The breadth of talent with ties to Wales was on display at the 2025 Oscars. Two out of the three Welshmen nominated came up trumps Sunday night at L.A.’s Dolby Theatre, including The Brutalist cinematographer Lol Crawley, who grew up in Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain.
In his acceptance speech, Crawley thanked “all my friends back in Wales” and later told BBC Breakfast from the Vanity Fair afterparty: “[I am] very, very proud…. It doesn’t seem that long since I was there, to be honest, and I have a huge affection for that country.”
The creative added that he hopes the attention and accolades for Brady Corbet’s post-war epic spotlighted at the Oscars — including best original score and best actor for Adrien Brody — will “expand the conversations about what cinema can be.” Crawley said: “We’ve been slightly constrained by the length of the movies and the format we shoot on and I feel like [The Brutalist] has blown it out of the water.”
Elsewhere, special effects artist Rhys Salcombe, who grew up in Aberystwyth, Wales, was one of the recipients of the best visual effects award for his work on Dune: Part Two. The Denis Villeneuve-directed movie, starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler and Florence Pugh, also picked up the best sound Oscar, though many felt Villeneuve was snubbed in the director category after he failed to pick up a nod.
The third Welshman in attendance at the Dolby with hopes for a statuette was Trevor Matthews, who was one of four producers of The Brutalist. The coveted best picture honor went to Anora though as Sean Baker’s film became the big winner of the night with five victories.
Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are the four countries that make up the United Kingdom.
While Conclave performed at the BAFTAs, Edward Berger’s Vatican drama failed to achieve the same success on the biggest night in Hollywood. Englishman Peter Straughan took home the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, however, scoring another win for the Brits on Sunday evening.
Straughan thanked “our crew, our amazing cast, producers and Robin House Productions, Film Nation, Indian Paintbrush, Focus Features,” before dedicating a special acknowledgement to his daughter, Connie: “This is for you.”
Other international wins included Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here for best international feature film, triumphing over the scandal-hit Emilia Pérez, and the West Bank-based No Other Land, which won the best documentary feature Oscar.
Anora star Mikey Madison was named best actress, while Sean Baker won a record-breaking four awards for his film: best director, best original screenplay and best film editing (in addition to best picture). In the other acting categories, Brody was named best actor for The Brutalist, Kieran Culkin won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in A Real Pain and Zoe Saldaña was named best supporting actress for her performance in Emilia Pérez, noting that she is the “first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award.”
Read THR‘s roundup of the night’s most memorable moments here or head to the full list of winners here.
