Listen up, AMPAS: Amy Poehler has had enough – or, not enough.
The comedian/actress brought Benedict Cumberbatch onto her podcast “Good Hang” on Tuesday to talk about “The Roses” co-star Olivia Colman. While the conversation started off as a chat about Colman and her working relationship with Cumberbatch, Poehler quickly diverted to rail against the Oscars for failing to adequately recognize comedies.
“Every single year at the Oscars, everybody (in comedy) gets blanked, and alllll the serious people get up and accept and accept and accept,” Poehler said. “It’s some hot bulls–t, because comedy is not easy.” You can watch the full clip below.
Poehler’s comments aren’t without merit. Even since expanding the Best Picture lineup from five nominees to an eventual 10, it is a relative rarity that comedies sneak in for the top prizes — especially when compared to biopics, prestige dramas and blockbusters.
This isn’t to say comedy doesn’t get recognized at all. In 2025, “Anora” won a number of Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. Despite that film’s intense ending, much of the first and second act are dedicated to high-energy comic antics. In 2024, Emma Stone won Best Actress for “Poor Things,” written and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (who also directed Colman to a Best Actress win for her comic role in “The Favourite”). In 2023, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” got seven Oscar wins, becoming one of the zaniest Best Picture winners of all time.
However, these aren’t the kinds of comedy Poehler is likely talking about, as they’re often not the ones that she and her compatriots generally star in. That’s not a dig: Even since the Best Picture expansion, the broad majority of comedies that do sneak into the Oscars are a mix between humor and heaviness. When actors like Madison and Michelle Yeoh win Best Actress, they win for roles that balance comedy with heart and drama.
There are some performances that could be considered “pure comedy” that still sneak through. Ryan Gosling’s 2024 “Barbie” nod comes to mind, as does Melissa McCarthy’s 2011 “Bridesmaids” nomination. But the pickings for these kinds of nominations are relatively slim, and often found only in supporting acting or screenplay categories.
Cumberbatch, who has received two Best Actor nominations for his dramatic work, commiserated with Poehler over the often underrecognized skill of comic acting.
“I think it’s very hard to pull off both physical comedy and really sharp and sarcastic wit,” Poehler said. “Both of those things are hard to do well.”
“Yeah, I think if you can do that, you can do anything,” Cumberbatch agreed. “I grew up with two parents, both actors, my mom in particular doing, you know, sort of end-of-the-pier kind of … farces to the point where I was like ‘Mom, you’ve got to do something else now.’”
“Having grown up with that kind of humor,” Cumberbatch later added, “If you can do comedy, is my point, you can do anything. I really do believe that, and I’m not just saying that.”
“Of course,” Poehler said. “You don’t have to tell me, babe!”
