Hollywood's Next Big Leap: How a Best Stunt Oscar Could Redefine an ART FORM

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Apr 12

**Ryan Gosling dangles from a truck in a scene from last year’s action-comedy “The Fall Guy,” which celebrated stunt performers. (Universal Studios)**

After decades of lobbying, the Academy will finally recognize stunt design at the 2028 Oscars. Industry leaders believe this long-awaited milestone could launch a new era of innovation, accountability, and creative excellence.

For more than three decades, the stunt community has pushed for official recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This week, their persistence paid off. Beginning in 2028, the Oscars will formally include a category for Best Stunt Design, cementing an artform long treated as peripheral to cinema's highest honors.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the introduction of a new Oscar category: Best Stunt Design, set to debut at the 100th Academy Awards in 2028, honoring films released in 2027. This long-awaited recognition comes after decades of advocacy from the stunt community and aims to honor the creative and technical artistry of stunt work in filmmaking.

Stunt performers and coordinators have long been integral to the film industry, crafting some of the most memorable and thrilling moments on screen. Despite their contributions, they have remained largely unrecognized by the Academy. The establishment of the Best Stunt Design category marks a significant step toward acknowledging the collaborative efforts of stunt teams, including coordinators, choreographers, riggers, wire specialists, drivers, and editors, who work tirelessly to bring high-concept action to life. Their work bridges the gap between storytelling and physicality, allowing directors to amplify narrative stakes while grounding the audience in immersive realism.

This long-overdue recognition aligns the Oscars with international awards like the Taurus World Stunt Awards, and responds to a growing cultural embrace of the craftsmanship behind modern blockbusters. In a cinematic landscape increasingly dominated by spectacle, it’s only fitting that the architects of those spectacles be celebrated.

Advocacy and Industry Support

The push for this new category has been championed by notable figures in the industry, including director and former stuntman David Leitch and veteran stunt coordinator Chris O’Hara. Their joint efforts—alongside support from actors like Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes—were instrumental in bringing attention to the importance of stunt work. Leitch and O’Hara presented to the Academy’s board of governors, emphasizing the technical complexity, creative ingenuity, and physical risk embedded in stunt production.

The timing was strategic. Their film The Fall Guy, itself a love letter to stunt professionals, doubled as a de facto campaign vehicle. The film’s PR rollout placed stunt teams front and center, reorienting public discourse around the invisible labor behind the most adrenaline-fueled scenes in modern movies.

Leitch and O’Hara also studied the pathway forged by casting directors, whose successful bid for Oscar recognition in 2023 provided a template for coalition-building within the Academy. Their efforts were buoyed by a broader cultural shift: in an age of behind-the-scenes content, audiences now expect to understand—and value—the real work behind the illusion.

The Long Climb to the Summit

Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation'. **PHOTO: PARAMOUNT PICTURES**

Jack Gill’s journey began in the early 1990s, when filmmaker Sydney Lumet suggested that stunts deserved a seat at the Oscars table. Optimism met with inertia. "They told me it would take three to five years," Gill recalled. "Now here we are, 34 years later."

Decades of advocacy, petitions, and even protests outside the Academy’s Beverly Hills headquarters yielded little progress. In 2016, Gill presented a petition with over 50,000 signatures. No Academy official met him.

This time, however, strategy trumped symbolism. Leitch and O'Hara modeled their campaign after the successful push to create a casting category. As more stunt professionals joined the Academy’s production and technology branch, the conversation shifted. Governor Wendy Aylsworth became a key supporter. Leitch and O'Hara presented directly to the Academy's Board of Governors, with their film The Fall Guy doubling as both action spectacle and promotional vehicle.

A New Benchmark for Creativity

Ryan Gosling is Colt Seavers in 'The Fall Guy.' **COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES**

With the creation of a Best Stunt Design Oscar, the industry stands poised for transformation. O’Hara sees the moment not as culmination but as catalyst. "You're going to see guys really honing their craft," he predicted. "Looking at the big picture of what the Academy Awards is, and how they can be better filmmakers as stunt designers."

O'Hara envisions the award functioning like Best Production Design: not a reward for a single moment, but for the integrated contribution of stunt work to a film’s narrative. Unlike traditional categories rooted in spectacle, the stunt Oscar will highlight choreography, narrative utility, and seamless integration.

Nomination procedures remain undecided, though some expect a "bake-off" style showcase similar to that used for visual effects. "The key will be judging the stunt work as part of the story," said O'Hara, "not just as a highlight reel."

Defining ‘Stunt Design’

The term “Stunt Design” is intended to reflect a holistic understanding of action choreography—not isolated sequences but fully integrated visual storytelling. Chris O’Hara has likened the award’s intent to Best Production Design: honoring how the entire stunt ecosystem contributes to a film’s world-building.

This means prioritizing innovation, thematic alignment, pacing, emotional texture, and coherence across sequences. Whether it's a visceral fight scene, a meticulously engineered car chase, or a wire-assisted leap through shattered glass, the focus is on how these elements elevate the film’s overall narrative structure.

Nomination protocols are still under discussion. A potential “bake-off” format, modeled after the visual effects category, could involve short-listed teams presenting breakdowns of their process to Academy voters. Whatever the method, O’Hara emphasizes that the work must be judged in context—not just spectacle, but storytelling.

Beyond Blockbusters

While films like John Wick, Mad Max: Fury Road, and The Fall Guy dominate stunt headlines, industry leaders argue that recognition should extend beyond high-octane fare. From understated physical comedy to tense psychological thrillers, stunts are often crucial but invisible.

Jeff Wolfe, president of the Stuntmen’s Association, emphasized the changing cultural climate: "Few and far between now are the actors who say, 'I do all my own stunts.'" Wolfe recalled actor Ray Stevenson telling him, "I am the voice, you are the body." This evolving transparency marks a cultural shift, fueled in part by behind-the-scenes content and social media.

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Director Chad Stahelski, a former stuntman who co-directed John Wick with Leitch, agrees. "We're supposed to be the ninjas," he said. "But people are OK acknowledging stunts now."

What Comes Next

Gill, now a legendary figure in the stunt world, looks to the past with pride and the future with anticipation. He envisions retroactive Oscars for classics like Raiders of the Lost Ark, True Lies, and the original Mad Max. "Fantastic," he said wistfully. "They would have swept."

For Leitch and O'Hara, the work is only beginning. They hope the new category catalyzes greater respect, accountability, and safety in the industry. "This isn't just about the win," said Leitch. "It's about creating a platform for an artform that has been overlooked for too long."

For Gill, Stahelski, Leitch, O’Hara, and countless others, the creation of the Best Stunt Design Oscar is not just a win for an overlooked craft—it’s a cultural reset. It’s a commitment to honoring not just what dazzles, but what defines cinematic storytelling.

The category’s arrival marks a new era in which every punch, leap, skid, and explosion is understood not just as an adrenaline rush, but as a carefully calibrated element of filmmaking. As Leitch noted, “This isn’t just about the win. It’s about creating a platform for an artform that has been overlooked for too long.”