Oscar nominations 2014: Lawrence, Nyong’o, Hawkins among nominees

Jennifer Lawrence is currently America’s Sweetheart, but Thursday morning, it was kind of hard not to hate her.

That was when she received an Oscar nomination for her supporting turn in “American Hustle,” becoming, at 23, the youngest three-time acting nominee in the history of the Academy Awards. Do you feel bad about yourself yet?

If not, let’s keep going: Last weekend, her role as an unhappy suburban housewife in David O. Russell’s film scored her a Golden Globe, and she has a good shot at winning a SAG Award on Saturday. In 2013, the second installment in “The Hunger Games” franchise -- in which she plays Katniss Everdeen -- was the highest-grossing film of the year. With $414 million in ticket sales, it was the first film in 40 years with a female protagonist to top the box office charts. This was after she won lead acting honors at the Oscars last February for her turn in “Silver Linings Playbook.” Oh, and in 2011, she was nominated by the academy for her breakout performance in “Winter’s Bone.”

PHOTOS: Oscars 2014 nominee reactions

This year, the only newcomer in the supporting actress category was Lupita Nyong’o, the 30-year-old Kenyan native who landed her harrowing part in “12 Years a Slave” just weeks after graduating from the Yale School of Drama. Also recognized Thursday were Julia Roberts, who plays Meryl Streep’s feisty daughter in “August: Osage County,” Sally Hawkins, who stars opposite Cate Blanchett as her emotionally bruised sister, and June Squibb, whom many moviegoers will remember for her dirty mouth in the family drama “Nebraska.”

At 84, Squibb certainly isn’t a newcomer, though many were unfamiliar with her before seeing Alexander Payne’s film. On Thursday, the actress said she and her son had watched the nominations from her home in Sherman Oaks before sunrise, embracing after they heard the good news.

“When he heard, he was so dear, he got up and came over and held me -- and we were both almost crying and it was lovely,” she recalled. “I was never a leading lady or an ingenue. I was always a character actress -- I think you’re better off in that respect as you get older.”

Hawkins, meanwhile, had just arrived back in England after trekking to Hollywood for the Globes last weekend. She was jet-lagged and slightly scatterbrained, frequently apologizing for her tendency to ramble.

“I’m overwhelmed with emotion and incredibly proud and not quite sure how to compute it,” she said with a sigh. “I think it’ll take me a day or two before it properly computes in a way that makes sense. I’m a little numbed. I hope I meet you in person because this is a terrible interview.”

As for Lawrence, the It-girl was unable to get on the phone Thursday to discuss her reaction to her third Oscar nod. She was busy, her publicist said, filming the next entry in “The Hunger Games” franchise.
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