The 2026 awards season has finally reached its homestretch, and it would be a sin to say that last year’s most exhilarating lineups haven’t been battling it out on this year’s ceremony stages. The 2026 Oscars is gearing up to be one of the most anticipated ceremonies, bringing us to the edge of our seats to see which of our favorite features will take home the biggest awards of the night.
Ryan Coogler’s vampire feature Sinners broke Oscars history with 16 nominations including Best Picture and Best Actor for frontman Michael B. Jordan, who plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack. One Battle After Another is a close second with 13 noms, and may give Oscars darling (too soon???) Leonardo DiCaprio his second Best Actor win, though he hasn’t been campaigning as much as his fellow actors. Timothee Chalamet also cements his place as the youngest actor to ever earn three Best Actor nominations, though his comments on ballet and opera have kept us on our toes about a potential win. His ping-pong picture Marty Supreme is nominated for Best Picture, where he has a producer credit.
Comedian Conan O’Brien returns as the host for a second year, after his stellar performance as last year’s host. And whoever put together the presenters group may deserve an Oscar for Best Casting: the star-studded group includes Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison, last year’s Best Actor and Best Actress winners. Included in the lineup are three of this year’s nominees: Wagner Moura, who became the first Brazilian to be nominated for Best Actor, Delroy Lindo, and Rose Byrne.
In what feels like an homage to Sinners, the announcer for this year’s awards played a vampire in a critically-acclaimed FX series. Curious to know who the voice behind the curtain will be? Here’s what you need to know about Sunday’s announcer.
The Academy has tapped Matt Berry as this year’s announcer. The English comedian is known for his distinctive voice, lending his talents to features like The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and Simpsons creator Matt Groening’s Disenchantment. Most notable, he played 310-year old vampire Laszlo Cravensworth in What We Do in the Shadows, a comedy horror series based on the 2014 film starring Taika Waititi. The show received 35 Emmy nominations during its five year run and is rated 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Across the pond, Berry has starred in The IT Crowd and Toast of London, the latter of which earned him a BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance. Outside of acting, Berry is also a musician, having recorded 11 studio albums and composing the music for Toast of London and British sitcom Snuff Box.
Crossing our fingers for some funny banter between Berry and O’Brien, and maybe a few What We Do in the Shadows callbacks that we know and would definitely enjoy.
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