Ariana DeBose, Dwayne Johnson, and Samuel L. Jackson Among First Announced 2023 Academy Awards Presenters

Ariana DeBose at the
Ariana DeBose at the "Westworld" Season 4 premiere in June 2022. Photo by Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock (12994508be)

After a lot of anticipation, the Academy Awards are just a week away, and the first batch of presenters has just been announced! Ariana DeBose, Dwayne Johnson, and Samuel L. Jackson are among first announced presenters for the upcoming Oscars.

Ariana DeBose won best supporting actress with West Side Story, so she’s most likely coming back to present the same award to this year’s winner. The same goes for Troy Kotsur, who’s returning to the Dolby Theatre after winning best supporting actor with CODA.

The list of presenters will also include many of the past Oscar winners and nominees, including Jennifer Connelly, Samuel L. Jackson, Questlove, Riz Ahmed, and eight-time nominee Glenn Close.

Emily Blunt, Dwayne Johnson, Creed III’s Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors, Melissa McCarthy, Janelle Monáe, Deepika Padukone, Zoe Saldaña, and Donnie Yen will also present at the upcoming Academy Awards. The rest of the presenters will be announced in the upcoming days, but we’re also expecting a few surprises come Oscar night.

The 95th Academy Awards will take place on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting the show for the third time. Everything Everywhere All at Once is the most-nominated film with a total of 11 nods, followed by All Quiet on the Western Front and The Banshees of Inisherin with nine each.