Neon’s Artificial cast, headlined by Yura Borisov and Andrew Garfield, is now officially knocking on the Academy’s doors. Stepping back into the boardroom drama of tech history, Andrew Garfield is once again taking on the role of a visionary forced out of the very empire he helped build. 

Over a decade and a half after earning acclaim for portraying ousted Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network - a performance that famously missed out on an Oscar nomination - the actor is returning to familiar territory to chronicle the high-stakes corporate upheaval of Silicon Valley. This time around, he is trading social media for artificial intelligence, tackling the headline-grabbing ouster and rapid-fire reinstatement of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and setting the stage for a potential awards-season redemption in the supporting category. 

Along with him, other cast members like Yura Borisav also enter the Oscars race with Neon’s Artificial campaign.

As Artificial makes its world premiere at the New York Film Festival, Variety has learned exclusively that Neon has mapped out its official Academy Awards strategy for Luca Guadagnino’s high-stakes OpenAI drama. Andrew Garfield, who headlines the project, will campaign in the supporting actor category, whereas breakout star Yura Borisov, portraying OpenAI co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, will vie for lead actor. 

Garfield holds two prior Academy Award nominations for best actor, courtesy of Hacksaw Ridge (2016) and Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021). Although he anchors the film's marketing and embodies its most widely recognized real-world figure, pursuing a supporting placement as a top-billed lead is a strategy with Hollywood precedent, echoing past campaigns by Meryl Streep for Into the Woods and Catherine Zeta-Jones for her Oscar-winning turn in Chicago.   

Garfield and Borisov will be joined by fellow heavyweights, with Oscar winner Mark Rylance entering the supporting actor race as AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, and Monica Barbaro targeting supporting actress for her portrayal of former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati. The studio's comprehensive push will span all major brackets, including best picture, director, and crafts, alongside a dedicated original screenplay campaign for writer Simon Rich, per Variety.

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The movie takes the audience through the different stages in the life of the OpenAI founders and what led to the rift resulting in the infamous ouster.

Luca Guadagnino’s latest directorial spans decades, charting the parallel lives of Ilya Sutskever and Sam Altman (played by Andrew Garfield) - two figures from vastly different backgrounds who initially connect over a shared, idealistic mission to reshape the world against the backdrop of Obama-era technological optimism. Over time, however, their bond frays as the immense and increasingly hazardous power of their innovations becomes apparent across successive political eras, ultimately culminating in Altman's dramatic ouster. 

For Guadagnino, the screening marks his fifth showcase at the prestigious NYFF, following past presentations for Call Me by Your Name, Bones and All, Queer, and After the Hunt, which served as the festival's opening night film last year. Following its Lincoln Center debut, the movie will head across the Atlantic for the BFI London Film Festival.

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Which of the cast members do you think stand a chance for the Oscars? Do let us know in the comments.