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While the demand for these actors — as measured by Parrot Analytics‘ patented platform, which takes into account consumer research data, streaming, downloads and social media, among other consumer engagement — may not be a predictor of who will get the most Academy votes, it’s a look at which of the nominees won the hearts and minds of audiences this year — even if that doesn’t ultimately translate to taking home a statue Sunday night.  

The Best Actor nominees fall into three tiers of demand. Leading the pack is Andrew Garfield, with 21.43 times the demand of the average actor during the awards eligibility period (March 1-Dec. 31, 2021), according to Parrot Analytics data. He’s nominated for his role in “Tick, Tick… Boom!” — but has been busy with many projects this year. His appearance in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the biggest of those projects, propelled him to be the second most in-demand actor globally at one point.

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Just trailing Garfield in demand is Will Smith, who’s perennially popular and has won fans for his many iconic roles through the years. He earned his Oscar nom this year for the role of tennis phenoms Venus and Serena Williams’ father in “King Richard.”

In the middle of the pack are Benedict Cumberbatch and Denzel Washington, two highly respected and popular actors who were nominated for “Power of the Dog” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” respectively. At this stage of their careers, both have more of a niche following than Smith and Garfield.

Javier Bardem rounds out this year’s best actor nominees with 3.15 times the demand of the average talent, well below his fellow nominees. He’s nominated for his role as Desi Arnaz in “Being the Ricardos,” a film about Hollywood that seems built more to win over Academy members than the general public. 

Similar to the demand for the Best Actor nominees, the Best Actress nominees also fall into three tiers. Kristen Stewart has the highest demand of nominees in this category (23.59 times the average) and in fact was more in-demand than even Garfield. 

Jessica Chastain and Nicole Kidman, who were nominated for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” and “Being the Ricardos,” respectively, have solid demand but don’t quite reach the level of mainstream appeal that Stewart has. Kidman has stayed at the top of mind for audiences in part due to the success of her Hulu show, “Nine Perfect Strangers,” one of the most in-demand series premieres of the past year. 

Penélope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”) and Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”) are both prolific and critically acclaimed actresses, but don’t have the same degree of broad popularity as the other nominees for Best Actress this year.

Ultimately, it remains to be seen how much of an asset mainstream popularity is at this year’s Academy Awards.

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