Kevin O’Connell is not the best-known name at the 89th Academy Awards, but going into the 2017 ceremony, he held a unique – and presumably unwanted – record: the most nominations without a win, 20 in all.
Now, however, the losing streak is over, as O’Connell won the Oscar for best sound mixing for Hacksaw Ridge, at his 21st attempt.
O’Connell’s first Oscar nomination, for best sound, came in 1984 for Terms of Endearment. Since then he’s received nods for such varied films as Top Gun, A Few Good Men, Con Air and Pearl Harbor. His most recent nomination, before Hacksaw Ridge, was in 2008 for Transformers.
Ahead of the ceremony, O’Connell said: “I think we have a better shot than in years past ... It’s a difficult category because there are so many really good movies. But we’ve also been nominated for best picture, best actor, best director and that means the Academy folks in general like the movie.”
An emotional O’Connell thanked his mother at the podium.
