This Year's Oscar Nominees Have Pretty Much All Starred in Movies Together

There are lots of fun facts about this year's Oscar nominees, and before the ceremony at the end of this month, we're exploring a lot of them. Looking back at the storied pasts of each nominee, not only have we noticed some rather embarassing films, but we noticed another pattern: this year's nominees have a lot of history together. A lot of the nominees have played couples, some best friends, and there is even a father and son pair in there. Indeed, you can pretty much trace a solid line between each nominee, so without further adieu, here it is.

Tom Hardy and Christian Bale
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Tom Hardy and Christian Bale

Hardy and Bale memorably faced off as Bane and Batman in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy
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Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy

Just a couple years after we first got to know Hardy in Inception, in which he paired up with Leonardo DiCaprio . . . he becomes his eventual foil in The Revenant.

Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio
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Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio

DiCaprio, it should be noted, has paired up with the most 2016 Oscar nominees, including Mark Ruffalo in 2010's Shutter Island.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet
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Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet

But his most memorable costar is obviously Kate Winslet, a pairing that kicked off with 1997's Titanic.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet
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Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet

And they of course reunited 11 years later in Revolutionary Road.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett
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Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett

DiCaprio also romanced another nominee — Cate Blanchett, who played Katharine Hepburn (for which she won an Oscar) in The Aviator in 2004.

Cate Blanchett and Matt Damon
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Cate Blanchett and Matt Damon

Damon also interfaced with one of DiCaprio's leading ladies: Cate Blanchett in The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Cate Blanchett and Matt Damon
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Cate Blanchett and Matt Damon

The reunited on screen under better circumstances in 2014's The Monuments Men.

Matt Damon and Eddie Redmayne
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Matt Damon and Eddie Redmayne

A unique Oscar nominee pairing, Matt Damon and Eddie Redmayne played father and son in The Good Shepherd in 2006.

Matt Damon and Mark Ruffalo
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Matt Damon and Mark Ruffalo

2011 indie Margaret starred both Matt Damon and Mark Ruffalo (not pictured).

Kate Winslet and Mark Ruffalo
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Kate Winslet and Mark Ruffalo

Ruffalo brings it full circle with his costars' costar Kate Winslet in All the King's Men in 2006. Winslet and Ruffalo also appeared in 2004's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but had no scenes together.

Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander
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Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander

Meanwhile, both Winslet and Michael Fassbender are nominated for Steve Jobs. Fassbender has a very special costar in this year's upcoming The Light Between Oceans: Alicia Vikander — special because she's a fellow nominee and Fassbender's main squeeze.

Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence
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Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence

Fassbender is also a part of the X-Men series, which he has starred in with best actress nominee Jennifer Lawrence multiple times.

Jennifer Lawrence and Christian Bale
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Jennifer Lawrence and Christian Bale

And Lawrence is a part of the unofficial David O. Russell series, including American Hustle, in which she's married to Christian Bale.

Christian Bale and Jennifer Jason Leigh
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Christian Bale and Jennifer Jason Leigh

Multiple-time nominee Bale made an early impression in 2004's The Machinist, alongside The Hateful Eight's Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett
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Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett

This one is a little more unusual. Though costars Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett don't appear in the same frame in I'm Not There, their presence is almost more intimate: they both play Bob Dylan.

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That's Blanchett as Bob. Their next collaboration comes this year in Knight of Cups.

Cate Blanchett and Saoirse Ronan
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Cate Blanchett and Saoirse Ronan

Best actress nominees Blanchett and Ronan squared off as two very fierce women in 2011's Hanna.

Cate Blanchett and Eddie Redmayne
Universal Pictures

Cate Blanchett and Eddie Redmayne

Redmayne played a would-be assassin to the titular queen in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, a movie that got best actress nominee Blanchett her fourth Oscar nomination. And for what it's worth, Redmayne visited the same century in The Other Boleyn Girl as well, where he starred with future best supporting actor nominee Mark Rylance.