Primetime Could Give Three Actors Their First Oscar Nominations

Robert Pattinson has built a reputation over the last few years for wonderfully strange performances. Combined with a massive marketing push and some very well-edited trailers, that reputation has turned A24's "Primetime" into one of the most anticipated movies of 2026. And now that the film is finally here, critics are praising "Primetime," and Pattinson in particular, who may well have his best shot yet at an Academy Award nomination for the part.

Pattinson's turn as "To Catch a Predator" host Chris Hansen may not go down as the most bone-accurate embodiment of the real man, but that's not really what "Primetime" is going for either. The film is more of a psychological thriller wearing the clothes of a biopic, and Pattinson's Hansen is equal parts a TV ratings obsessive chasing fame and a self-proclaimed champion of light in a world succumbing to darkness and evil. Director Lance Oppenheim doesn't try too hard to justify either of those two halves of the character, leaving it up to the viewer to determine how much this fictionalized Hansen is a downright liar, and to what extent he's actually psychotic.

Putting aside directorial intent and the larger thematic angling of the film — aspects that have been a bit more polarizing for critics — Pattinson is a powerhouse. His recent run of films, which include turns in "The Drama," "The Odyssey," "Mickey 17," and an upcoming part in "Dune: Part Three," has established him as a true great of his generation, and this is the exact sort of performance that tends to push an actor of Pattinson's profile over the edge. But while most of the headlines will center on him, he isn't the only actor in "Primetime" with a real shot at a first Oscar nod.

The supporting cast of "Primetime" deserves as much praise as Pattinson, from Phoebe Bridgers' small part as a "Predator" decoy actor to Matthew Maher's high-energy turn as online pedophile hunter Xavier Von Erck. But it's the two main supporting parts that bear the brunt of the film's humanity, or lack of same: Merritt Wever as Hansen's producer, Andie Bender, and Skyler Gisondo as aspiring young actor and new decoy Dan Plum.

Wever is already a screen veteran, with six Primetime Emmy nominations and three wins for "Nurse Jackie," "Godless," and "Severance." But she's never been nominated for an Academy Award. As Andie, she is the foundation of the film's fictionalized "To Catch a Predator" (the character was invented for the film and is not a real person). Never not working, always pounding gum and popping ibuprofen for "stress headaches," she wrestles with Hansen over the direction of the show and his own professed crusade, with a handful of moments where she steals the scene right out from under Pattinson.

Gisondo's Dan is the heart of the film — an outsider brought into Hansen's orbit who oscillates between zeal for the mission and disgust at his part in it. "Primetime" isn't subtle in its suggestion that the voyeurism of "Predator" is itself a kind of perversion, and that idea is most clearly channeled through Gisondo, who delivers the best performance of his career and anchors the film's brutal final act. It wouldn't be shocking to see him also up for best supporting actor when all is said and done.

"Primetime" feels like a defining moment for Robert Pattinson. Freshly turned 40 this year, he's had plenty of central roles over the years, but this is a true star vehicle — playing a real historic figure in a hyper-stylized way, with his face on all the posters. Pattinson's interpretation of Hansen comprises nearly the entire marketing scheme for the movie — and after the reception he's had, it isn't likely to be the last time.

"This role was made for Rob," Oppenheim says in the film's official press notes. "I knew I had to do everything in my power to convince him to play Chris." The director called out Pattinson's "love for shape-shifting in his chameleonic performances" as a major reason for approaching him, and that's exactly what we get in the final film. Will it be enough to earn Pattinson the first Oscar nomination of his career? Time will tell. But it's got to be counted as his best shot yet.