Dear Academy: Here’s What a Completely Nonwhite Set of Acting Nominees Could Look Like

Today’s Academy Awards nominations were great news for a whole lot of people in Hollywood. Just not people of color. For the second straight year, all 20 acting nominees are white, and everybody’s noticing. It’s an embarrassment for the Academy in any respect, but especially considering 2015 offered several viable options for nominees of color. In this case, “viable options” means “buzzy, well-reviewed moneymakers,” like, for example, Creed and Straight Outta Compton, which were nominated for their white contributions (Sylvester Stallone and the Compton writers, respectively).

Of course, part of the Academy’s problem is that they too often can’t seem to look beyond what’s traditional. In a better world, there are dozens of nonwhite performers who could fill up an entire ballot’s worth of nominations.

In fact, here’s what a completely nonwhite set of acting nominees from 2015 would look like:

BEST ACTOR

Ibreheim Ahmed, Timbuktu [Where to stream.]
Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation [Where to stream.]
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Z for Zachariah [Where to stream.]
Corey Hawkins, Straight Outta Compton [Where to stream.]
Michael B. Jordan, Creed

Michael B. Jordan straight-up was robbed of a nomination today, and there’s no two ways about it. And clearly Academy voters saw Straight Outta Compton, which feaured breakthrough work by Corey Hawkins as a young Dr. Dre. Attah is another breakthrough talent whose youth belies his screen presence. Ejiofor is a former nominee who shined in the generally underrated indie Z for Zachariah that was a hit at Sundance. Timbuktu was a foreign-language nominee last year, but it opened theatrically in the U.S. in 2015, and Ahmed’s performance was strong enough to call for an exception for the sake of this exercise. (And if you feel like being a stickler, how about Will Smith in Concussion or the delightful John Boyega in Star Wars: The Force Awakens?)

BEST ACTRESS

Rinko Kikuchi, Kumiko the Treasure Hunter [Where to stream.]
Teyonah Parris, Chi-Raq [Where to stream.]
Shu Qi, The Assassin
Mya Taylor, Tangerine [Where to stream.]
Karidja Touré, Girlhood [Where to stream.]

Kikuchi is a former Supporting Actress nominee who anchors the weird and wonderful Kumiko, which is an homage to the Oscar-nominated Fargo, and Hollywood supposedly loves movies that revere Hollywood. Teyonah Parris is a star on the rise, and the Academy would do well to get in on the ground floor with her; she does remarkably well with some of Chi-Raq‘s shakiest material. Nominating actresses like Qi and Touré would take some vision to seek out foreign-language films, but their performances are more than worth it.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Benicio Del Toro, Sicario [Where to stream.]
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation [Where to stream.]
Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina [Where to stream.]
Samuel L. Jackson, The Hateful Eight
Jason Mitchell, Straight Outta Compton [Where to stream.]

Sorry, were you worrying about a lack of star power with all those foreign language nominees in the lead categories? How about former Oscar nominees Sam Jackson and Benicio Del Toro? How about universally acclaimed should-be-the-next-Bond Idris Elba? How about everybody’s new boyfriend Oscar freaking Isaac? Red carpets for DAYS with this group. Also don’t sleep on Mitchell, who gives Compton its quietest, best moments.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Angela Bassett, Chi-Raq [Where to stream.]
Viola Davis, Blackhat [Where to stream.]
Audra McDonald, Ricki and the Flash [Where to stream.]
Jada Pinkett Smith, Magic Mike XXL [Where to stream.]
Tessa Thompson, Creed

There aren’t enough praise-hands emojis in the world for these five women. Davis and McDonald both work wonders with very small but very crucial roles, and they end up walking away with every scene they’re in. (Audra walks away with scenes she’s in with Meryl Streep, for Pete’s sake.) Jada Pinkett Smith is a stick of dynamite in Magic Mike XXL. “Can I call you queen” indeed. Tessa Thompson elevates a somewhat flat “girlfriend” role with her deep reserves of charisma. And Angela Bassett gives it exactly like you’re hoping she will in Spike Lee’s righteously angry Chi-Raq.

Twenty actors, at your fingertips Academy. Look how easy that was.