With the 2024 movie schedule winding down, it means a new season is right around the corner, and that’s awards season. This past week, the 2025 Golden Globe nominations were announced, and there are many exciting names included, like Zoe Saldaña, who got her first nod ever for Emilia Pérez. Now, it may seem surprising that the Star Trek alum has never been nominated before this for successful films like Avatar. However, recently she got real about award shows not recognizing motion capture performances and all the effort and artistry that goes into pulling them off.
Saldaña, along with other nominees, shared brief thoughts of their respective 2025 nods with Variety. The conversation opened with her excitement for Emilia Pérez. Then, when asked if CGI motion-capture performances — like hers in Avatar — should be considered for performance categories, The Guardians of the Galaxy actor had this to say:
I’m going to keep hoping that people and members of academies and organizations reach a level of understanding of what performance capture truly is and what it does for the artist. It gives the artist the right to take full proprietorship of their work. It is not a work that is cloned or imitated. The artist is the one that really does all the labor and the technicians, in post, paint over it.
It’s surprising that the ruling has stood for all of these years, especially with the rise in movies similar to Avatar. The amount of work actors have to put in behind the scenes of what we see on the screen is jarring, the physicality alone makes me sweat. Seriously, though, performing for motion capture is an art form in itself, and it should be recognized.
The Amsterdam alum then went on to explain just how much work goes into a mo-cap role. She shared:
You don’t go into a studio in your sweatpants, and you lend your voice, and then somebody else creates an idea of how they think you would move if you said something like this. Every movement that every character that has been done under performance capture has been performed either by an actor or a stunt actor, and I hope that one day it is able to be recognized, because it is just a shame to overlook the sacrifices and the work put into these films.
Again, the complete dedication and planning that goes into these performances are a whole team effort, but they get elevated by the actor performing. It’s not just a casual gig that’s somewhat removed, it’s next-level work. That is evident in Avatar, but knowing all these details makes me even more appreciative of the time, effort and work that goes into pulling off characters like Neytiri.
It is mind-boggling to think about all of those mo-cap snubs over the years (like all of Andy Serkis‘ work in Lord of the Rings), because of this stipulation. However, hopefully, there will be an amendment or new addition that makes it so these performers can get nods. While I doubt that will happen in time for the upcoming threequel of Avatar (which will come out toward the end of the 2025 movie schedule), maybe mo-cap performances can be considered when the fourth one comes out, so brilliant work like Saldaña’s can be recognized.
Now, if you’d like to watch Saldaña’s nominated film, Emilia Pérez, you can do so with a Netflix subscription. And if you’re interested in watching the Avatar franchise you can catch it with a Disney+ subscription.