Paul Thomas Anderson’s political drama One Battle After Another won the inaugural Oscar for Best Casting at the 98th Academy Awards on Monday, marking the first time the Academy has honoured casting directors with a coveted award.
The prize went to casting director Cassandra Kulukundis, whose work in assembling the film’s star-studded ensemble has received widespread praise throughout the awards season.
Accepting the award, Kulukundis addressed Anderson from the stage: “We have done this for 30 years. We have done ten movies together. And I won before you”.
Introduced this year, the Best Casting category honours the creative work behind selecting a film’s actors and building an ensemble that shapes the story on screen. The addition marks the first new competitive Oscar category introduced since Best Animated Feature in 2001.
One Battle After Another features an ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, alongside actors such as Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor and Benicio del Toro.
Directed by Anderson, One Battle After Another follows a revolutionary figure whose past resurfaces when his daughter is abducted, setting off a chain of events that intertwine politics, personal history and power struggles.