Are ensemble casts ever ...
Question: Are ensemble casts ever recognized with an Oscar that's designed especially for a group of actors who worked really well together? Or does someone always have to be singled out as a lead or supporting player?
Answer: Although the SAG Awards, which are given by the Screen Actors Guild, regularly honor ensembles, the Academy Awards only recognize individuals. But there have been instances in which all the actors with speaking roles are nominated. They include Sleuth (1972) — which, to be fair, has only two speaking roles, but both Michael Caine and Sir Laurence Olivier were nominated in the best-actor category — and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). Virginia Woolf is a four-person chamber piece, and Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal and Sandy Dennis were all nominated, the former two as leads and the latter as supporting players. Taylor and Dennis won; Burton and Segal didn't.
