In an unprecedented moment on the global stage, Brazil's The Secret Agent is making waves with nominations for Best Picture and Best Actor at the 98th Academy Awards.
Actor Wagner Moura has carried Brazil forward with a Best Actor nomination for his performance in Kleber Mendonca Filho's The Secret Agent, becoming the first Brazilian actor to be nominated in the category, Deadline reported. He is the third Brazilian performer to receive an acting nomination at the Oscars, following Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here) and Fernanda Montenegro (Central Station).
Moura has been nominated alongside Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Michael B Jordan (Sinners). The film has also earned nominations for Best International Feature, Best Picture, and the newly introduced Casting category.
In another milestone, The Secret Agent marks Brazil's second consecutive Best Picture nomination, following last year's I'm Still Here, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Written and directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho, The Secret Agent is a political thriller set against the backdrop of Brazil's 1977 military dictatorship. Moura plays a hunted political dissident who returns to Recife to reunite with his son, only to find himself forced to live like a spy.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it emerged as the most decorated title in the line-up.
Moura, who won Best Male Actor at the 2026 Golden Globe Awards, reflected on the film during his acceptance speech. "The Secret Agent is a film about memory, or the lack of memory, and generational trauma. I believe that if trauma can be passed down through generations, values can be too. This is for those who hold on to their values in difficult moments," he said.
Final voting will take place from February 26 to March 5, 2026, with the 98th Academy Awards ceremony scheduled for March 15.
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