And the least likable character is how Oscar season became dominated by difficult people

"the best way to get an acting Oscar is to play someone lovable, or someone lovably hateable. Not every acting winner fits that binary, of course, but the history of all four categories is filled with fascinatingly bad behavior (Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, JK Simmons in Whiplash) as well as expressions of sheer delight at the combination of actor and lovable character (Diane Keaton in Annie Hall, Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump, Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love)."

"The importance of likability in an Oscar campaign is akin to its importance in a political one though in the case of the Academy awards, performers are campaigning twice, for themselves as actors and, essentially, for their characters as part of the cinematic firmament."

"That's why likability is arguably the secret accelerant to the longtime trend of the awards going to actors playing real-life figures. It's not just about a physical transformation or seamless impersonation, because many of those biographical performance aren't really that when you put them side by side with the real thing. It's that extra rooting interest that comes from embodying Freddie Mercury, Winston Churchill, Stephen Hawking, Abraham Lincoln, Judy Garland."

Oscar acting winners historically fall into two categories: those playing lovable characters and those playing lovably hateable ones. Likability functions as a significant advantage in Oscar campaigns, operating similarly to political campaigns where performers advocate for themselves and their characters. This pattern extends to biographical performances, where Academy voters gravitate toward embodying admired real-life figures like Freddie Mercury, Winston Churchill, and Abraham Lincoln. The current year's nominees include charming gangster portrayals and lovable activists, though some characters defy traditional likability standards. Suffering can enhance empathy, and gender dynamics influence how much leeway male versus female performers receive in their character choices.

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