Only 6 Actors Have Received Oscar Nods for Playing the Same Character in 2 Different Films: Will Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo Join Them?

With Wicked: For Good slated to open in the U.S. on Nov. 21, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will be in the Oscar conversation for the second year in a row. Both stars were nominated earlier this year for the first Wicked – Erivo for best actress for playing Elphaba and Grande for best supporting actress for playing Galinda/Glinda.

If they are nominated again when the nominations for the 98th annual Academy Awards are announced on Jan. 22, 2026, they will become just the seventh and eighth actors to be nominated for playing the same role in two different films.

Moreover, they’ll become the first actors to be nominated for playing the same role two years running since Bing Crosby in the mid-1940s, who received back-to-back nominations for playing genial Father Charles “Chuck” O’Malley. And they’ll become only the second and third female actors to be nominated twice for the same role, following Cate Blanchett, who was nominated twice for playing Queen Elizabeth I.

Of course, just one of the Wicked: For Good stars could be nominated, or neither. If Grande, 32, is nominated, she’ll become the youngest actor to receive two nods for playing the same role in two different films in Oscar history. That record is currently held by Al Pacino, who was 34 when he was nominated for the second time for playing Michael Corleone. If Erivo, 38, is nominated, she won’t set any age records, but she’ll become just the second actor from England to achieve the feat, following Peter O’Toole.

The first Wicked did well in the Oscar nominations, receiving 10 nods, including best picture. It won two awards – best costume design and best production design.

Here’s a complete list of all the actors who have received Oscar nominations for playing the same character in two different films. The years shown are the year of the film’s release.