Mar 21, 2026 11:00am PT

Why Ryan Gosling’s Friendship With a Rock in ‘Project Hail Mary’ Is the First Oscar-Worthy Performance of the Year

Clayton Davis

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Clayton Davis

Senior Awards Editor

byClaytonDavis

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It’s still early in the year, but already “Project Hail Mary” looks like it could have a strong gravitational pull on Oscar voters.

Ryan Gosling is the first name worth circling on any early Oscar ballot this year, thanks to “Project Hail Mary,” the wildly entertaining space dramedy from Oscar-winning duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Adapted from Andy Weir’s popular novel, the film follows Ryland Grace, an elementary school science teacher who wakes up alone on a spaceship light-years from Earth with no memory of how he got there. As the pieces slowly click back into place, so does the terrifying reality that he has been sent on a mission to figure out why the sun is dying and to stop humanity’s extinction before it is too late.

Why Ryan Gosling’s Friendship With a Rock in 'Project Hail Mary' Is the First Oscar-Worthy Performance of the Year