Nick Cave Has Scored His First-Ever Oscar Nomination

As if Nick Cave didn’t already have enough trophies, cult status and mythos to his name – the man has now officially entered Academy Awards territory.

Cave has landed his first-ever Oscar nomination, with the Aussie icon nominated for Best Original Song at the 98th Academy Awards for ‘Train Dreams’, co-written with Bryce Dessner (The National) for the film of the same name.

“Train Dreams” by Nick Cave & Bryce Dessner | Official Music Video | Netflix

Yes, that means Nick Cave is now in the same Oscar category as K-Pop Demon Hunters, which is objectively very funny and extremely 2026.

The American period drama Train Dreams stars Australian actor Joel Edgerton, alongside Felicity Jones and Kerry Condon, with Cave and Dessner’s song playing over the film’s closing credits. Despite decades of acclaim – ARIAs, APRAs, Grammys, Australian Music Prize nominations and more – this marks Cave’s first nod from the Academy.

The pair will face stiff competition in the category, going up against Diane Warren, Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson, Nicholas Pike, and the wildly titled ‘Golden’ from KPop Demon Hunters.

Meanwhile, the Best Original Score category is stacked with music royalty too, including Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, alongside Alexandre Desplat, Max Richter, Jerskin Fendrix, and Göransson again – a solid reminder of just how intertwined the worlds of film and alternative music have become.

The winners will be announced at the 98th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 15, held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, with the broadcast airing in Australia the following day.

The nomination caps off another huge chapter for Cave, who’s long blurred the lines between music, film and literature. From scoring films and writing novels to the immortal afterlife of ‘Red Right Hand’ via Peaky Blinders, Cave’s cultural footprint has only continued to expand.

Right now, he’s also back on home soil, touring Australia with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds in support of their latest album Wild God, playing massive outdoor venues and arenas across the country.

When announcing the tour, Cave said he was keen to return with what he described as an “epic Wild God show” – and now, midway through that run, he’s added an Oscar nomination to the resume.

Not bad for a bloke who once made a career out of murder ballads and existential dread.