The Swedish Academy announced today (October 10), that Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai is the recipient of The Nobel Prize for Literature for 2025. But only two individuals have the unique status of receiving The Nobel Prize and the Oscar — George Bernard Shaw and Bob Dylan.
George Bernard Shaw was the reciepient of The Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. The Nobel Committee for Literature chose Shaw as the recipient "for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty".
Amongst his most well known works, was the play Pygmalion. Named after Greek figure, mentioned in Ovid's Metamorphoses, the story of the play follows Henry Higgins, who makes a bet with Colonel Pickering, to transform Eliza Doolittle, a working class woman with a thick accent, into a refined woman who can fit into London high society's social events. Shaw won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay along with Cecil Lewis, Ian Dalrymple, and WP Lipscomb for the 1938 film adaptation of Pygmalion.
When Bob Dylan received The Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, he became the second person after Shaw to receive the unique distinction. Dylan was selected as the reciepient of the award "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".
Dylan won the Oscar for Best Original Song for 'Things Have Changed' from the film Wonder Boys, directed by Curtis Hanson. Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, and Robert Downey Jr are amongst the cast of the film. Dylan also received a Golden Globe for 'Things Have Changed'.
