# Was "Legend" somehow ineligible for Oscars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674 "2016-01-20T14:30:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/1 "2016-01-20T14:30:04Z")
Because otherwise I am stunned by the lack of nomination for Hardy as the Kray twins. That’s just flat out criminal itself. So please tell me there was a technical issue. ---
**Author:** ![Bonaventure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@Bonaventure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonaventure)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/2 "2016-01-20T14:40:22Z")
He already was nominated for his role in “The Revenant.” Plus, “Legend” only got middling reviews, most of which said his performance was the best thing about it. I’m sure his supporting actor nomination sucked all the juice out of any lead actor consideration. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/3 "2016-01-20T14:42:35Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Because otherwise I am stunned by the lack of nomination for Hardy as the Kray twins. That’s just flat out criminal itself. > > So please tell me there was a technical issue. I’m guessing it’s easier to get nominated for a Golden Globe, but Hardy didn’t get one of those nominations either. He apparently didn’t get a BAFTA nomination for it, either. Didn’t get a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, either. I could go on. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/4 "2016-01-20T15:03:29Z")
Trying to think, but in recent years at least, the leading male actor’s character has had at least some redeeming qualities or was fascinatingly evil (Hannibal Lecter, Idi Amin). The Krays though were simply nasty, brutal, gangland thugs. Perhaps the subject matter and setting were also a bit too “foreign” for the Academy committee’s taste. _shrug_ I guess we’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/5 "2016-01-21T01:47:48Z")
Did anyone else open this thinking it was about the '80s fantasy film starring Tom Cruise and Tim Curry? If you did, you may be interested to know that the 1985 _Legend_ was indeed nominated for an Oscar (Best Makeup). ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/6 "2016-01-21T02:19:17Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Did anyone else open this thinking it was about the '80s fantasy film starring Tom Cruise and Tim Curry? > > If you did, you may be interested to know that the 1985 _Legend_ was indeed nominated for an Oscar (Best Makeup). I did. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/7 "2016-01-21T02:32:03Z")
An actor cannot be nominated twice in the same category. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/8 "2016-01-21T05:01:18Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > An actor cannot be nominated twice in the same category. Which relates to what? Hardy was nominated for supporting for Revenant. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/9 "2016-01-21T05:07:07Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Which relates to what? Hardy was nominated for supporting for Revenant. Yeah, but he played twins. What? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/10 "2016-01-21T09:11:29Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Trying to think, but in recent years at least, the leading male actor’s character has had at least some redeeming qualities or was fascinatingly evil (Hannibal Lecter, Idi Amin). Recent years? Not to make you feel super old, but the Hannibal Lecter nomination was 25 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/11 "2016-01-21T09:35:08Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I’m guessing it’s easier to get nominated for a Golden Globe, but Hardy didn’t get one of those nominations either. He apparently didn’t get a BAFTA nomination for it, either. Didn’t get a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, either. I could go on. It’s easier to get nominated for a Golden Globe if your distributor or production company is willing to do all the work currying favor with the HFPA. But I can’t recall seeing any FYC ads for Legend…I’m not sure they mounted much of a campaign. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/12 "2016-01-21T15:52:48Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > It’s easier to get nominated for a Golden Globe if your distributor or production company is willing to do all the work currying favor with the HFPA. I meant it’s probably easier than getting nominated for an Oscar, because the Globes split Best Actor nominations between Drama and Comedy/Musical. So if we assume arguendo that nominations reflect who was the best there was at what they did – and assume too that Will Smith was the best lead actor this year other than Cranston and Damon and DiCaprio and Fassbender and Redmayne – then Smith wasn’t good enough to get an Oscar nomination, because he was up against all of them; but got a Golden Globe nomination, because he _wasn’t_ up against all of them. And that Hardy, who for the sake of argument wasn’t even good enough to get a Golden Globe nomination, of course wasn’t good enough to get an Oscar nomination. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/13 "2016-01-21T17:56:23Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > It’s easier to get nominated for a Golden Globe if your distributor or production company is willing to do all the work currying favor with the HFPA. But I can’t recall seeing any FYC ads for Legend…I’m not sure they mounted much of a campaign. I’m going to speculate that this is the issue. The movie essentially bombed, so there was no money to mount a campaign. Oscar nominations don’t just happen, there is a lot of $ investment in making them happen. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/14 "2016-01-21T18:11:39Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > I’m going to speculate that this is the issue. The movie essentially bombed, so there was no money to mount a campaign. Oscar nominations don’t just happen, there is a lot of $ investment in making them happen. As far as I can tell, it’s done better than Fassbender’s STEVE JOBS and Cranston’s TRUMBO, both of which earned Oscar attention. (And it also looks to have done better than Smith’s CONCUSSION, which picked up that Golden Globe nomination.) Then again, maybe I’m jumping the gun, and shelling out money in hopes of getting a nomination makes sense because that nomination – and possible win – would then maybe equal free advertising, and more money coming back in. Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/15 "2016-01-21T18:14:29Z")
The lead actor race was very competitive, with other more high-profile people like Tom Hanks, Will Smith, Steve Carrell, Michael B. Jordan, Johnny Depp, and Tom Courtenay not making the cut. The film was listed as a shortlist contender for the MakeUp Oscar, but did not make the final slate of 3 (the only Tom Hardy movie not to get in, actually). I’ll agree that the dual performance was a remarkable one, and you had to remind yourself you were watching the same actor, so different were both Kray incarnations. Fantastic work. But (as was previously mentioned), the movie was small and got only so-so reviews, so while his inclusion would’ve been well-deserved, it didn’t surprise anyone that it didn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/16 "2016-01-21T18:19:28Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > As far as I can tell, it’s done better than Fassbender’s STEVE JOBS and Cranston’s TRUMBO, both of which earned Oscar attention. (And it also looks to have done better than Smith’s CONCUSSION, which picked up that Golden Globe nomination.) Not according to BoxOfficeMojo. These are the domestic figures (which AMPAS notices the most): CONCUSSION - $33.4M STEVE JOBS - $17.8M TRUMBO - $7.4M LEGEND - $1.9M ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/17 "2016-01-21T18:35:12Z")
Huh. Wikipedia has it at $38-million-plus, and on a small budget. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/18 "2016-01-21T20:01:31Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Huh. Wikipedia has it at $38-million-plus, and on a small budget. Weird. I think that’s international. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/19 "2016-01-21T20:07:07Z")
Yeah, but Box Office Mojo isn’t showing that – even though Wikipedia’s cite for that figure is a link to Box Office Mojo. So I figure I’m maybe going to tiptoe out of this for the foreseeable future? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674/20 "2016-01-21T21:41:37Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Yeah, but Box Office Mojo isn’t showing that – even though Wikipedia’s cite for that figure is a link to Box Office Mojo. So I figure I’m maybe going to tiptoe out of this for the foreseeable future? They don’t show the full amount, but you can see it made $27 mil in the UK. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-legend-somehow-ineligible-for-oscars/743674.md?page=2)