Oscars 2022: 7 potential historic wins to watch for

History could be made Sunday at the 2022 Oscars.

This year's crop of nominees is poised to make headlines should a few key wins occur. These moments would include an important first for women, much-needed representation for the Deaf community and other various individual achievements.

Couples winning Oscars the same year

There's a long history of Hollywood couples being nominated for Oscars the same year -- and this year there are two.

One pair is the husband-and-wife duo of Javier Bardem, nominated for best actor for "Being the Ricardos," and Penelope Cruz, nominated for best actress for "Parallel Mothers."

The couple, who married in 2010, are already winners, with Bardem, 53, winning best supporting actor for 2007's "No Country for Old Men" and Cruz, 47, winning best supporting actress for 2008's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." They have also amassed four nominations each.

The other pair, is engaged couple Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons, nominated for best supporting actress and best supporting actor, respectively, for "The Power of the Dog." This is the first nomination for both Dunst and Plemons.

Should either Bardem and Cruz or Dunst and Plemons both win their respective categories, it would be the first time a couple won acting Oscars the same year.

Jane Campion becoming the 3rd female best director winner

"The Power of the Dog" director Jane Campion, who already became the first woman to be nominated for the best director Oscar twice, could also become just the third woman to win in the category.

The New Zealand-born filmmaker, who was previously nominated in 1994 for "The Piano," would be following in the footsteps of Kathryn Bigelow, who won for "The Hurt Locker" in 2010, and Chloé Zhao, who won for "Nomadland" in 2021.

Aside from Campion, Bigelow and Zhao, only four other women have been nominated for best director: Lina Wertmüller for "Seven Beauties" in 1977, Sofia Coppola for "Lost in Translation" in 2004, Greta Gerwig for "Lady Bird'' in 2018 and Emerald Fennell for "Promising Young Woman" in 2021.

Campion, 67, also snagged nominations for best picture and best adapted screenplay at this year's Academy Awards.

Ari Wegner becoming the 1st female best cinematographer winner

Ari Wegner, the director of photography for "The Power of the Dog," is just the second woman to be nominated for the Oscar for best cinematography.

The first woman to break the glass ceiling in the category was Rachel Morrison, who was nominated for "Mudbound" in 2018.

Since Morrison lost, Wegner -- who is favored to win -- would be the first woman to win best cinematography at the Academy Awards.

Wegner, who is from Australia, has also served as DP on 2016's "Lady Macbeth" and 2020's "Zola."

Troy Kotsur becoming the 1st deaf best actor winner

Troy Kotsur is the first deaf man to be nominated for an acting Oscar and is the favorite to win best supporting actor for the film "CODA."

"CODA," which stands for Child of Deaf Adults, follows the story of Ruby Rossi, the only hearing person in her family, as she balances her own dreams with the responsibility she feels to help out with the family fish business.

In the film, Kotsur plays Ruby's father, Frank, with Marlee Matlin and Daniel Durant respectively playing her mother, Jackie, and brother, Leo.

Should he win, Kotsur would make history and follow in the footsteps of Matlin, who became the first deaf performer to win an Oscar when she won best actress for "Children of a Lesser God" in 1987.

Kotsur told ABC News in a recent interview he felt "blessed" and "extremely honored" to have been nominated and that the Deaf community is "thrilled" to see American Sign Language captured on the big screen in the film.

"It's such a blessing that Hollywood will begin to recognize deaf talent and increase deaf awareness," he said. "And I hope that it changes their perspective, rather than thinking of deaf people as villains or folks to have sympathy about, it is a culture. It is a language. We have our own language and we have our own culture."

Lin-Manuel Miranda achieving EGOT status

Lin-Manuel Miranda could achieve the coveted EGOT status should he win the Oscar for best original song thanks to "Dos Oruguitas" from "Encanto."

Miranda already garnered an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony thanks to both the stage and Disney+ productions of his landmark Broadway musical "Hamilton," among other projects.

This is Miranda's second Academy Award nomination, having earned a best original song nomination for "How Far I'll Go" from "Moana" in 2017.

Should he EGOT, Miranda would find himself in an elite group that includes just 16 others, including Mel Brooks, John Gielgud, Whoopi Goldberg, Marvin Hamlisch, Helen Hayes, Audrey Hepburn, John Legend, Robert Lopez, Alan Menken, Rita Moreno, Mike Nichols, Tim Rice, Richard Rodgers, Scott Rudin, Jonathan Tunick and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

There are also five individuals who have earned their EGOT status with one or more of their awards being non-competitive. Those individuals include Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones, Quincy Jones, Liza Minnelli and Barbra Streisand.

2 ways 'Drive My Car' could make history for Japan

One of this year's critical darlings is a three-hour Japanese film from filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi titled "Drive My Car," which is up for best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay and best international feature film.

Hamaguchi is the third Japanese filmmaker to be nominated for best director and the first to be nominated in 36 years. He follows in the footsteps of Hiroshi Teshigahara, who was nominated for "Woman in the Dunes" in 1966, and Akira Kurosawa, who was nominated for "Ran" in 1986.

Should he win, Hamaguchi would be the first Japanese filmmaker to snag the best director Oscar.

"Drive My Car" is also the first Japanese film to be nominated for best picture.

This attention for "Drive My Car" comes on the heels of historic Oscar wins for films within the past two years made by and starring people of Asian descent, including "Nomadland," "Parasite" and "Minari."

Ariana DeBose winning for the same role Rita Moreno won for 60 years ago

Ariana DeBose is the favorite to win best supporting actress for her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story."

Should she win, DeBose will have won the same award for the same character Rita Moreno won for playing exactly 60 years ago for the 1961 version of the film. On top of that, both actresses are of Puerto Rican heritage, with Moreno having been born there.

These two may join an elite club of actors who both won Oscars for playing the same role.

Members of this club include Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro for playing Vito Corleone in 1972's "The Godfather" and 1974's "The Godfather: Part II," respectively winning best actor and best supporting actor for their work.

Two additional members include Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix, who both played the Joker. Ledger posthumously won best supporting actor for 2008's "The Dark Knight" and Phoenix won best actor for 2019's "Joker."