While the Irish didn't make it to the 97th Academy Awards nominations list, Irish American Conan O'Brien has been dubbed the real winner of the Oscars following his first time hosting the event.
"Anora" was the big winner at the 2025 Oscars held on Sunday evening, taking home five wins. Adrien Brody won best actor for his role in "The Brutalist" while Mikey Madison won best actress for "Anora". The romantic comedy-drama also took home the awards for best picture, film editing, original screenplay and best director for Sean Baker.
Zoe Saldana accepted the best supporting actress for her role in "Emilia Perez". The Netflix Spanish-language film had led the Oscar nominations with 13 but went home with only two wins. Kieran Culkin won the best supporting actor Oscar for his role in "A Real Pain".
Sadly, the only Irish connection to this year's nominees was "The Apprentice", produced by the Dublin-based Tailored Films, which received nominations in the best actor (Sebastian Stan) and best supporting actor (Jeremy Strong) categories. Neither were victorious on the night.
Conan O'Brien's triumph
While the stars came and went from the stage, it was Conan O'Brien's performance that dominated and by all account, the Irish American comedy stalwart knocked it out of the park.
While he referenced President Donald Trump's views on the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine and the scandal surrounding "Emilia Perez's" Karla Sofía Gascón's problematic historic tweets his comedy expertise managed with mastery to find a perfect balance. A mixture of comedy and song the internet agreed that O'Brien smashed his role.
Read more
One viewer said “Conan O'Brien is the best American we have,”“Give [him] a lifetime contract,” one individual said, “what a breath of fresh air vs the last few years.”
Forbes points out that "it was this ability to laugh at himself, to puncture the self-seriousness of the Academy Awards and the acting trade in general, that endeared many online to Conan."
They continue "It’s not a given that the person presenting the Oscars hits the right tone and actually entertains the audience at home. There are a raft of examples of other hosts not getting the tone quite right, making bad jokes (like Neil Patrick Harris) or singing songs some found offensive, such as Seth MacFarlane."
It seems we could be seeing O'Brien coming back for the 98th Academy Awards.
Check out the highlights of Conan O'Brien's opening monologue here:
Here is the full list of winners:
Best picture
WINNER: "Anora"
"The Brutalist"
"A Complete Unknown"
"Conclave"
"Dune: Part Two"
"Emilia Pérez"
"I'm Still Here"
"Nickel Boys"
"The Substance"
"Wicked"
Best actress
WINNER: Mikey Madison - "Anora"
Cynthia Erivo - "Wicked"
Karla Sofía Gascón - "Emilia Pérez"
Demi Moore - "The Substance"
Fernanda Torres - "I'm Still Here"
Best actor
WINNER: Adrien Brody - "The Brutalist"
Timothée Chalamet - "A Complete Unknown"
Colman Domingo - "Sing Sing"
Ralph Fiennes - "Conclave"
Sebastian Stan - "The Apprentice"
Best supporting actress
WINNER: Zoe Saldaña - "Emilia Pérez"
Monica Barbaro - "A Complete Unknown"
Ariana Grande - "Wicked"
Felicity Jones - "The Brutalist"
Isabella Rossellini - "Conclave"
Best supporting actor
WINNER: Kieran Culkin - "A Real Pain"
Yura Borisov - "Anora"
Edward Norton - "A Complete Unknown"
Guy Pearce - "The Brutalist"
Jeremy Strong - "The Apprentice"
Best director
WINNER: Sean Baker - "Anora"
Jacques Audiard - "Emilia Pérez"
Brady Corbet - "The Brutalist"
Coralie Fargeat - "The Substance"
James Mangold - "A Complete Unknown"
Best international feature
WINNER: "I'm Still Here" - Brazil
"The Girl with the Needle" - Denmark
"Emilia Pérez" - France
"The Seed of the Sacred Fig" - Germany
"Flow" - Latvia
Best animated feature
WINNER: "Flow"
"Inside Out 2"
"Memoir of a Snail"
"Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl"
"The Wild Robot"
Best original screenplay
WINNER: "Anora" - Sean Baker
"The Brutalist" - Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold
"A Real Pain" - Jesse Eisenberg
"September 5" - Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David
"The Substance "- Coralie Fargeat
Best adapted screenplay
WINNER: "Conclave" - Peter Straughan
"A Complete Unknown" - Jay Cocks and James Mangold
"Emilia Pérez" - Jacques Audiard
"Nickel Boys" - RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes
"Sing Sing" - Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar
Best original song
WINNER: "El Mal" - "Emilia Pérez"
"Never Too Late" - Elton John: "Never Too Late"
"Mi Camino" - "Emilia Pérez"
"Like A Bird" - "Sing Sing"
"The Journey" - "The Six Triple Eight"
Best original score
WINNER: "The Brutalist"
"Conclave"
"Emilia Pérez"
"Wicked"
"The Wild Robot"
Best documentary feature
WINNER: "No Other Land"
"Black Box Diaries"
"Porcelain War"
"Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat"
"Sugarcane"
Best costume design
WINNER: "Wicked"
"Nosferatu"
"A Complete Unknown"
"Conclave"
"Gladiator II"
Best make-up and hairstyling
WINNER: "The Substance"
"A Different Man"
"Emilia Pérez"
"Nosferatu"
"Wicked"
Best production design
WINNER: "Wicked"
"The Brutalist"
"Dune: Part Two"
"Nosferatu"
"Conclave"
Best sound
WINNER: "Dune: Part Two"
"A Complete Unknown"
"Emilia Pérez"
"Wicked"
"The Wild Robot"
Best film editing
WINNER: "Anora"
"The Brutalist"
"Conclave"
"Emilia Pérez"
"Wicked"
Best cinematography
WINNER: "The Brutalist"
"Dune: Part Two"
"Emilia Pérez"
"Maria"
"Nosferatu"
Best visual effects
WINNER: "Dune: Part Two"
"Alien: Romulus"
"Better Man"
"Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes"
"Wicked"
Best live action short
WINNER: "I'm Not a Robot"
"Anuja"
"The Last Ranger"
"A Lien"
"The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent"
Best animated short
WINNER: "In the Shadow of the Cypress"
"Beautiful Men"
"Magic Candies"
"Wander to Wonder"
"Yuck!"
Best documentary short
WINNER: "The Only Girl in the Orchestra"
"Death by Numbers"
"I Am Ready, Warden
"Incident"
"Instruments of a Beating Heart".
Comments