Why Leonardo DiCaprio wasn't at the 2026 Actor Awards
Why Leonardo DiCaprio wasn't at the 2026 Actor Awards
Ryan ColemanMon, March 2, 2026 at 3:31 AM UTC
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Leonardo DiCaprio at the BAFTAs in London on Feb. 22Credit: Ian West/PA Images via Getty
Leonardo DiCaprio did not attend the 2026 Actor Awards, despite his nomination for his performance in One Battle After Another.
The nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role sat out Sunday's ceremony put on by the Screen Actors Guild — a major precursor to the Academy Awards —due to a prior engagement with another highly decorated industry veteran. DiCaprio is currently in Europe shooting What Happens at Night, the next film from his frequent collaborator, Martin Scorsese, per PEOPLE. Michael B. Jordan won the category for his dual role in Sinners.
The film also stars Jennifer Lawrence, who has been similarly fêted across this year's awards circuit for her performance in Lynne Ramsay's Die My Love, but she did not pick up a nomination at the Actor Awards.
Leonardo DiCaprio in 'One Battle After Another'Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Entertainment Weekly did not immediately hear back from representatives for DiCaprio or the Actor Awards.
Fortunately for DiCaprio, his absence at tonight's ceremony, previously known as the SAG Awards, did not mean that One Battle After Another did go unrepresented.
Paul Thomas Anderson's saga of political revolutionaries and the twisted forces that seek to contain them was among the most nominated films of the evening, picking up five individual nods, as well as recognition in the Best Ensemble and Best Stunt Ensemble categories.
Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, and newcomer Chase Infiniti were also nominated for their performances in the film. DiCaprio and those same actors, excluding Infiniti, were also nominated for Academy Awards, with Taylor in particular leading her pack after picking up awards at the Golden Globes and several ceremonies judged by regional critics' groups.
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The film won in only one category, however: Sean Penn picked up the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.
One Battle After Another marks DiCaprio's first collaboration with Anderson, who is a favorite at the Actor Awards, directing many of his stars to nominations and even wins.
The film based on Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland follows DiCaprio's Bob Ferguson, a washed-up former progressive revolutionary who now lives in anonymity with his daughter Willa (Infiniti). He must get back in the practice of radical resistance, and fast, when the villainous military commander Lockjaw (Penn) comes looking for him and Willa.
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DiCaprio has a long history with the Actor Awards. He's received six previous individual nominations, and been a part of seven nominated ensembles. He won in Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role in 2017 for his performance in The Revenant.
Virtually every actor in the core One Battle After Another ensemble, which also includes Regina Hall, has won an award for their performance in the lead-up to the Oscars. At that ceremony, which will take place on March 15, DiCaprio faces off in the Best Actor category against Timothée Chalamet, Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan, and Wagner Moura.
See the full list of 2026 Actor Awards winners here.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
