Having just achieved her first Oscar nomination in 29 years for her featured turn in “Nyad,” previous two-time Best Actress winner Jodie Foster is looking to follow in the exact footsteps of Ingrid Bergman, who currently stands as the only performer to net a supporting trophy after scoring multiple lead victories. Unlike Bergman, who won Best Supporting Actress with under 17 minutes of screen time in “Murder on the Orient Express” (1975), Foster’s latest performance passes the one-hour mark, making it the longest one to ever bring her academy recognition.
Foster has now earned five total acting bids over the course of 47 years, with her winning lead performances in “The Accused” (1989) and “The Silence of the Lambs” (1992) averaging out to 53 minutes and 53 seconds (or 47.09% of the films). Her new nomination boosts her overall mean by more than three minutes, up to 47 minutes and nine seconds (or 40.78%).
Check out our gallery and screen time analysis of Foster’s five Oscar-nominated performances, and be sure to tune in to the 96th Academy Awards, airing Sunday, March 10 on ABC.
2024 – ‘Nyad’ (Best Supporting Actress)
Foster’s performance as swimming coach Bonnie Stoll opposite Annette Bening as titular athlete Diana Nyad ranks as the seventh longest one nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the category’s 88-year history. As the third performer to join the top 10 within the last decade – following 2016 winner Alicia Vikander (“The Danish Girl”; 59:37) and nominee Rooney Mara (“Carol”; 1:10:37) – she falls 15 minutes and 23 seconds short of breaking the record set by Jennifer Jones (“Since You Went Away”) in 1945.
Of course, Foster outranks all of her 2024 challengers in terms of screen time, landing over 30 minutes and 26% above her lineup’s average. At the opposite end of the range is Emily Blunt, whose performance in “Oppenheimer” lasts for just 16 minutes and 50 seconds. Between them are America Ferrera (“Barbie”; 22:08), Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”; 24:19), and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”; 25:29).
1995 – ‘Nell’ (Best Actress)
52 minutes, 58 seconds (47.00% of the film)
Foster’s third and most recent lead notice came for her portrayal of Nell Kellty, a young woman who is studied by a doctor following the death of her mother, who had kept her completely isolated from society since birth. She had the second lowest amount of screen time among her competitors but fell just two minutes and 2% below their average.
The first and only actress to best Foster in a lead contest was Jessica Lange, who was honored for her 56-minute and 18-second performance in “Blue Sky,” which took up 55.80% of the film. She had previously clinched a supporting trophy for “Tootsie” (1983), in which she appears for 29 minutes and 28 seconds (or 25.35%).
1992 – ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (Best Actress)
56 minutes, 2 seconds (47.32% of the film)
As FBI trainee Clarice Starling, Foster’s second victory helped make “The Silence of the Lambs” only the third film to win the “Big Five” Oscars (Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Actress), after “It Happened One Night” (1935) and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1976). On average, the three pairs of lead champs were separated by 28 minutes and 31 seconds of screen time, with Foster outpacing her costar, Anthony Hopkins, by 31 minutes and 10 seconds.
Foster also ranked second among her fellow nominees in this case, becoming the fourth of five actresses in a row to win by being in that position. This time, she fell more than 10 minutes and 4% below the lineup’s average.
1989 – ‘The Accused’ (Best Actress)
51 minutes, 44 seconds (46.86% of the film)
At the time of her win, 26-year-old Foster was the ninth youngest Best Actress recipient but has since moved to 12th place on that list. Her performance as rape victim Sarah Tobias was also the 19th (and now 29th) shortest to ever merit a Best Actress Oscar, remaining one of 45 to fall under 60 minutes.
She and the 1989 also-rans had a screen time average that was over 15 minutes and 9% higher than her own, with the numbers being skewed by two actresses with almost 90 minutes apiece: Melanie Griffith (“Working Girl”; 1:27:48) and Sigourney Weaver (“Gorillas in the Mist”; 1:29:40). Weaver was further recognized that year for her 22-minute and 18-second supporting performance in “Working Girl” but lost that race to Geena Davis (“The Accidental Tourist”; 29:30).
1977 – ‘Taxi Driver’ (Best Supporting Actress)
14 minutes, 43 seconds (12.95% of the film)
Having turned 14 less than three months prior to her inaugural nomination, Foster became the seventh (now 16th) youngest performer ever recognized in a competitive Oscar category. The nearly half-century gap between this and her current supporting bid also makes her the new record holder for longest span between consecutive notices for a single acting award.
As prostitute Iris Steensma, she was beaten on her first outing by Beatrice Straight, whose five-minute and two-second performance in “Network” remains the shortest to ever win an Oscar. In this case, she landed more than three minutes and 3% above the lineup’s average. Their physical mean (11:22) ranks as the second lowest in the category’s history (after that of the 1948 group), while no quintet has yet reached a percentage average lower than theirs (9.66%)
