Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey will have a starring role in award season come early 2027. The question now is just how big a role. It’s a similar question to the one facing the epic’s studio, Universal Pictures, and one of the stars of the movie, Anne Hathaway.
As Penelope, the mythically patient wife of Odysseus (Matt Damon), the Best Supporting Actress winner for Les Misérables anchors the portion of the story set in Ithaca as the kingdom awaits the return of a king who may not even be alive anymore. Penelope’s struggle to hold out for her husband amidst the pressure of a court full of suitors is one of the primary threads that Nolan weaves, along with a search for answers led by her son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), and Odyssey’s titular journey home. The Odyssey, like many of the director’s films before it, hops among several perspectives and timelines, making the retelling of the ancient poem less straightforwardly Odyssey’s story and blurring the lines between which roles are lead and which are supporting.
The easiest categorization to parse is obvious, and it has a knock-on effect that takes care of another. The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus. No one would ever question Damon’s placement in Best Actor contention, and because of that, Supporting Actor is the natural fit for Holland. Telemachus’ arc is in relation to and supporting of Odysseus’, and not dividing voter attention from Damon in Best Actor makes the more sense for the eventual campaign.
Where it gets tricky is Hathaway. She currently leads Gold Derby’s combined odds for Best Supporting Actress nominations, but — somewhat counterintuitively — that may not be the right place for her.
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BERLIN, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 17: Julia Jones poses at the “The Weight” photocall during the 76th Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin at Grand Hyatt Hotel on February 17, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images)
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 10: Jessica Gunning attends The South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2022 at The Savoy Hotel on July 10, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
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The debate of “lead or supporting” is basically an Oscars tradition at this point, partly because the Academy itself doesn’t offer guidelines on what constitutes one or the other. Arguments about screen time or whether a character drives a story will only get you so far, as the former has ranged from 22 minutes (Patricia Neal in Hud) to almost two and a half hours (Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind) for Best Actress winners and the latter often quite subjective.
In the actual text of the awards rules, the Motion Picture Academy says, “If any performance should receive votes in both categories, the achievement shall be placed only on the ballot in that category in which, during the tabulation process, it first receives the required number of votes to be nominated.” In other words, no combining of votes. Actress votes only count for Actress. Supporting Actress votes only count for Supporting Actress. This is why studios will typically specify the category of consideration, lest votes are divided.
Another factor that could divide votes? Competition for the same film. While Penelope is conclusively the closest The Odyssey comes to having a leading female role, its Supporting Actress prospects are already a little too crowded. Specifically, there’s Samantha Morton‘s turn as ancient Greece’s least appetizing chef, Circe, that is gaining steam in the category, currently up 12 percentage points, and has a few other factors going for it, like the notion of this as Morton’s overdue comeback and her complete absence from The Odyssey‘s marketing.
For now, Universal says that no decision has been made about Hathaway’s placement for her forthcoming campaign. But if she were to check out her potential competition in Best Actress, she’d find a field mostly of contenders whose films haven’t been released or screened widely — with the highly notable exception of Obsession‘s Inde Navarrette, whose zeitgeist-dominating performance almost single-handedly propelled a $750K indie horror movie to $475 million worldwide. Hathaway would have ground to make up in the odds, but a switch could ultimately boost The Odyssey‘s nomination (and potentially win) count.
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