The only actor nominated for two Oscars for the same performance
When the Academy decides that it likes a movie, it often goes all in. Think of the films that have earned a baffling number of nominations, like the bloated biblical epic Ben-Hur, which earned 12, or Titanic and La La Land, which each earned 14. Cinema is meant to be an immersive medium, and when the Oscar voters get carried away, things can get out of hand.
In this regard, nothing beats the bonkers little fact that in 1945, one actor was nominated twice for the same role in the same film. It had nothing to do with technicalities; it was just pure enthusiasm. The Academy voters were so in love with his performance that they decided to throw self-respect to the winds and nominate Barry Fitzgerald for ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Supporting Actor’, because, let’s face it, the distinction between leading and supporting categories has always been pretty hazy.
The film in question was Going My Way, Leo McCarey’s musical comedy about a young priest played by Bing Crosby, who arrives at his new parish in New York City and clashes with his predecessor, played by Fitzgerald, over his informal approach to the job. The film is one of the starkest examples of how cinematic viewership has changed over the years. What was hailed as a stone-cold masterpiece in 1945 is now a quaintly outdated and even forgettable comedy that pales in comparison to even its fellow nominees. That year, two of the greatest films of all time were nominated for ‘Best Picture,’ George Cukor’s Gaslight and Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity.
In the end, though, it was Going My Way that took home the ‘Best Picture’ award and pretty much everything else. Out of ten nominations, it won in seven categories, including ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Original Screenplay’. Fitzgerald won ‘Best Supporting Actor’ but lost the ‘Best Actor’ award (which, just as a reminder, was for the exact same performance) to his co-star Crosby.
It couldn’t have gone much better unless Fitzgerald had won the supporting award and tied with Crosby for the lead award. Ties are rare, but they do happen, most notably when Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand took home ‘Best Actress’ awards in 1969.
You might think that since Fitzgerald was nominated twice in one year, he was the sort of actor who was constantly earning awards, but Going My Way provided his only two Oscar nominations. This is somewhat surprising, considering that he was one of his generation’s most prominent character actors. His credits include Bringing Up Baby, The Naked City, and several films directed by fellow Irishman John Ford, including How Green Was My Valley and The Quiet Man.
Following Fitzgerald’s dual nomination for the same performance, the Academy came to its senses and decided to lay down some concrete rules. From then on, actors could only be nominated in one category, though that hasn’t stopped them from receiving nominations for two separate films in the same year. For example, in 2019, Scarlett Johansson was nominated for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for Jojo Rabbit and ‘Best Actress’ for Marriage Story.
