Adrien Brody and Zoe Saldaña, along with fellow acting winners Kieran Culkin and Mikey Madison, will return as the first official presenters at the 98th Academy Awards. The announcement came from the show’s executive producer Raj Kapoor and executive producer Katy Mullan, signaling these past winners will participate in honoring the next group of Oscar recipients during the ceremony on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Returning Acting Champions Headline Presenters
Adrien Brody, who won his second Oscar for Best Actor portraying a Holocaust survivor architect in The Brutalist, joins the presenting roster alongside Mikey Madison, the Best Actress winner for her role in Anora. Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña both earned supporting acting Oscars last year for their distinct roles—Culkin as a sarcastic cousin in A Real Pain, and Saldaña as a struggling attorney in the Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez. These four represent last year’s acting winners and are set to present awards to the rising talents in this year’s lineup.
Tradition Continues with Returning Winner Presenters
The Academy frequently invites the previous year’s acting victors back to present awards, ensuring a sense of continuity at the ceremony. Past shows have occasionally mixed things up by having winning actors present awards typically reserved for actresses and vice versa. They have also revived the “fab five” style, where a group of five past winners from a category honors the new year’s nominees together. However, which specific categories Brody, Culkin, Madison, and Saldaña will present has not been disclosed by the Academy or its production team.
Upcoming Presenters and Oscar Season Landscape
More presenters for the 98th Oscars will be announced in the weeks leading to the event. The current nominations spotlight Ryan Coogler’s vampire saga Sinners, which achieved a record-breaking 16 nominations. Close behind is Paul Thomas Anderson’s politically charged drama One Battle After Another, securing 13 nods. Both titles compete for Best Picture alongside films including Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, and Train Dreams.
Season Progress and Ceremony Details
As awards season approaches its climax, key developments are expected from the 79th BAFTA Awards, followed by the Producers Guild of America Awards on February 28 and The Actor Awards (previously SAG Awards) on March 1. Final Oscar voting will take place between February 26 and March 5. Conan O’Brien will reprise his role as host for the Oscars broadcast on ABC, streaming live on Hulu, with the ceremony accessible in over 200 international territories.
“Brody won his second best actor statuette (after The Pianist, 2002) for portraying an architect and Holocaust survivor in The Brutalist, while Madison claimed best actress for playing the titular stripper in the dramedy Anora.” – Raj Kapoor, Executive Producer
“The Academy has long leaned on tradition by bringing back the previous year’s acting winners to hand off the honors.” – Katy Mullan, Executive Producer
“Conan O’Brien returns to host the telecast, set to air live March 15 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.” – Raj Kapoor, Executive Producer
