Theory behind ‘Oscars curse’ that people are convinced affects winners

The curse of the Oscars is something that you may not have heard of, but there is a whole theory behind it, and if it’s true…it’s frightening.

It’s almost time for the most revered actor award ceremony that takes place one night a year and separates the greatest from the good.

There have been so many Oscar nominees rolling through in an array of categories which aim to celebrate outstanding performances, graphics, and cinematography.

Last year, Cillian Murphy and Emma Stone were two who took home the prize for their roles in Oppenheimer and Poor Things, respectively.

Over the past decade, the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Viola Davis, and Saoirse Ronan have also taken home the Oscar award, and went on to have stellar careers in the aftermath.

But that’s not something that happens to everyone.

The Oscars Curse is no joke (Getty Stock Images)

In fact, some people who win an Oscar are never heard from again, or their career fizzles out.

So, why does this matter?

Well, because their career fizzle is attributed to the dreaded ‘Oscars curse’.

What is the Oscars curse?

Now, what those who believe in the curse think is that anyone who has won an Oscar and then their personal or professional lives takes a hit.

Halle Berry struggled to land good roles after winning the Best Actress Oscar in 2002 for her role in Monster’s Ball and those she did land, flopped.

Renee Zellweger won in 2004 as the Best Supporting Actress for her movie Cold Mountain which was her last notable role until Judy in 2019. Obviously, she did Bridget Jones’s Baby in 2016, but it didn’t reach the same kind of hype as Judy did, or her other films in the Jones universe.

Charlize Theron won Best Actress for her performance in Monster in 2004, where she depicted the late serial killer, Aaileen Wuornos. But afterwards, she struggled to land roles that would hit at the box office.

Sally Field, a two-time Oscar winner was treated poorly by her other half, Burt Reynolds after winning in 1980, leading to the pair to split.

“He really was not a nice guy around me then,” she wrote in the book 50 Oscar Nights.

Marlee Matlin, who became the first deaf actress to win in 1987 her role in Children of a Lesser God similarly found herself in a situation with her co-star and boyfriend, William Hurt, who was nominated but did not win Best Actor.

“When I found out that he didn’t win, my heart sank. I was afraid to see how he was going to react later at home, the fact that I won and he didn’t,” she explained in 50 Oscar Nights.

“He said, ‘So you have that little man there next to you. What makes you think you deserve it?’ I looked at him like, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘A lot of people work a long time, especially the ones you were nominated with, for a lot of years to get what you got with one film.’ I was too stunned to talk. But it made me stronger. It just bounced off my back. It was my time. It was my night. And it was the beginning of my career.”

Matlin broke off her relationship soon afterwards.

What's the theory behind the Oscars curse?

On Reddit, people have been pondering who could have been burned by the curse, and while many named those in this article, others believe that it may have been down to egos.

A user wrote: “Are those examples of 'cursed' people, or did they act like assholes and burn bridges?”

So, maybe it wasn’t the Oscar, maybe it was an ego for some actors?

The idea of the 'curse' goes back to 1939, when Hattie McDaniel won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Gone with the Wind.

Following her success, her film roles became smaller, often depicting her as a maid, and never reached the heights of being nominated for an Oscar.

Another notable person who was 'cursed' is Cuba Gooding Jr, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor following 1996's Jerry Maguire.

After he won, his films bombed with critics, but Redditors believe that it’s down to his choice to take part in bad comedies, and not a supposed curse.

Many actors have struggled after their big win, but that's not to say everyone has (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

How real is the Oscars curse?

While it might be down to the Best Actress category, as men haven’t really found the same level of issues after winning, there’s still no certain evidence to say that the curse is a real thing anyway.

There are so many actresses who have won an Oscar and gone on to have fulfilling personal lives and careers, like Meryl Streep, Maggie Smith, Olivia Coleman.

So, there’s no way to measure whether hiccups in actresses’ lives are due to the Oscars or other circumstances.

That would be like theorizing that job promotions cause workers to quit, as everyone leaves a job role eventually.

But it’s definitely food for thought.