The stunt Oscar now exists on paper: on April 10, 2025, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences created an award for Achievement in Stunt Design, to be handed out for the first time at the 100th Academy Awards in 2028. Films released in 2027 will be the first eligible, so no film in theaters this year can win it.
The short version: Stunt professionals campaigned for a category for more than three decades; veteran coordinator Jack Gill started in 1991. The award honors stunt design, the planning and staging of action, rather than any single performer. Key details are still to come, and the 99th Oscar rule changes NPR summarized in May 2026 did not address stunts: the Academy said eligibility and voting rules will be published with the rest of the Oscar rules in 2027, and it has not promised the award a slot on the telecast.
When will the first stunt Oscar be awarded?
At the 100th Oscars, in 2028. TheWrap’s report on the announcement put it plainly in its headline: the award will “Begin With Films Released in 2027.” NPR’s All Things Considered spelled out the consequence the next day: “we won’t see these awards until 2028.”
The Oscar calendar runs a year behind the release calendar, which explains the wait. The 98th Academy Awards, held in March 2026, honored films from 2025. The 99th, in 2027, will honor films released in 2026, and the Academy announced its rules in May 2026; NPR’s summary of those rules said they cover “films released in 2026.” The stunt category joins with the following year.
What is not settled is the presentation. According to TheWrap, the Academy said that “The specifics of the award’s presentation will be determined by the Academy’s Board of Governors and executive leadership at a future date,” and noted that the ceremony already presents awards in 23 categories. TheWrap pointed out that the Academy had said much the same when it announced the casting award.
What “stunt design” means
The name matters. Rather than rewarding the person who takes the fall, the category honors the team that designs the action. John Wick director Chad Stahelski, who also came up through stunts, welcomed that in a statement quoted by the A.V. Club, saying the Academy did “a really interesting thing with giving a Stunt Design Award, as opposed to an individual performer, because our department is one of the most collaborative and intricate of all the departments.”
Jack Gill described the job to NPR as both creative and protective: a stunt designer builds “every single action piece you have to put together and protect people,” working within “what the director sees” while keeping safety in view “because we do such extravagant stunts.” He stressed that it starts long before anyone is in harness: “We’re not only doing storyboards, but we’re designing the character around what his dialogue actually is.” His summary: “It is a design process.”
That framing also sidesteps an old awkwardness about who did what on screen. Gill told NPR that audiences now know about doubles, and that stars no longer hide them: “All actors want to come out and say, no, I’m not doing it. I’ve got three stunt doubles.” How stunt teams are listed in today’s end credits is covered in our guide to how stunt performers are credited.
The 34-year campaign for a stunt Oscar
Los Angeles Magazine dates the push to 1991, when stunt coordinator Jack Gill began advocating for a stunt category. Gill told NPR his first reaction to the news was disbelief at the timeline: “I never thought it would take 34 years.” His stated goal was simple: “We just want to be recognized by our peers.”
Before this, stunt work reached the Oscar stage only through honorary awards. Los Angeles Magazine counts two: Yakima Canutt in 1967, for safety measures for stunt actors, and Hal Needham in 2012, for his career in stunts. It adds that Jackie Chan’s honorary award in 2016 recognized his career rather than his stunt work specifically. If you want to see why Chan’s action is studied, our piece on the stunts in Police Story breaks it down.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1967 | Honorary Oscar to Yakima Canutt, for stunt safety work |
| 1991 | Jack Gill begins campaigning for a stunt category |
| 2012 | Honorary award to stunt veteran Hal Needham |
| 2024 Oscars | Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt salute stunt crews on stage |
| April 10, 2025 | Academy board creates Achievement in Stunt Design |
| 2027 | Eligibility and voting rules due; eligible films released |
| 2028 | 100th Oscars: first stunt design award |
The final push came from stunt performers who became directors. David Leitch, who started as a stunt performer and coordinator, and stunt coordinator Chris O’Hara made presentations to the Academy, TheWrap reported. Leitch’s The Fall Guy, about a stuntman, became a public argument for the cause: at the 2024 Oscars its stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt paid tribute to stunt crews on stage. Our ranking of The Fall Guy’s best stunts shows what the film was celebrating. When the category was approved, Leitch called stunts “essential to every genre of film,” tracing a line back to Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin.
Who will vote, and who already has stunt awards
The Academy had a constituency in place. TheWrap reported that more than 100 stunt professionals belong to the Academy’s Production and Technology Branch. Board leaders Bill Kramer and Janet Yang said in their statement that “Since the early days of cinema, stunt design has been an integral part of filmmaking.” Which members will nominate, and how, is part of the rules package due in 2027.
Other awards got there first. TheWrap noted that the Emmys have three stunt categories (Outstanding Stunt Performance and two for stunt coordination, split between drama and comedy) and that the Screen Actors Guild Awards have stunt categories too, announced on the red carpet before the main show. Our explainer on how awards season runs from the guilds to the Oscars places those in the calendar.
A rare addition to the Oscar categories
New categories are unusual. TheWrap noted that only one category had been added more recently, the casting award first presented at the 98th Academy Awards in March 2026, and that before casting, no category had been added since Best Animated Feature in 2002. Gill told NPR the slow pace is built in: creating a category “takes a lot of paperwork.” For films being planned now, that paperwork has a practical consequence: action designed for a 2027 release is the first that can compete.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an Oscar for stunts?
Yes, from 2028. The Academy created the Achievement in Stunt Design award in April 2025, and it will be presented for the first time at the 100th Academy Awards, honoring films released in 2027.
Why is the stunt Oscar called stunt design?
It recognizes the design of action sequences, which involves coordinators, designers and performers working together, rather than a single stunt performer. Chad Stahelski praised the Academy for that choice.
Who campaigned for a stunt category at the Oscars?
Stunt coordinator Jack Gill began advocating in 1991. More recently, director David Leitch and stunt coordinator Chris O’Hara made presentations to the Academy.
Will the stunt design award be shown on the Oscars telecast?
Not guaranteed. The Academy left the details of how and where it is presented for its board and executive leadership to settle later, as it had with the casting award.
Has anyone won an Oscar for stunt work before?
Only honorary ones. Yakima Canutt received an honorary award in 1967 for his stunt safety work, and Hal Needham received one in 2012.
Sources
- Academy Awards add a new category — for stunt design — NPR, All Things Considered, April 11, 2025
- Oscars Add Best Stunt Design Award to Begin With Films Released in 2027 — TheWrap, April 10, 2025
- The Oscars are finally adding a stunt design category — William Hughes, The A.V. Club, April 10, 2025
- The Oscars Introduce New Category to Recognize Stunt Design — Los Angeles Magazine, April 2025
- Academy announces major overhaul to rules — Chloe Veltman, NPR, May 2, 2026