Jesse Plemons’ gripping performance in Yorgos Lanthimos‘ latest film, Bugonia, is generating significant discussion in Oscar circles, raising the prospect that he could be the first openly villainous character to achieve a Best Actor win since 2000. As the awards season builds momentum, the collaboration between Lanthimos and lead actors like Plemons and Emma Stone, paired with critical acclaim, positions the movie and its stars at the center of the Jesse Plemons Oscar Best Actor conversation.
Lanthimos and Stone’s Latest Project Gathers Oscar Buzz
A renewed partnership between acclaimed director Yorgos Lanthimos and Academy Award-winner Emma Stone has made Bugonia a major focal point for this year’s Oscars discourse. The film, adapted from the South Korean original Save the Green Planet!, is expected to earn Lanthimos his third Best Director nomination, with critical reception suggesting a strong run throughout the awards season. Despite being Lanthimos’ first remake, Bugonia maintains his signature touch, combining dark storytelling with a strangely triumphant tone, particularly from the standpoint of its protagonists.
Plemons Delivers a Disturbingly Convincing Antagonist
In Bugonia, Jesse Plemons takes on the role of Teddy, a conspiracy theorist deeply convinced that Emma Stone’s character, a corporate CEO, is actually an alien from Andromeda set on humanity’s destruction. Teddy enlists his cousin Don, played by Aidan Delbis, to assist him in kidnapping the CEO, believing this is their chance to expose and thwart the supposed alien threat.
Immediately following the abduction, Teddy orchestrates the shaving of the CEO’s head, convinced that her hair serves as a transmitter for alien contact. The situation escalates as Teddy commits increasingly violent acts, motivated by his unwavering belief in the mission, subjecting her to torture with the intent to extract information about the Andromedan mothership.
Despite being given a tragic personal history, Teddy is portrayed as the undeniable villain, never repentant and showing a relentless willingness to commit harm. The narrative reveals details that might partially validate some of his beliefs, but the film stays clear-eyed about his brutal methods, refusing to validate his actions or characterize him as sympathetic.
Will Tracy, the screenwriter, explained in an interview that, while he feels Teddy may be correct in some beliefs, the character’s choices are indefensible, noting,
“there were better and more humane means to his end.”
Plemons’ portrayal, therefore, is shaped not just by Teddy’s tragic past, but by his unyielding and remorseless behavior throughout the film.
Plemons Projected as a Strong Best Actor Contender for 2026
The intensity and composure Jesse Plemons brings to Teddy have made the Oscar Best Actor conversation a persistent one for Bugonia. Critics cite Plemons’ eerie blend of humanity and callousness as central to the film’s impact, contrasting his believable dialogue delivery, rigid physicality, and unwaveringly serious demeanor to the unsettling mission Teddy pursues. The understated yet chilling nature of his performance leaves audiences disturbed, reinforcing his status as a strong contender for a Best Actor nomination in 2026.
Bugonia’s distinctive tone benefits greatly from the commitment of both Plemons and Stone, as their performances prevent the film’s dry humor from undercutting the gravity of the plot. Plemons’ reputation for standout performances in notable supporting roles—such as his appearances in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Jane Campion’s Oscar-recognized Power of the Dog—has built anticipation for this lead performance, marking one of the highlights of his career.
The Legacy of Villainous Oscar Wins in the Best Actor Category
The last time an actor won the Best Actor Oscar for playing a clear-cut villain was in 2000, when Kevin Spacey received the award for his role as Lester Burnham in American Beauty. While Joaquin Phoenix‘s acclaimed turn as Joker in 2020 is sometimes cited as an exception, the film evokes empathy for its titular character, making it a nuanced case.
Performances in villain roles have been recognized in supporting categories in recent decades, such as Heath Ledger’s intense Joker in The Dark Knight, J.K. Simmons in Whiplash, Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men, and Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds. Each of these actors has demonstrated that nuanced portrayals of antagonists can capture the Academy’s attention, often resulting in some of cinema’s most memorable Oscar wins.
However, outside of possible exceptions like Daniel Day-Lewis’ morally flawed protagonist in There Will Be Blood, outright villainous roles have not claimed the Best Actor Oscar over the last twenty-six years. Should Jesse Plemons secure the award in 2026 for Bugonia, it would mark the end of this long-standing drought, highlighting a fresh openness in Academy voting patterns toward complex, unsympathetic characters in lead performances.
The outcome of the upcoming Academy Awards could signal a notable shift, both for Jesse Plemons’ career and for the recognition of villain roles in the Best Actor category, fueling even more interest in the ongoing Jesse Plemons Oscar Best Actor debate as award season approaches.
