Leonie Benesch
Germany • The Teachers’ Lounge
The German actress, who has appeared in The Crown and Around the World in 80 Days, stars as an idealistic teacher trying to solve a series of thefts at her school in the film that was selected as Germany’s entry for the 2024 Academy Awards. Her performance has been lauded by critics; The Hollywood Reporter’s Sheri Linden described Benesch’s portrayal as “veering masterfully between openhearted hope and tense physicality.” The film itself holds a score of 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and even beat out four-time Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front at this year’s German film awards, known as the Lolas.
Juliette Binoche
France • The Taste of Things
The French actress delivers yet another exceptional performance in The Taste of Things, with Vanity Fair writing that Binoche “does some of the best onscreen cooking you’ll ever see.” The film beat out Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall to become France’s official Oscar contender. Binoche is no stranger to the Academy Awards; she won best supporting actress for her role in the 1996 feature The English Patient, and four years later was nominated for best actress for her performance in Chocolat.
Christian Friedel
United Kingdom • The Zone of Interest
Another German actor receiving serious awards consideration this Oscar season is Friedel, who is the male lead in Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, the British entry for the 2024 Oscars and the Grand Prix winner at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Friedel won the breakthrough performer award at this year’s Montclair Film Festival for his powerful performance as a man living next to the Auschwitz concentration camp with his family.
Sandra Hüller
France/United Kingdom • Anatomy of a Fall/The Zone of Interest
After starring in German films (Requiem, Toni Erdmann), the German actress is gaining wider recognition with not one but two Oscar contenders this awards season, and her work in both films has been critically acclaimed. THR’s Jon Frosch called Hüller’s performance in Anatomy of a Fall, this year’s Palme d’Or winner at Cannes, “sensational, [exuding] a prickly intelligence.” Hüller opted to compete for the best supporting actress Oscar for her work in The Zone of Interest, while campaigning for best actress for Anatomy. It’s possible she becomes the first person to receive double acting nominations for non-English-language films.
Benoît Magimel
France • The Taste of Things
Juliette Binoche’s onscreen partner (and previous real-life partner — the duo share a daughter) in France’s Oscar entry has also been the subject of critics’ praise since the movie’s premiere at Cannes. The Taste of Things currently holds a score of 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Kôji Yakusho
Japan • Perfect Days
Known for his roles in Shall We Dance?, Memoirs of a Geisha and Babel, Yakusho’s name is making the rounds on the Oscars circuit for his performance in Perfect Days, Japan’s official selection, directed by three-time Oscar-nominated German auteur Wim Wenders. Yakusho already secured the best actor prize for his performance at Cannes. THR’s David Rooney called his character the “life at the center of every frame,” while the critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes calls Yakusho’s stint “remarkable.”
This story first appeared in a November standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
