Cassandra Kulukundis wins inaugural casting Oscar, for ‘One Battle After Another’

By Canadian Press on March 15, 2026.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “One Battle After Another” claimed the first-ever Oscar recognizing casting on Sunday, with the award going to casting director Cassandra Kulukundis.

Her win marks the inaugural Oscar in the category, the newest the academy has created since the best animated feature film prize was established in the 2001 film year.

“I dedicate this to the casting directors who never got the chance to get up here,” Kulukundis said after thanking the Academy for adding this award.

She also thanked director Paul Thomas Anderson, noting that they “grew up together” in a sense after working on so many films together. She also said she hoped he wins an award himself tonight.

She hugged cast member Chase Infiniti before she began her speech.

Kulukundis has served as the casting director on past Oscar favorites including “The Brutalist” and “There Will Be Blood.”

She has worked on all 10 of “One Battle After Another” director Paul Thomas Anderson’s feature films, beginning as an intern on his debut film “Hard Eight” in 1996.

“One Battle After Another” follows an ex-revolutionary who is forced back into his former combative lifestyle after a corrupt military officer pursues him and his teenage daughter. The action thriller explores themes of immigration, racism and systemic corruption over the course of its nearly three-hour runtime. It has been praised for its all-star ensemble, which includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and newcomer Chase Infiniti. DiCaprio, Penn, del Toro and Taylor each received acting nominations for their performances.

The casting Oscar is not in recognition of the performance of the actors, unlike the Actor Awards’ cast prize and other comparable accolades. The best casting award, by contrast, is in recognition of Kulukundis’ behind-the-scenes creative process and collaboration with Anderson and the film’s producers to select the actors for their roles and craft a cohesive ensemble.

Host Conan O’Brien noted the new category addition in his opening monologue. He joked that casting directors are “dream killers,” quipping that for those who didn’t win, the Academy “decided to go in another direction.”

The other nominees for the casting award were Nina Gold (“Hamnet”), Jennifer Venditti (“Marty Supreme”), Gabriel Domingues (“The Secret Agent”) and Francine Maisler (“Sinners”).

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For more coverage of the 2026 Oscars, visit https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards.

Kaitlyn Huamani, The Associated Press