The 99th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will be held on Sunday, March 14, 2027, while the nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 21. When that happens, there are a few actors who are expected to be in the running for the Best Actor Oscar, according to Variety, including Tom Cruise for “Digger,” Matt Damon for “The Odyssey,” John Malkovich for “Wild Horse Nine,” Pedro Pascal for “Behemoth!” and Andrew Scott for “Elsinore.”
Although Variety chose Malkovich as the frontrunner, The Guardian named Scott as their choice. If the latter publication is correct, then the win will be historic and something that’s never happened before.
Scott May Be the 1st Openly Gay Man to Win a Best Actor Oscar
Amazon MGM StudiosWhile discussing Scott’s possible achievement, The Guardian reported that “[t]he Irish actor, 50 next month, is now not only considered a lock for a leading actor Oscar nomination but almost certain to take the prize next spring.”
Although that’s enough of an accomplishment for Scott to be proud of, The Guardian also noted that “[s]hould he win, he will become the first out gay actor to do so in the Academy’s almost 100-year history.”
Just 17 years old when Scott appeared in his first film, he moved to London when he was 22, and early in his career was told to keep the fact that he’s gay under wraps. The Guardian mentions that during the recent Toronto premiere for “Elsinore,” Scott explained that the situation resulted in “a horrible feeling that I perhaps wasn’t going to be able to speak a language I was desperate to speak.”
However, in 2013, when Scott was 37, and not long after he was introduced to countless fans while playing Moriarty in the BBC’s “Sherlock,” he “came out publicly,” The Guardian points out, while adding, “In the 13 years since, Scott has arguably done more than any man since Ian McKellen to refute the idea that publicly gay actors cannot plausibly play straight roles. His part in ‘Fleabag’ is the most lusted after example…”
Fans ‘Went Wild’ for Scott’s ‘Hot Priest’
Amazon MGM StudiosAlthough, as we mentioned, plenty of viewers discovered Scott thanks to “Sherlock,” others became fans of the actor when he appeared in “Fleabag” as the holy man known as the “Hot Priest.”
As The Cut explains, the second season of the show involves “Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s eponymous main character fall[ing] in love with a man who’s charming and funny, who listens to and really sees her, and who’s just the exact right amount of hot. The only problem? He’s a priest.”
Granted, that little detail didn’t stop Fleabag from developing feelings for the religious figure, and also didn’t stop fans from adoring him almost just as much. The Cut noted that “[w]hen the season premiered over in the U.K…., audiences immediately went wild for The Priest…”
While talking to Scott in May 2019, The Cut brought up the fact “that when the show premiered in the UK [the priest] became a bit of a sensation,” then asked, “Were you expecting that?”
“Oh, God no,” Scott said in response. “I knew that the series was really special. I definitely knew that it sort of tapped into something that I think would appeal to a large section of the audience. It’s so humane — it’s funny and sad and I think that’s what people really want in a drama. I had no idea that the dog collar would make such an impact on people. It’s not me, I think it’s something about the forbidden fruits of the priest that does something for people.”
