Should Zac Efron have received an Oscar nomination for The Iron Claw?

The Iron Claw director Sean Durkin is bemused that his movie and the performance of Zac Efron have been ignored by the big award shows this year.

The official premise of The Iron Claw:

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'The film is centered around the Von Erich family, a dynasty of wrestlers from the 1960s onwards that had enormous success, and popularized the iron claw professional wrestling hold. However, they not only had to battle inside the ring, but fight the "Von Erich curse" outside of it'

The Von Erich family is one of the most famous families in the history of wrestling, but their dynasty has been overshadowed by what has been dubbed the 'Von Erich Curse' after various deaths and tragedies.

Efron plays Kevin Von Erich and has received critical acclaim for his performance. However, the Oscars, Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, SAGs and BAFTAs are apparently not huge fans.

"(Awards are) not something that I really think about when making (movies). I'm very focused on the making," Durkin told TotalFilm.

"The reaction has been so overwhelmingly positive, both from critics, audiences. It's done extremely well in the U.S. at the box office.

"So, there's all these positives, and that's all great. Awards stuff starts to come out and the film is overlooked, then it starts to eat at you a bit. Because it doesn't quite make sense. Like, if you compare it on quality, on every level, it doesn't make sense that it's left out.

"You put Zac up against any performance of the year, it doesn't make sense. But, look, I've been there before, I'll be there again. It's all part of it."

Academy Award nominations for Best Actor

The nominees for the Academy Award for Best Actor were recently announced, with Cillian Murphy the overwhelming favourite to take the prize:

Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright - American Fiction
Paul Giamatti - The Holdovers
Bradley Cooper - Maestro
Colman Domingo - Rustin