Ryan Gosling‘s sidekick in Project Hail Mary – played by voice actor James Oritz – is set to be submitted for an Oscar.
Oritz, a stage performer and master puppeteer, has been central to one of the year’s most talked-about screen creations: Rocky, the spider-like alien at the heart of the sci-fi movie.
Brought to life through intricate puppetry and vocal performance, the character has become one of the film’s most celebrated elements and according to Variety, Ortiz will be submitted for consideration for the supporting actor category at the Oscars.
The publication claims that Oritz is eligible for an Oscar consideration based on the current rules.
James Ortiz, the puppeteer behind Rocky in ‘PROJECT HAIL MARY,’ will be submitted for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars.
(Source: @Variety) pic.twitter.com/mtdFkB5Swv
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 21, 2026
In addition, his work is eligible for the Actor Awards, where puppeteers fall under SAG-AFTRA jurisdiction but under the Golden Globes’ existing rules, his work will not be eligible.
The Critics Choice Awards have no explicit guidelines that would exclude him, suggesting he would be eligible for consideration along with the BAFTAs given they are the only voting body to ever nominate an animated voice-acting performance in Eddie Murphy in Shrek for best supporting actor in 2001.
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street), Project Hail Mary stars Gosling as an astronaut who wakes up on a space station with no recollection of who he is or what his mission is.
He slowly learns that he was sent into outer space to reverse the impact of a phenomena causing the sun to die out, but soon discovers that he won’t be working alone.
Elsewhere, Gosling recently spoke to NME about the movie and his gothic noughties folk duo Dead Man’s Bones.
When asked about whether he was “gutted” that co-star Sandra Hüller also got to sing a Harry Styles song in the film’s karaoke scene while he watched from the sidelines, Gosling said: “Oh my God, I was so relieved,” going on to add that the scene wasn’t originally in the script.
He continued: “We had karaoke in the background but the scene was just like a party scene and people were singing like Scorpions in the background or something but we were on an aircraft carrier. Sandra’s dressing room was down the hall from me and I heard her singing and I came in and I was like, ‘You can sing like that?’ and said, ‘Well can you sing in this karaoke scene?’ and she was like, ‘I don’t think so’. I begged.”
Project Hail Mary is out in cinemas now.