In a year where the conversation around movie awards feels more unpredictable than ever, one name is generating a steady murmur of approval: Adam Sandler. His supporting performance in Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly has ignited a level of Oscar buzz that, while not yet a lock, is impossible to ignore. The Netflix dramedy may not be a guaranteed Best Picture contender, but audiences and critics alike are calling Sandler’s turn a career-defining moment. Now, one of his most frequent collaborators has stepped forward to champion him with unmistakable sincerity.
Terry Crews, who has appeared alongside Sandler in comedies like Blended, Sandy Wexler, and The Ridiculous 6, recently weighed in on the growing awards chatter. During an interview about his Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 campaign, Crews didn’t just offer a casual compliment; he delivered a passionate argument for why comedic performers deserve far more recognition when they step into dramatic territory. “It’s very easy to tell what’s dramatic, but no one can agree on what’s funny,” he said. That simple observation cuts to the heart of an old industry bias. Why is it that a brilliantly funny performance is so often dismissed as effortless, while a single tear in a drama can secure a nomination? Crews seems to be asking exactly that, and his answer is clear: making people laugh is the harder art, and the actors who master it are capable of extraordinary depth when they choose to dial the humor back.
Crews also revealed what Sandler means to him personally. “He put me on the map in so many ways,” he shared, referencing nearly seven projects they’ve completed together. The affection in his voice was palpable when he mentioned seeing a recent billboard for Jay Kelly that featured Sandler alongside George Clooney. “I just smiled. He deserves this, man.” That kind of endorsement carries weight because it underscores a truth often overlooked: Sandler has quietly built one of the most loyal creative families in Hollywood, and his peers are witnessing a culmination they always believed would come.
Set for release in late 2025 and still very much in the awards conversation into 2026, Jay Kelly centers on its titular character, played by George Clooney — a washed-up actor famous for playing fictionalized versions of himself. He embarks on a journey of rediscovery with his longtime manager, portrayed by Sandler. It’s a role that asks Sandler to be warm, weary, and unexpectedly grounded, traits fans glimpsed in Punch-Drunk Love and Uncut Gems but that now feel fully synthesized. Directed and co-written by Baumbach, whose Marriage Story secured multiple Oscar nominations, the film is one of Netflix’s main awards-season offerings. However, the streaming giant’s own Frankenstein adaptation is currently threatening to steal the spotlight, making the Best Picture race a tight one.
The Best Supporting Actor category remains fiercely competitive. Sean Penn for One Battle After Another and Stellan Skarsgård for Sentimental Value are widely considered frontrunners, while Paul Mescal’s turn in Hamnet seems all but guaranteed a nomination. That leaves only two remaining slots, and Sandler is in a cluster of worthy contenders that includes Delroy Lindo, Jacob Elordi, and Jeremy Strong. The uncertainty has left fans and industry watchers asking a tough question: can a performance be career-best and still get overlooked simply because the film around it isn’t a critics’ darling? Jay Kelly holds a 79% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes — respectable, but not the stratospheric scores boasted by movies on a surer path to Best Picture. Had the film itself reached the 90% mark, Sandler’s nomination would likely feel inevitable. Instead, he’s stuck in the agonizing maybe.
But what makes this moment special extends beyond the arithmetic of awards tallying. Even reviewers who don’t love the film admit that Sandler delivers something quietly miraculous. He manages to be funny without reaching for a punchline, and deeply moving without ever begging for tears. Crews’ earlier point lingers: if you take a comedian and simply stop them before they get to the funny, what’s left is often truthful and profoundly human. That’s exactly what Sandler does here.
The cast around him is star-studded — Laura Dern and Riley Keough both appear — yet the movie is undeniably carried by the Clooney-Sandler duo. Their on-screen chemistry gives Jay Kelly its bruised heart. One can easily imagine the laughter between takes that must have fueled some of the film’s most poignant scenes. And isn’t that the very definition of a great collaboration? When two performers from different corners of the industry find a shared rhythm and remind audiences why they fell in love with movies in the first place.
If Sandler secures the nomination, it will mark a monumental milestone in a career that has defied nearly every rule in Hollywood. If he doesn’t, will it diminish what he’s accomplished? Hardly. The buzz itself signals a cultural shift — a recognition that comedic actors don’t just deserve a seat at the table when they go serious; they often bring the most interesting dish. Terry Crews, for one, already knows what the history books should say. “He’s always been that good,” Crews insisted, and after three decades of making audiences laugh so hard they cry, Sandler is finally making them do the opposite.