The history of Arkansans winning at the Academy Awards

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – On Sunday night the 97th Academy Awards will be held, and Oscars will be handed out to films in categories ranging from Best Picture to Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Throughout the history of the Academy Awards, people from Arkansas have won Oscars and also been in films that won big. Plenty of movies involving the state in other ways have also won or been nominated for awards over the years.

Academy Award Winners

Mary Steenburgen arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Billy Bob Thornton poses with his Oscar backstage at the 69th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles Monday, March 24, 1997. Thornton won for Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published for "Sling Blade." (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Walter Goggins, left, Ray McKinnon, center, and Lisa Blount, accept their Oscars for best live action short film for The Accountant during the 74th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 24, 2002, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Crystal and Robert Smith of Ward, Ark., stroll past The Old Mill in North Little Rock, Ark., during their lunch break Monday, April 5, 2010. An image of the structure was featured in the title sequence of the 1939 film "Gone With the Wind." (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)
Wes Bentley, an Arkansas native who lives in Los Angeles, Calif., poses outside his family's house in Little Rock, Ark., Friday, Oct. 1, 1999. Bentley, who is in the new DreamWorks production, "American Beauty," starring Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening, was visiting his hometown to have a special showing of the movie with friends. (AP Photo/Mike Wintroath)

In 1981, Newport native Mary Steenburgen received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the film “Melvin and Howard” and 15 years later in 1996 Billy Bob Thornton won an award for Best Adapted Screenplay for “Slingblade.” Thornton was also nominated for Best Actor in 1996 and Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for his role in the film “A Simple Plan.”

Arkansas native actress Lisa Blount received an Oscar in 2002 as an executive producer alongside her husband for the short film “The Accountant.” She was also in the film “An Officer and a Gentleman,” which was nominated for six awards and won two.

Though he didn’t win an Academy Award, the actor known as Broncho Billy Anderson who was born in Little Rock received a special Academy Award in 1958 for his contributions to film as America’s first cowboy movie star.

Jonesboro native Wes Bentley played Ricky Fitts in the 1999 film “American Beauty,” which was nominated for eight awards and took home five. Also, North Little Rock tourist attraction The Old Mill, a re-creation of an 1880s water-powered mill, was featured in the opening sequence of the 1939 film “Gone with the Wind,” which was nominated for 13 awards took home 10.

Arkansas Ties

Elle Fanning, from left, Boyd Holbrook and Monica Barbaro pose with honorees Timothee Chalamet and James Mangold with their visionary tribute awards for "A Complete Unknown" during The Gothams Film Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Jeff Nichols, writer/director of "The Bikeriders," poses at the premiere of the film at the TCL Chinese Theatre, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Boyd Holbrook attends the premiere of "A Complete Unknown" at the SVA Theatre on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Fatima Robinson attends the AAFCA Special Achievement Awards luncheon on Sunday, March 3, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Singers Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter Cash perform Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe," during the Bob Dylan 30th anniversary concert at New York's Madison Square Garden, Oct. 16, 1992. It's been 30 years since Dylan's first album was released on Columbia Records. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)
From left, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, Timothee Chalamet, and director James Mangold pose for photographers during the red carpet for the movie "A Complete Unknown", Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Rome. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A film with ties to the Natural State on Sunday night that is in the running for multiple awards is “A Complete Unknown,” a story about the life of Bob Dylan. In the film, actor Boyd Holbrook portrays Johnny Cash which is nothing new for director James Mangold who also directed “Walk The Line,” a film about Cash’s life which was nominated for 5 Academy Awards.

Another film with Arkansas ties that was predicted to be included at the Academy Awards this year is the Jeff Nichols-directed film “The Bikeriders,” which was in the running for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Little Rock native James Bridges wrote and directed the 1973 film “The Paper Chase,” which was nominated for three awards including Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium and won Best Supporting Actor.

Two Arkansans with ties to the show behind the scenes include music choreographer and Little Rock native Fatima Robinson who was one of only two women of color to have choreographed the Academy Awards. In 2000, composer Rob “Shrock” Shirakbari, a native of Dermott served as a music director alongside Burt Bacharach and Don Was.

Here’s a list of other ties between the Natural State and the Academy Awards.

Joey Lauren Adams – nominated for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for the movie “Chasing Amy”
John Wayne – won Best Actor for “True Grit,” the movie adaptation of a Charles Portis novel featuring Glen Campbell
“Hallelujah” – Film was shot in Arkansas and director King Vidor was nominated for Best Director
“Minari” – the film directed by one-time Arkansas native Lee Isaac Chung was nominated for six awards and won Best Supporting Actress
“The Barber of Little Rock” – film about the life of Little Rock native Arlo Washington was nominated for Best Documentary Short Film in 2024
“Creature from the Black Lagoon” – Featured Arkansas actress Julie Adams and the creature is what the Oscar trophy was modeled after according to an article by Collider
“Thelma & Louise” – Partially set in Arkansas and nominated for six awards and won Best Original Screenplay
Ford Vs. Ferrari – Features Arkansan Josh Lucas and was nominated for four awards and won two
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory – Movie about the West Memphis Three that was nominated for a Best Documentary award in 2012
Glen Campbell – Nominated for Best Original Song for “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”
“A Soldier’s Story” - Nominated for three awards and filmed entirely in Arkansas
Actress Melinda Dillon was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Absence of Malice”