10 Things You Didn't Know About Yoda
3. He Was Almost Nominated For An Oscar
Decades before Andy Serkis re-ignited the 'what actually counts as an actor' debate with his CGI gurning as Gollum in The Two Towers, Yoda was posing an awkward conundrum to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences.
Yoda went down so well with audiences and critics that, like Alec Guinness in A New Hope, an Oscar nod was on the cards. This thing was, Yoda wasn't an actor. Neither was Frank Oz, in the strictest sense, regardless of how good his performance was.
George Lucas personally campaigned for the diminutive space wizard to be recognised by the Academy, but ultimately, it was decided that Frank Oz's puppetry and voice acting didn't constitute a performance by an actor, and Yoda went without a trip to the Oscars. It's unlikely Yoda would have been particularly concerned by the awards snub, though. Adventure, excitement... A Jedi craves not these things.