With breakout star Tonatiuh likely to be put forward in the Best Actor category at the 2026 Academy Awards, we could be looking at a potential Best Supporting Actor nomination for Diego Luna for Kiss of the Spider Woman when the Oscar nominations are announced on 22nd January 2026. That could – potentially – put Cassian in direct competition with Luthen, as Stellan Skarsgård could also be getting a nomination for his role in comedy drama Sentimental Value.
Luna features as Valentin, the role that saw the late Raul Julia nominated in the Best Actor category at the 1985 awards, a campaign that saw his co-star the late William Hurt take the Oscar home.
This new version, written and directed by Oscar winner Bill Condon, stars Diego Luna as Valentín, a political prisoner who shares a jail cell with Molina, played by breakout star Tonatiuh. Molina, a window dresser imprisoned for public indecency, escapes the grim reality of their confinement by retelling the plot of a glamorous Hollywood musical featuring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez).
In a shift from the 1985 awards strategy — when both Hurt and Raul Julia were campaigned in the lead actor category — this year’s campaign is splitting its acting pushes. It was revealed to Variety exclusively that Tonatiuh will compete in lead actor, while Luna and Lopez are being positioned in the supporting categories.
Luna, fresh off a successful Emmy run as an executive producer on Disney+’s “Andor,” steps into the role once played by Julia. The Mexican actor, who first gained international recognition in “Y tu mamá también” (2001), could benefit from a less competitive supporting actor field, where only Stellan Skarsgård (“Sentimental Value”) and Sean Penn (“One Battle After Another”) are currently seen as front-runners.
Diego was one of many Andor guests at last weekends Starfury: Invasion, and we’ll be bringing the first of our event reviews to the site tomorrow evening. Before then, listen to Mark and Mark on episode 235 of Making Tracks, recorded at the show.
