Here Are the Youngest Oscar Winners Ever in 10 Key Categories

Timothée Chalamet could make Oscar history on March 2, when the 97th annual Academy Awards are presented at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. His performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown could make him the youngest winner ever for best actor. Chalamet, who will be 29 years and 65 days on Oscar night, would seize the title from Adrien Brody, who was 29 years and 343 days in 2003 when he won for The Pianist.

Ironically, Chalamet’s top rival for this year’s Oscar is Brody, who is nominated for The Brutalist. While it’s not over till it’s over, as Lenny Kravitz memorably put it, Brody seems to have the inside track to win the Oscar. He edged out Chalamet at the Golden Globe Awards, Critics Choice Awards and BAFTA Film Awards. Their next big showdown is at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday Feb. 23.

This is Chalamet’s second Oscar nomination for best actor. He was previously nominated, at age 22 years and 27 days, for his role as a 17-year-old falling in love with a graduate student in Call Me By My Name.  That made him the third-youngest nominee ever in this category. The youngest-ever best actor nominee was Jackie Cooper, who was nine years and 20 days old when he was nominated for playing the title role in Skippy, based on a popular comic strip and novel. Runner-up is Mickey Rooney, who was 19 years and 142 days old when he was nominated for Babes in Arms, the second film in which he co-starred with Judy Garland.

This focus on ages made us wonder who the youngest winners in other key categories are. We also checked to see who the youngest winner of an honorary award from the Academy is. The recipient, the OG “America’s Sweetheart,” was not even seven when she won.