Rosamund Pike (‘Saltburn’): Golden Globes darling could be Oscar nominee next

It’s always fun to have an unpredictable Oscars race and, if we’re going to get that anywhere this year, it looks like it’ll be in Best Supporting Actress. Lily Gladstone‘s switch from supporting to lead for “Killers of the Flower Moon” shook things up but, even now, it doesn’t seem like there is an Oscars frontrunner in this category. This is joyous for us Oscar lovers and could be equally fruitful for several stars on the precipice of a nomination here, such as “Saltburn” player Rosamund Pike.

The actress stars in Emerald Fennell‘s Amazon MGM Studios/Warner Bros. film, which follows Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) — an Oxford student who stays at the family home of his rich classmate Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). While Keoghan and Elordi will grab the headlines, Pike has the time of her life playing the dry, acerbic matriarch and delivers each line with bite. She recently parodied Keoghan’s final dance sequence in the film in a TikTok video and that fun energy is brought into the film with a vibrant, fresh performance appreciated by critics.

Kristy Puchko (Mashable) observed: “Rosamund Pike, who deserved an Oscar for ‘Gone Girl,’ gives her funniest performance yet as mother Elspeth, who chatters away with her concern about others — in between some of the most cutting barbs ever committed to film. (Her withering delivery of ‘She’ll do anything for attention’ may be the best punchline of the year.) With a wide smile and breezy tone, Pike welcomes audiences into Saltburn, then swiftly stings with a series of increasingly outrageous confessions, to which Oliver — and us — are eager audiences. She is electrifying in her blithe cruelty, delivering the kind of lines that drag queens would call ‘reads’ but with the British brightness that makes their sharp edge all the more jolting.”

Maureen Lee Lenker (EW) noted: “Rosamund Pike is ‘Saltburn’’s secret weapon — her razor-sharp wit transforms chilly family matriarch Elspeth into a terrifyingly delicious satire of the idle rich. She cuts through her scenes with the precision of an ice pick, once again proving her tremendous skill and deceptively clever approach to her work.”

Gregory Ellwood (The Playlist) added: “In a surprise to no one, Pike delivers a comedic masterclass while somehow bringing genuine depth to a character that is anything but grounded.”

Currently, Pike is outside of our predicted nominees for Best Supporting Actress, according to our Oscars odds chart for this category: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”), Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”), Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”), Jodie Foster (“Nyad”), and Julianne Moore (“May December”). However, Pike is certainly by no means out of this race. She was nominated at the Golden Globes this year for Best Supporting Actress in a bid that surprised a fair few. That lends awards credibility and weight to her Oscars campaign and thrusts her into the limelight.

Colorful performances such as this one tend to do well in this category, with recent examples including Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis (Curtis won) in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Maria Bakalova in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” and Laura Dern (who won) in “Marriage Story.” Plus, to put it rather bluntly, characters who are mothers are often found in the lists of Best Supporting Actress nominees, including Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”), Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”), and Scarlett Johansson (“Jojo Rabbit”).

We also know that the academy likes Fennell very much. Her debut feature as a director, “Promising Young Woman,” garnered five Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director for Fennell, and Best Actress for Carey Mulligan. It also won Best Original Screenplay for Fennell. If voters like “Saltburn” just as much, Pike could get taken along for the ride in the same way past nominees in this category have such as Ellis (“King Richard”), Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”), and Marina de Tavira (“Roma”).

The biggest factor supporting Pike’s potential Oscar nomination, however, is just how unpredictable this category is. Our predicted five nominees by no means feel firm, not like our predicted nominees for the other three acting categories. This one feels like we could have at least one or two surprise nominations, like we’ve had in this category in previous years. Kathy Bates picked up a somewhat surprise bid in 2020 for “Richard Jewell,” de Tavira landed a surprise nomination in 2019 for “Roma,” and Lesley Manville earned a similar bid in 2018 for “Phantom Thread.” It’s almost a given that we will get a surprise bid or two in this category this year, considering how open this race feels, and why not Pike? The British actress only has one Oscar nomination to her name — that came in 2015 for Best Actress for “Gone Girl.” It’s time Pike’s talents — and hilarious performance — were valued again.

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