'Minari' Star Steven Yeun Could Make Overdue Oscars History Next Year

To the lucky few who have seen Minari, I am jealous of (and hate) you.

Director Lee Isaac Chung’s A24 drama, about a Korean-American family that moves to an Arkansas farm to live the American Dream, is one of the most acclaimed movies of the year. IndieWire‘s David Ehrlich called it a “beautiful film [that] posits family as the ultimate journey, only to explore how difficult it can be to agree on a destination,” while Entertainment Weekly‘s David Canfield raved that “every second rings so true.” Overall, Minari has a 100 percent “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with nearly review praising Steven Yeun’s performance as the family’s tenacious patriarch.

The actor with the best post-Walking Dead career could even make some history.

Variety reports that A24 is submitting Yeun for Best Actor at the 93rd Academy Awards. If he’s nominated, “Yeun would be the first Asian-American to ever be recognized in the category,” as “Yul Brynner, of Mongol descent, won Best Actor for 1956’s The King and I, while Ben Kingsley, who is half Indian, won Best Actor for 1982’s Gandhi, which took home Best Picture.” Yeun’s co-stars Alan S. Kim, Will Patton, and Yuh-Jung Youn will be submitted for the supporting categories.

Yeun faces tough competition from expected-nominees like Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods), Gary Oldman (Mank), Anthony Hopkins (The Father), and Tom Hanks (News of the World, because it’s Tom Hanks), among others. But getting nominated for an Oscar is no sweat compared to surviving a zombie horde under a dumpster. I have always said this.

Minari opens later this year.