Oscars 2024: From Zendaya to Michelle Yeoh & Nicolas Cage, 10 key presenters at 96th Academy Awards

Zendaya is one of the presenters at the 96th Academy Awards, to be presented on March 10, 2024 (March 11 in India). (Photo: AP)

The 96th Academy Awards are all set to be presented on March 10, 2024 (March 11 in India). The biggest Hollywood awards show has Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer leading with 13 nominations, followed closely by Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo starrer Poor Things with 11 nominations. Now, as per tradition, they have announced the first set of Oscars presenters. The big reveal is much-anticipated and as expected, the roster includes several illustrious names. Let’s take a look at 10 of them:

1. Zendaya

The youngest recipient of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - which she won twice, by the way - Zendaya is an actress and singer who won the awards for her performance as a drug-addicted teenager in the series Euphoria. The artiste has shown her acting prowess in films such as Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Greatest Showman, Spider-Man: Far from Home and Dune.

2. Michelle Pfieffer

One of the most popular actresses in the 1980s and '90s, Michelle Pfeiffer has starred in movies such as Scarface, Married to the Mob, Dangerous Liaisons, What Lies Beneath, Hairspray and Stardust among many box office successes. She was awarded a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007.

3. Nicolas Cage

The recipient of several awards including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two BAFTA Awards, Nicolas Cage’s filmography includes numerous popular movies such as Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptations, The Rock, Face/Off, City of Angels and more. He was ranked No. 40 in Empire magazine's The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list in 2007.

4. Al Pacino

Considered one of the greatest and most influential actors of the 20th century, Al Pacino stands tall among his peers.  The recipient of an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, some of his most popular films include Scent of a Woman, The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, Scarface, Heat, The Insider and Ocean’s Thirteen among others.

5. Brendan Fraser

In 2022, Brendan Fraser became the first Canadian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as a morbidly obese gay man in The Whale. In a career spanning more than three decades, Fraser has delivered some fine performances in films such as Encino Man, George of the Jungle, The Quiet American and Crash. He’s also starred in television shows such as Trust and Doom Patrol.

6. Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh made history as the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the genre-bending hit Everything, Everywhere All At Once last year. She gained recognition for her roles in films such as Tomorrow Never Dies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Memoirs of a Geisha and The Lady, among others.

7. Ke Huy Quan

One of two actors of Asian descent to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Everything, Everywhere All At Once, Time magazine named the American actor one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023. Some of his early works include Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies. The actor took a break for 19 years during which he worked as a stunt choreographer and assistant director, only to return to acting with Finding Ohana in 2021.

8. Jamie Lee Curtis

The winner of last year’s Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Everything, Everywhere All At Once, Jamie Lee Curtis has received multiple accolades including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globes as well as nominations for a Primetime Emmy and a Grammy. She gained prominence in the 1978 slasher film Halloween and has been seen in A Fish Called Wanda, Perfect and True Lies, among others.

9. Mahershala Ali

Named by Time magazine among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019 and by The New York Times among the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century in 2020, the Academy Award-winning actor made his presence felt in 2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and starred in critically-acclaimed films such as Moonlight and Green Book.

10. Lupita Nyong’o

The Academy Award-winning actress rose to prominence with her role in 2013’s 12 Years A Slave and went on to be a part of critically-acclaimed cinema including Black Panther and Us. Some of the causes close to her heart include working for women's and animal rights. Her children's book Sulwe became a number-one New York Times Best-Seller in 2019.