15 2017 Oscar nominees you didn’t know were previously nominated

After his Golden Globe win, things are looking good for Casey Affleck and his Best Actor Academy Award nomination for “Manchester by the Sea,” which is encouraging, as this isn’t his first Oscar nod. Affleck previously received a Best Supporting Actor nomination in 2008 for his role in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” but lost to Javier Bardem for “No Country for Old Men.” Hard to argue with that pick, but perhaps the Academy wanted Affleck and simply couldn’t fit the name of his movie in the envelope.

By now you’ve probably heard all about 32-year-old Damien Chazelle, as “La La Land," the film he wrote and directed, is up for a record-tying 14 Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay nods for Chazelle. However, you might be unaware that Chazelle also wrote and directed a previous Oscar-nominated film: 2014’s “Whiplash.” That movie won Best Supporting Actor (J.K. Simmons), Best Editing and Best Sound, but Chazelle failed to win his nods for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Hopefully third time's the charm for Viola Davis, who received previous Oscar nominations for 2011’s “The Help” and 2008’s “Doubt.” “Fences” marks the second time she’s up for Best Supporting Actress, and to win it she’ll have to beat the likes of Nicole Kidman, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris and Octavia Spencer, her co-star in “The Help.” Spencer took home an Academy Award for her role in that film.

It seems like Ryan Gosling is everywhere nowadays, yet his only previous Oscar nomination was actually a decade ago: a Best Actor nod for “Half Nelson.” That year, his fellow nominees were a few guys named Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, Peter O’Toole and Forest Whitaker, with Whitaker winning for “The Last King of Scotland.” Gosling already picked up a Golden Globe in 2017 for “La La Land,” but he once again has some stiff competition in the Academy’s Best Actor category.

Although Yorgos Lanthimos didn’t technically receive a previous Oscar nomination, if the 2009 film “Dogtooth” had won Best Foreign Language Film, Lanthimos, the movie’s director, would have accepted the golden statue on behalf of Greece. (When a movie wins Best Foreign Language Film, it is actually considered an award for the country as a whole.) If he wins this year for writing the original screenplay for the dark dystopian comedy “The Lobster,” he will share the honor with co-writer Efthymis Filippou.

Kenneth Lonergan’s two nominations for “Manchester by the Sea” (Best Director and Best Original Screenplay) are actually his third and fourth nods from the Academy, as he was previous up for Best Original Screenplay for “Gangs of New York” in 2003 and “You Can Count on Me” in 2001. Lonergan also directed the latter but did not receive a Best Director nod.

Based on the box office numbers, we’re guessing you haven’t seen “Captain Fantastic,” the film for which Viggo Mortensen received a Best Actor nod for this year’s Academy Awards. You may also not remember the last time Mortensen received a Best Actor nomination, which was back in 2008 for the crime thriller “Eastern Promises.” Viggo lost that category to Daniel Day-Lewis for “There Will Be Blood.”

Ever heard of Thomas Newman, the composer who recently received an Best Original Score nomination for “Passengers”? You should, as this is Newman’s 14th Academy Award nomination — and he has yet to win one! His 14 nominations for scoring films such as “WALL-E,” “Finding Nemo,” “American Beauty” and “The Shawshank Redemption” actually put him near the top of the list for most nods without a win in Oscar history. Thankfully, Newman already owns six Grammys and an Emmy.

Rodrigo Prieto has been the cinematographer and director of photography for a number of films, TV shows and shorts over the last 30 years, yet his only previous Best Cinematography Oscar nomination was for “Brokeback Mountain” in 2006. This year, he’s in the category again for “Silence,” which he worked on under director Martin Scorsese.

It’s hard to forget a name like J. Ralph, yet the Academy has forgotten to give J. Ralph an Oscar despite his two previous Best Original Song nominations for 2015’s “Racing Extinction” and 2012’s “Chasing Ice.” This year, the self-taught musician is in the same category again, for the documentary “Jim: The James Foley Story.” If he wins, he’ll share the award with another person in this slideshow.

Michael Shannon has been acting for over 20 years, yet his career really didn’t start to take off until his 2009 Oscar nomination for “Revolutionary Road.” Eight years and many films later, Shannon has now received his second Best Supporting Actor nomination from the Academy, this time for his role in Tom Ford’s “Nocturnal Animals” alongside Amy Adams.

Sting’s current nomination for Best Original Song (“The Empty Chair” from the film “Jim: The James Foley Story”) is actually the fourth of his career. However, you might be unaware of that fact, as Sting has yet to actually win one. His previous nods were for original songs in “Cold Mountain” (2003), “Kate & Leopold” (2001) and “The Emperor’s New Groove” (2000), which he lost to Annie Lennox, Randy Newman and Bob Dylan, respectively.

Hopefully you recall Emma Stone’s previous Oscar nomination, a Best Supporting Actress nod for “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” as it was only two years ago. Stone lost to Patricia Arquette for “Boyhood,” and she faces some tough competition in this year’s Best Actress category with Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman, Ruth Negga and Isabelle Huppert.

You might recall one of Michelle Williams’ previous Academy Award nominations, as this year’s nod is actually the fourth of her career. In addition to Best Supporting Actress for “Manchester by the Sea,” Williams was previously up for 2011’s “My Week with Marilyn” (Best Actress), 2010’s “Blue Valentine (Best Actress) and 2005’s “Brokeback Mountain” (Best Supporting Actress).

The surprise here might be twofold, as few people are aware that Pharrell is up for an Oscar this year, and probably even fewer know he’s been nominated before. This year, Pharrell is one of the producers who will accept an award if “Hidden Figures” wins Best Picture, and he previously received a Best Original Song nod for “Happy,” which was actually written for the 2013 animated film “Despicable Me 2.”