If Kevin Costner, whose Western ”Dances With Wolves” has a dominant 12 Oscar nominations, wins both the actor and director Academy Awards next week, it will be an unprecedented accomplishment.
Laurence Olivier, the century`s greatest actor, came closest to achieving the feat in 1949. The producer, director and star of ”Hamlet” won the Oscar for best actor and accepted the film`s award for best picture.
But when the ballots were counted for best director, Olivier and
”Hamlet” were edged out by John Huston and ”The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.” Other actors who have won actor-director nominations are Orson Welles for ”Citizen Kane,” Woody Allen for ”Annie Hall” and Warren Beatty for
”Reds.”
Costner has a shot if ”Dances With Wolves” turns into a bandwagon. The early line says that his main competition among the actor nominees is Jeremy Irons (”Reversal of Fortune”) and among the directors is Martin Scorsese
(”GoodFellas”).
A longer shot to make Academy Awards history Monday is Gerard Depardieu. The French star was cited for his work in ”Cyrano de Bergerac.” The nomination of a performance in a foreign-language film is rare; winning is even rarer. It hasn`t happened since Sophia Loren took best actress for ”Two Women” in 1961.
