Gladiator 2 could give Denzel Washington an Oscar milestone that hasn’t happened in 28 years

Denzel Washington is expected to be a major factor in other awards seasons with Gladiator IIand the film could give him a rare Oscar Marco if he gets a nomination. Considering the Oscar wins and nominations that the original film Gladiator I managed to do it, there was always some pressure and expectation that Ridley Scott’s sequel could be another Oscar-recognized film. Denzel Washington’s involvement in Gladiator 2The casting significantly increased the film’s chances of gaining some recognition, as the actor has an incredible track record of Oscar nominations.

Whether it was his first nomination in 1988 or his most recent in 2022, Denzel can give an Oscar-worthy performance in any film. His role as Macrinus in Gladiator 2 gives him plenty of opportunities to impress audiences, so much so that he was one of the highlights in the trailers alone. Unsurprisingly, he’s already gained traction when it comes to landing one of the 2025 Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor. An official nomination is still a ways off, but Denzel could achieve an Oscar milestone that hasn’t happened in 31 years.

Denzel Washington Could Receive His Tenth Oscar Nomination for Gladiator 2

He has received nine nominations in the last 36 years

Often considered one of the greatest actors of his generation, Denzel Washington’s Oscar nominations confirm this belief. He currently has nine overall nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, and has won in each category once. Denzel’s first two Oscar nominations were for Best Supporting Actor for Cry Freedom in 1988 and Glory in 1990, for which he won. Since then, he has always competed in the Best Actor category, accumulating seven more nominations. This puts Gladiator 2 in position to become Denzel Washington’s tenth Oscar nomination as an actor.

It would be no small achievement for Denzel to reach this milestone with Gladiator 2. There was a period when it seemed the actor fell out of favor with the Academy, ironically after winning his first Oscar for Best Actor for Training day. He did not receive any nominations for 13 years, the longest period of his career. This changed with Flight in 2013, which brought him back into the Best Actor race and spawned a run of four nominations in nine years. Gladiator 2 would extend that period of success to five appointments in 12 years.

Meryl Streep was the last person to reach the milestone of 10 Oscar nominations, 28 years ago

Jack Nicholson was the last man to do this

Denzel Washington receiving an Oscar nomination for Gladiator 2 would make him the first male actor to break the ten acting nominations milestone since Jack Nicholson. Nicholson achieved the milestone in 1993 after being nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Some good men. He was recognized twice later by As good as possible and About Schmidtwinning for the first, which gives him the record for the most Oscar nominations for an actor for a man, with 12 nominations. Denzel would become only the third man to reach the ten nominations mark, tying with Laurence Olivier.

Overall, five performers received ten or more acting Oscar nominations in their careers. Denzel Washington would join Jack Nicholson and Laurence Olivier as the only men to do so, but three women also surpassed the milestone: Meryl Streep, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis. Streep is the most recent 10-time Oscar nominee for an actress, regardless of genderas his tenth nomination came in 1996 for Madison County Bridgesthree years after Nicholson became the last man to hit the target. This helped propel Meryl Streep to her record number of acting Oscar nominations.

Denzel Washington winning an Oscar for Gladiator 2 will also give him a rare milestone

Another Oscar win will put Denzel in Elite Company

Getting his tenth Oscar nomination and being placed in a group with Jack Nicholson, Laurence Olivier, Meryl Streep, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis is impressive enough for Denzel Washington, but that’s not where his accomplishments could end. Gladiator 2. If he won Best Supporting Actor, he would have his third Oscar win in all acting categories. Denzel Washington’s third Oscar win will put him on a list with seven others – Ingrid Bergman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Francis McDormand and Walter Brennan, as well as Nicholson, Streep and Hepburn – as the only people with so many acting wins.

However, this group is reduced by half when considering the volume of appointments. Denzel Washington would be the fourth actor with ten or more Oscar nominations and three or more wins. The others are Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson and Katharine Hepburn. There would be a surprising but notable difference between Denzel’s placement in the group and the others. He would be the only one to have most of his wins in the supporting category, as Streep and Nicholson only won once, and all of Hepburn’s wins came in the Best Actress category.

What is the probability of Denzel Washington’s Oscar nomination and win for Gladiator 2?

Oscar predictions point to this result

Denzel Washington has yet to officially join these groups or surpass these milestones, but Gladiator 2 appears to be well positioned to help you do just that. Virtually all prize experts are predicting that Denzel will be nominated for Gladiator 2. He’s as close to that recognition as possible weeks before the film’s release and months before the nominations are announced. Therefore, unless there is a major misstep or controversy during the campaign process, there appears to be little chance of him losing a nomination entirely.

If Denzel Washington will finally win the Oscar for Gladiator 2 It’s a little more uncertain. There are definitely other strong candidates in the race, but no one has yet emerged with enough support to comfortably say that Denzel shouldn’t still be considered the favorite to win. It has the career legacy angle to play with, and it’s one of the standout performances in what’s expected to be one of the biggest films of 2024. That should give it plenty of momentum as Oscar voting heats up, which makes the nomination and Denzel Washington’s victory seem quite likely at this stage.

This indicates that Denzel has reached both of these major milestones by the 2025 Oscars ceremony in March 2025. There’s still time for that to change and another performance to surpass him if the right film gains enough momentum. But given the love that Denzel Washington has managed to garner from Academy voters over the years, the Oscar recognizing it in this way with Gladiator 2 It makes sense and is more than deserved.