44 | MARCH 7 • 2024 
J
N

ARTS&LIFE

T

he Oscars will be 
presented on Sunday, 
March 10 (ABC; 7 
p.m.). Jimmy Kimmel will 
host. The Governors’ Awards 
(Honorary Oscars) were pre-
sented last November. Mel 
Brooks, 97, was one of three 
awardees. He gave an amusing 
short speech (on YouTube).
Here are the Jewish nominees 
in all but the “technical” cate-
gories (like costumes, makeup 
and sound).

This is the oddest year I’ve 
ever seen. No Jewish actor or 
actress was nominated for play-
ing a non-Jew and five actors/
actresses were nominated for 
playing “real” Jews. But only 
one of the five has a “claim” to 
being Jewish. 
In the best actor category, 
there is Cillian Murphy as phys-
icist J. Robert Oppenheimer 
in Oppenheimer and Bradley 
Cooper as Leonard Bernstein 
in Maestro.
Carey Mulligan, a best 
actress nominee, played 
Felicia Montealgre Bernstein 
(Leonard’s wife) in Maestro, 
and Jodie Foster, a support-
ing actress nominee, is up for 
playing Bonnie Stoll (now 71), 
Diana Nyad’s swim coach and 
best friend in Nyad.
That leaves Robert Downey 
Jr., 58, a supporting actor 
nominee. He’s up for playing 
Lewis Strauss, a government 

official, in Oppenheimer. 
Downey’s mother was not 
Jewish. His paternal grandfa-
ther was Jewish, and his pater-
nal grandmother had a Jewish 
mother. 
Downey will probably win 
the Oscar. So, some detail is 
called for. Downey’s father, the 
late director Robert Downey 
Sr., was born Robert Elias. He 
took the name of his stepfather 
(“Downey”). In 1992, Downey 
Jr. said Downey Sr. changed his 

name to enlist, underage, in the 
army. In a 2022 documentary, 
Downey Sr. said he changed 
his name to avoid antisemitism 
in the service. (Robert Jr. has a 
tattoo that says “Elias.
”)
No doubt, Downey Jr.
’s ties 
to “Jewishness” were greatly 
enhanced by his (2005) mar-
riage to Susan Levin Downey, 
now 50. She was an important 
producer when they married. 
They wed in a Jewish ceremo-
ny. They have a son, Exton, 
12 (his middle name is Elias), 
and a daughter, Avri (a Hebrew 
name). She’s 9.
Downey Jr. always credits 
Susan with helping him remain 
sober and with revitalizing his 
career. He sings her praises 
every time he wins an award. 
After their marriage, Downey 
Jr. began calling himself “Jew-
Bu” (Jewish and Buddhist) and, 
just a month ago, he was spot-
ted wearing a chai. However, 

The Most Complete 
Guide to Jewish 
Oscar Nominees 
Oscar Nominees 

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ANGELA GEORGE, WIKIPEDIA

Mel Brooks

GAGE SKIDMORE, WIKIPEDIA

Robert 
Downey Jr. 

