Project Hail Mary's James Ortiz, who performed as the alien Rocky, is eligible for various acting awards next year, including in the Oscars' Best Supporting Actor category
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The author behind Project Hail Mary told PEOPLE in March that "this movie lives and dies on our portrayal of Rocky"
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Ortiz previously won a Drama Desk Award in 2022 for Outstanding Puppet Design for his work on the play The Skin of Our Teeth
Project Hail Marycould have an unexpectedAcademy Awardscandidate next year.
On Tuesday, April 21,Varietyreported that the movie's puppeteerJames Ortiz, who portrays the alien character Rocky in the movie, is eligible for awards consideration at the 2027 Oscars and 2027Actor Awards. According to the outlet, theGolden Globe Awards' existing rules would prevent Ortiz from receiving any nominations for next year.
The Critics' Choice Awards,Varietyreported, do not feature any guidelines that would prevent Ortiz from receiving a nomination. The outlet also reported that the U.K.'sBAFTA Awardsonce nominatedEddie Murphyfor its Best Supporting Actor award for his voice-only performance as Donkey in 2001's originalShrekmovie, which could potentially pave the way for Ortiz's nomination at that ceremony.
Representatives for the Film Academy and SAG-AFTRA, which hosts the Actor Awards, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Ortiz is best known for his most recent work onRyan Gosling's recent science fiction movie. InProject Hail Mary, Gosling, 45, plays a science teacher thrust into outer space who meets Rocky — a faceless, many-legged creature from another planet — and befriends the alien as they attempt to solve a mysterious phenomenon that could endanger life across the universe.
Ortiz is credited as an actor in five other projects since 2012, including the moviesGirls Against BoysandThe Woodsman. Ortiz is also credited as a puppet designer on the 2022 movieCryptic. In 2022, hewon a Drama Desk Awardfor Outstanding Puppet Design for his work on the playThe Skin of Our Teeth.
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While it's still far too early to tell whether Ortiz could actually get nominated for an Oscar,Varietyalso reported that the performer's work as Rocky could be honored through the Academy's Special Achievement Award, which was introduced in 1972 and has been given out 15 times since.
According to the outlet, the award was created "to recognize groundbreaking work that did not fit neatly into existing categories." It waslast bestowed uponfilmmaker John Lasseter for his work on the originalToy Storymovie in 1995.
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Author Andy Weir, who wrote the bookProject Hail Maryis based on, told PEOPLE in a March interview that Ortiz's work on the movie "gets a better performance out of everybody" than if the character was embodied on set by "a tennis ball and a stick" before using CGI to visualize him.
"I want [viewers] to love him, of course.We all knew that this movie lives and dies on our portrayal of Rocky," Weir, 53, said at the time. "From day one, we knew the most important aspect of this is how Rocky comes off and I think they nailed it."
Project Hail Maryis in theaters now.
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