Nomination: Best Actor for Sound of Metal

Riz Ahmed follows up his historic win as the first Muslim and first Asian actor to bag a leading acting Emmy award in 2017 for the limited series, The Night Of. Now, the British-Pakistani actor has once again made his name known in the history books as the first Muslim nominated for the Oscars for Best Actor and the fourth Muslim actor after Omar Sharif, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Mahershala Ali to be nominated. Initially known for his work in independent films such as The Road to Guantanamo (2006), Four Lions (2010) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013), Ahmed got his big break in Nightcrawler (2014).

Since then, the actor appeared in blockbuster films such as Jason Bourne (2016) and Rogue One (2016). But his critically acclaimed role in The Night Of cemented his talent as an actor. For the Sound of Metal (2019), he scored his second Golden Globe nomination. But that's not all there is to the actor. He's also a member of the hip-hop group, Swet Shop Boys and produced the chart-topping albums, Microscope and Cashmere, charting on the US Billboard 200.

See also: Oscars 2021: 11 Nominated Films To Watch On Netflix

Nomination: Best Actor for Minari

Most would recognise Steven Yeun from his role as Glenn Rhee in The Walking Dead. It's almost unbelievable that the Korean-American used to audition for a five-line role after his character exited the TV show to now making history as the first Asian American actor to nab a Best Actor nomination. Along with Riz Ahmed, it's the first time in the 93-year history of the Oscars that two actors of Asian descent are nominated in the lead actor category.

Just like the zombies he faced in The Walking Dead, Steven Yeun came back to life, resurging his career and starring in critically acclaimed works from South Korea's most notable directors including Bong Joon-ho's Okja (2017) and Lee Chang-dong's Burning (2018), the latter earned him numerous Best Supporting Actor nominations. Yeun's performance in Minari may well be the highlight of his career, but the actor is just getting started.

See also: "Minari" Star Alan Kim Steals The Show At The 2021 Critics Choice Awards

Award: Best Director for Nomadland, Best Picture for Nomadland

After making history as the first Asian woman to win Best Director at the Golden Globes, Chloe Zhao continued to bagged awards throughout the entire season. Adding to her list is being the first Asian and woman of colour to win Best Director at the Oscars. Together with Emerald Fennel, this is the first time that two women have been nominated for the category in the history of the awards. Nomadland also won Best Picture at the Oscars 2021.

The Beijing-born filmmaker is notably known for her independent films, all of which earned critical acclaim.

Her debut film, Song My Brothers Taught Me (2015) premiered at Sundance and got a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. Her next film, The Rider (2017) also got nominated for Best Film as well as Best Director at the Independent Spirit Awards. Nomadland (2020) catapult Zhao to the spotlight, gaining international recognition both as an Asian and a woman.

Zhao's next project is the upcoming Marvel film, The Eternals.

See also: Oscars 2021: Chloé Zhao Makes History As First Asian Woman To Win Best Director

Nomination: Best Director for Minari

It's hard to imagine that Lee Isaac Chung was on the verge of quitting filmmaking before directing Minari (2020). The Korean-American director's debut feature, Munyurangabo (2007) premiered high praises in Cannes Un Certain Regard. But that was 11 years ago. His follow-up works, Lucky Life (2010) and Abigail Harm (2012) didn't receive the same treatment.

Drawing from his childhood experiences on a farm in Arkansas, Minari was born and with that, Lee earned his first Best Director nomination, only the second Asian-American male director to get a nod after M. Night Shyamalan in 1999 and the fourth male Asian director overall following Ang Lee and Bong Joon-ho. Lee joins Chloe Zhao in marking the first time that two directors of Asian descent are nominated in the category.

Lee's powerful movie on family premiered at Sundance and won over the jury and audience awards. Despite the controversy, the movie also bagged Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes.

Nomination: Best International Feature Film for Better Days

If you've never heard of Derek Tsang, now's the time to put this rising director on your list. Tsang is the son of Hong Kong comedian and TV host, Eric Tsang. Despite Hong Kong movies being a constant presence at many international films festivals, the film is only the third ever Hong Kong submission to be acknowledged at the Oscars. Tsang also makes history as the first Hong Kong-born director to receive the honour.

Tsang also moonlights as an actor, making his debut in Men Suddenly in Black (2003) and took on the director's seat for Lover's Discourse (2010) which earned him a Best New Director nomination at the Golden Horse Awards in 2016. His 2016 film, Soul Mate bagged numerous nominations for Best Director at Hong Kong and Asian awards including the Golden Horse Awards, Asian Film Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards.

His magnum opus, Better Days (2019) swept eight awards Hong Kong Film Awards and became a hit national hit following its release in China, grossing over $220 million.

See also: 5 Things To Know About Derek Tsang And His Oscar-Nominated Film, "Better Days"

Award: Best Original Song for Fight For You from Judas and the Black Messiah

H.E.R (Having Everything Revealed) first made her presence in the music scene in 2016 with the release of her debut EP, H.E.R. Volume 2. She followed the release with Volume 2 and The Best Sides in 2017 then another two EPs in 2018, I Used to Know Her: The Prelude and I Used to Know Her: Part 2.

Her releases made her an artist to watch out for. Her first compilation album, H.E.R. was released in 2017, combining songs from each of her three EPs. The album received four nominations at the Grammys 2019, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist for H.E.R. She eventually won Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance.

At the Grammys 2020, she bagged five nominations including Album of the Year and Song of the Year while she didn't win that year, she eventually won Best R&B Song and Song of the Year at the Grammys 2021. H.E.R made history at the Oscars 2021, as the second person of Filipino descent to win an Oscar for Best Original Song after Robert Lopez won in the same category in 2013 and 2017.

This article was originally published on March 16, 2021 and was updated on April 26, 2021.