Florida State represents at Oscars with ‘Oppenheimer’ haul at Academy Awards

The popular 2023 film "Oppenheimer" earned a whopping seven Oscars during the 2024 Academy Awards ceremony — including Best Picture — and Florida State University alumnus John Papsidera's role as casting director contributed to the movie’s success.

The Oscar winners were announced Sunday evening during the 96th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, where the film reigned as the biggest winner of the annual event.

“It’s huge,” Papsidera, who graduated from FSU’s School of Theatre in 1983 with a bachelor’s of fine arts, told the Tallahassee Democrat Tuesday. “It means a lot, and it's very exciting that casting directors and their contributions are being recognized as an integral part of filmmaking in the casting process.”

The well-received movie "Oppenheimer," directed by Christopher Nolan, came out in July and explains the life and struggles of Julius Robert Oppenheimer — the man known as the “father of the atomic bomb” — as he was responsible for the research and design of an atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project, which spanned from 1942 to 1945.

Besides receiving an award for Best Picture, the film won for best director, actor (Cillian Murphy), supporting actor (Robert Downey Jr.), film editing, score and cinematography.

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Papsidera, who lives in Los Angeles, has served as casting director for many other celebrated movies in the film industry, such as “Jurassic World,” “Suicide Squad” and “Final Destination.”

He also took on the role of being a casting director for the well-known TV series “Yellowstone.”

Papsidera says he has worked closely with Nolan for nearly 29 years and served as casting director for most of his films as well.

After graduating from FSU, Papsidera’s career in the film industry led him to earn four Emmy nominations, which include two wins for casting the HBO shows “Lackawanna Blues” and “Live from Baghdad.”

Kris Salata, chair of FSU’s School of Theatre, says he watched “Oppenheimer” over the summer in The Netherlands, where the movie was screened on a 70mm wide high-resolution projector.

“I was thrilled to see John’s name in the credits,” said Salata, who is also a performance professor at FSU. “Those moments are a reminder of the impact that we have as educators.”

Similar to the "Oppenheimer" film having FSU ties, the 2023 Academy Award ceremony’s most award-winning film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — which also earned seven Oscars, including Best Picture — was co-produced by FSU alumna Allison Rose Carter.

“FSU had everything to do with finding my way in the film industry,” Papsidera said. “I was an acting major in BFA, and the theatre department helped shape my opinions, it helped me in reading with actors and it helped train me in a lot of other different ways that are applicable to my career.”

“It's all been invaluable, looking back on it now,” he added.

FSU’s School of Theatre Director Bradley Brock described Papsidera as an “amazing alum” who is generous with his time in supporting the school's current students and alumni who move to Los Angeles in pursuit of their careers.

“This is an incredible recognition of John and his work and an example of the impact that alumni from the School of Theatre are having in theatre, film and television,” Brock said.

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU alum is casting director of Oscar award-winning film 'Oppenheimer'