^{Credit: Lead Puppeteer James Ortiz with Rocky during the production of Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM Studios)}

2026 has its first potential Oscar contender with Project Hail Mary, which we just might see nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, and perhaps even Best Director several months from now. Much can happen during that lengthy period, especially as we draw closer to awards season with more competitors entering the FYC arena. Although Project Hail Mary is an early release, it’s hard to imagine Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s film not at least making the Best Visual Effects shortlist. The film is an overall visual marvel, but the effect that has garnered the most attention is Ryan Gosling’s co-star, Rocky.

While CGI was used for some of the more complicated shots, Rocky was largely brought to life through animatronics and puppetry. James Ortiz led a team of puppeteers, or “Rockyteers,” in addition to providing the character’s voice. Ortiz had assumed his line readings would be replaced in post-production. The filmmakers felt Ortiz captured Rocky’s spirit in more ways than one, however. Ortiz has primarily worked in theater, winning an Obie Award for his puppet design in the off-Broadway play, The Woodsman, and a Drama Desk Award for The Skin of Our Teeth revival on Broadway. Film doesn’t offer as many opportunities for puppeteers, but in a CGI-dominated landscape, Rocky stood out as a feat of practical effects.

Being a key figure behind Rocky, you’d assume that Ortiz would get to share in a potential Best Visual Effects nomination. That might not be the case, however. The Academy only allows four individuals to represent a film in this category. Obviously, it takes more than four people to make any VFX-heavy film a reality, meaning there are always deserving artists who inevitably get left out. Paul Lambert and Mag Sarnowska are credited as Project Hail Mary’s visual effects production supervisors. Lambert is among the few people with a perfect Oscar track record, winning four out of four times with Blade Runner 2049, First Man, Dune, and Dune: Part Two. Sarnowska has yet to receive a nomination, although he has worked on Oscar-winning films like Dune.

According to The Art of VFX and IMDb, Project Hail Mary had at least five different studios that contributed to the effects. Each had one or two VFX supervisors:

Stuart Penn and Robert Winter (Framestore)

Tristan Myles (Industrial Light & Magic)

Chris Waegner (Sony Pictures Imageworks)

Stephane Vogel (BUF)

Elliott Brennan and Patrick Heinen (Wylie Co. VFX)

Myles also won two Oscars for Dune and First Man, while Waegner was nominated for Spider-Man: No Way Home. With only four available slots, there might not be enough room for Ortiz, who didn’t fill a supervisor role. It’s worth noting that while Ortiz was Rocky’s lead puppeteer, he wasn’t responsible for the character’s design or construction. Neal Scanlan served as the film’s creature effects creative supervisor. Scanlan previously won an Oscar for his effects work on Babe. He’s since received nominations for four of the more recent Star Wars films.

On technical and performance levels, Rocky warrants comparison to Audrey II from the Frank Oz-directed Little Shop of Horrors. Lyle Conway designed and created the man-eating plant for the 1986 movie musical. Coming in various sizes, Audrey II had a team of puppeteers, most notably Anthony Asbury and Brian Henson. While the plant performers didn’t get to share in Little Shop’s Best Visual Effects nomination, Conway did, along with Bran Ferren and Martin Gutteridge. Fittingly enough, Neal Scanlan was also the chief mechanical designer on Little Shop of Horrors.

Since Ortiz wasn’t a VFX supervisor or designer on Project Hail Mary, it’s debatable if his contributions fit the Academy’s criteria for Best Visual Effects consideration. The same can be said about Frank Oz, whose work as Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi didn’t translate to an Oscar. On the other hand, Ortiz’s puppeteering is comparable to Richard Williams’ animation direction on Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Just as Ortiz worked with other puppeteers, Williams didn’t animate Roger Rabbit on his own. Still, without Williams’ animation direction, Roger Rabbit essentially would’ve been an Invisible Man movie. Without Ortiz, Rocky may not have been fully realized.

Williams was permitted to share in the Best Visual Effects nomination and win for Roger Rabbit. In addition to Best Visual Effects, Williams received a Special Achievement Academy Award for his animation direction on the film. One might argue that Ortiz deserves a special Oscar for puppeteering Rocky. It wouldn’t be the first time the Academy singled out puppetry with a non-competitive prize. Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen received a unique wooden Oscar in 1938. Since Ortiz is still new to cinema, though, he’ll likely need a few more credits under his belt before the Academy deems him worthy of an Honorary Oscar. Of course, we could just nominate Ortiz for a competitive Oscar now.

This isn’t to take away from anyone else’s achievements on Project Hail Mary. It was a team effort, as is the case with any movie. Whichever four names are chosen to represent the film in Best Visual Effects, they’ll surely be deserving nominees and possible winners. Still, when the time comes for the VFX bake-off, I’m willing to wager that Rocky will be prominently featured. If Academy members are compelled to vote for Project Hail Mary over other contenders like Dune: Part Three, their emotional attachment to Rocky will probably factor into their decision. If Rocky carries Project Hail Mary to Oscar gold, it’d feel odd not to recognize his lead puppeteer as well.

Ortiz would also be worthy of a Best Voice Acting Performance Oscar if the Academy had such a category, but that’s a discussion for another day.  

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Available Now!