Glenn Close earns Oscar and Razzie noms for same role in Hillbilly Elegy

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

One organization thought she was one of the best of the year while another thought she was one of the worst. Glenn Close is no stranger to awards attention but this year she has the distinction of being honored and dishonored for the same role in Hillbilly Elegy. The actress was simultaneously nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar and the Worst Supporting Actress Razzie.

Hillbilly Elegy, directed by Ron Howard and based on the J.D. Vance memoir of the same name, looked like it was going to be essential Oscar bait before it made its debut on Netflix. Also starring Amy Adams, I found myself shocked when the Rotten Tomatoes score landed at a mere 25% and it was heavily panned by critics. I finally saw the film recently and it's a bit of a mess but the performances weren't really the issue for me. It appears The Academy felt the same way when they decided to honor Close with a nomination for playing Bonnie "Mamaw" Vance. 

Close is in pretty good company in the Supporting Actress Oscar category. Maria Bakalova received a nod for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Olivia Colman was acknowledged for The Father, Amanda Seyfriend channeling old Hollywood in Mank got her awards attention this season and Yuh-Jung Youn received kudos for her work in Minari. Close's company for this year's Worst Supporting Actress isn't as elite as they would say. Lucy Hale and Maggie Q are representing the critically maligned Fantasy Island, Kristen Wiig is up for Wonder Woman 1984, and Maddie Ziegler received dishonors for Sia's directorial debut, Music. Hillbilly Elegy is also up for Worst Director for Ron Howard and Worst Screenplay for Vanessa Taylor. Close also won't have to champion Hillbilly Elegy alone at the Oscars as the film also scored a nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Close earning an Oscar and Razzie nomination for the same role is unusual but it's not the first time this has occurred. Late actor James Coco was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars and Worst Supporting Actor at the Razzies for his role as Jimmy Perrino in Only When I Laugh in 1982. The same thing happened to Amy Irving in 1984 when she earned Best/Worst Supporting Actress nominations for playing Hadass in Barbara Streisand's Yentl. What's more common is for a performer to receive Oscar and Razzie nominations in the same year for playing different roles in different films. Sandra Bullock claimed Oscar gold for The Blind Side and received the Worst honors for All About Steve. The same thing happened to Melissa McCarthy when she was nominated for Can You Ever Forgive Me? in 2019 at the Oscars but also caught Razzie's attention for The Happytime Murders. Jack Nicholson also got the Academy's love for A Few Good Men and got hit twice by the Razzies for Hoffa and Man Trouble the same year.

Let's not cry a river for Glenn Close, however. With Hillbilly Elegy she landed her eighth Oscar nomination and even though she has never taken home the award, she's widely considered one of the best actresses of her generation working today. At this point in her career, I'm sure she takes a lot of this stuff in stride.

Do YOU think Glenn Close deserved both Oscar and Razzie nominations for her role in Hillbilly Elegy?