What would Hollywood be without Adam Sandler? It would be a lot less fun, that’s for sure. Sandler — or the Sandman to his diehard fans — has been making audiences laugh for over 30 years. With a unique rage, nice-guy attitude, and magnetic charisma, Sandler is a movie star who uses his powers to make movies with his friends and film in tropical locations. What’s not to like?
This year, Sandler will prove once again that he can do more than just comedy when he stars in Jay Kelly, a new coming-of-age dramedy from Noah Baumbach. The initial buzz is that Sandler’s performance could result in the actor’s first Oscar nomination. Frankly, an Oscar nomination for the Sandman is long overdue.
Adam Sandler is one of the most versatile actors
If Sandler could quit acting and play pickup basketball every day for the rest of his life, something tells me he would consider that offer. This is a man who wears the baggiest basketball shorts as much as humanly possible.
To describe Sandler’s acting in basketball terms, he’s a point center. Sandler can do it all as an actor. Comedy is obviously his sweet spot. Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy, Mr. Deeds, and The Waterboy are pantheon movies to a certain generation. Throw in his Saturday Night Live accomplishments and his successful stand-up career, and you get a top-tier comedic resume.
There’s a popular belief that it’s easier for comedic actors to do drama than vice versa. Sandler is a shining example of that theory. Could you see Daniel Day-Lewis in Little Nicky or Leonardo DiCaprio in You Don’t Mess with the Zohan? As amusing as that sounds, the answer is no.
There’s a much better success rate if Sandler stars in Phantom Thread or Catch Me If You Can. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School, Sandler knows a thing or two about scene study and character development.
Sandler is truly one of the only actors who can work in every genre — Comedy (see above), family outings (Click, Bedtime Stories, and Just Go with It), melodramas (Funny People and Spanglish), rom-coms (The Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates, and Punch-Drunk Love), animation (Hotel Transylvania and Leo), thrillers (Uncut Gems), and dramas (The Meyerowitz Stories, Hustle, and Spaceman).
If you work long enough, you’re going to have some clunkers. Surely, Sandler would be OK with removing Jack and Jill from his resume. Then again, maybe he doesn’t because the movie made $149 million and he got to work with Al Pacino. Every Hall of Fame player has a bad game, just like every actor has a bad movie from time to time.
Top directors constantly want to work with Sandler
The top talent always wants to work with the best directors. A true judge of talent is to see the list of great directors who go out of their way to work with a certain actor. Ask any of the best directors, and they’ll swear by Sandler and his capabilities.
Coming off the success of Boogie Nights and Magnolia, Paul Thomas Anderson could make anything he wanted. For his next movie, the American auteur gave himself two requirements: make a 90-minute film and cast Sandler as the lead. Punch-Drunk Love, an unorthodox rom-com about an angry loner looking for love, garnered some of the best reviews of Sandler’s career.
Academy Award winner James L. Brooks watched Punch-Drunk Love, loved Sandler’s performance, and cast him as the lead in Spanglish, a romantic dramedy about a housekeeper who moves in with a successful chef and his family. Although Spanglish received mixed reviews, Sandler garnered praise for his nuanced performance, further proving he can successfully balance comedy and drama.
Judd Apatow is arguably the most prolific comedy director and producer of the aughts. For his third directorial feature, Apatow crafted a story about a man facing his mortality in Funny People. Sandler plays George Simmons, a dying comedian who mentors an up-and-comer (Seth Rogen). Despite being a tad too long, Sandler’s performance is heartfelt and honest, another indication that there’s more to the actor than poop jokes.
Just ask the Safdie Brothers how much Sandler means to them. They’ll probably go on for five hours on Happy Gilmore alone. The Safdies unlocked Sandler’s wild side in Uncut Gems, a chaotic thriller about a jewelry salesman who attempts to dig himself out of debt through sports gambling. The anxiety-inducing performance from Sandler should have resulted in an Oscar nomination (more on that later).
Do you know who won the Oscar that year? Joaquin Phoenix for Joker. Considering what happened in Joker: Folie à Deux, perhaps the Academy wants a redo.
The ‘It’s Time’ narrative for Jay Kelly
“It’s time.” Every awards season, there is an “it’s time” campaign, where the voting body decides that now is the right moment to award an actor with praise and recognition. This idea can have multiple meanings. It could go to the actor with multiple nominations and no wins. DiCaprio is the perfect example. DiCaprio received four acting nominations before finally winning for The Revenant, a performance that might not crack his top five.
Also, the “it’s time” campaign could be for an actor who has never received a nomination despite years of success. Look at Demi Moore, who received her first Oscar nomination 40 years into her career for The Substance.
This year, Sandler will be the prime candidate to run on an “it’s time” campaign for Jay Kelly. Directed by Baumbach, Jay Kelly stars George Clooney as the titular Jay Kelly, an aging movie star who reflects on his life during an unexpected journey through Europe. Sandler plays Ron, Jay’s devoted manager who has been there every step of the way.
Jay Kelly premiered at the Venice Film Festival to mostly positive reviews, with Sandler’s performance cited as the standout. Sandler’s nuanced and quieter performance in a film from an acclaimed director feels like the type of role the Academy will love. Gold Derby has Sandler ranked first in their supporting actor Oscar predictions. Backed by the unlimited marketing budget of Netflix, Sandler should receive a huge awards campaign, deservedly so.
Most people have recognized the Sandman’s acting expertise for decades. It’s time for the Academy to do the same.
Jay Kelly opens in select theaters on November 14, 2025. It will then stream globally on Netflix on December 5.
