Every single one of the reactions I gathered for Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans mentioned Judd Hirsch as a standout. Despite having around 10-12 minutes of screentime in the film, the 87 year-old actor is going to very much be part of the Oscar conversation.
Hollywood Elsewhere posted this Hirsch rave :
“I think Judd Hirsch will probably get a supporting actor nod. He’s only in three scenes (definitely less than 15 minutes total) but he steals the whole film.”
Hirsch plays an elderly uncle on Michelle Williams’ side of the family. Talking about Williams, she’s the other Oscar contender in the film, if we are led to believe the early reactions.
Is it bad in asserting that I only really know Hirsch, in film, from “Independence Day,” “A Beautiful Mind” and his indelible 1980 performance in “Ordinary People”? The latter was coincidentally also Hirsch’s last Oscar nomination. In his over 50 years of acting, Hirsch has had 24 film credits. He’s primarily known as a TV and theater actor.
The film had actually wrapped its six-month production in January 2026, and it’s been in post-production for the last eight months. Fincher is well known for taking his time in the editing room.