Paul Mescal misses out on Oscar nomination for ‘Hamnet’: “What is happening?!”

    Paul Mescal in 'Hamnet'.

    Paul Mescal has failed to pick up an Oscar nomination for his role in Hamnet, and fans of the actor are not happy about it.

    • READ MORE: Oscars 2026 nominations – see the full list

    The nominations for this year’s Academy Awards were announced in Los Angeles earlier today (January 22), with Sinners picking up a record-breaking 16 nods, ahead of One Battle After Another on 13 and Frankenstein, Marty Supreme and Sentimental Value all clocking up nine.

    Hamnet, Chloé Zhao’s gruelling study of William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes’ grief for their dead son and the subsequent inspiration behind Hamlet, was also nominated for Best Picture, as well as Best Director, Adapted Screenplay, Casting, Costume Design, Production Design and Original Score, and Best Actress for Jessie Buckley.

    Absent from the list was Mescal, who plays Shakespeare in the film, who was up for Supporting Actor, but missed out to Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn (both One Battle After Another), Delroy Lindo (Sinners), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein) and Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value).

    The Irish actor was nominated in 2023 for Aftersun, but it hasn’t stopped his fans from complaining about his snub this time around. “What is happening?!” wrote one on X. Check out a range of reactions here: