We’ve talked about the female acting categories because it’s ladies first. Now, it’s time for the males. First up is Best Actor.
One thing about the upcoming Best Actor race is that there’s a fair amount of youngsters in the running. Typically, Best Actor is all about celebrating aging veterans. However, young actors who are at least in their 20’s never get their due until they age up. It’s usually women that win right out of the gate but that’s a topic for another post.
Anyhow, could Best Actor go old or will they finally give their stamp of approval on a younger actor? We’ll see.
Current Predicted Five:
Bold= winner
Timothee Chalamet, The King: The current Golden Boy of Hollywood plays actual royalty in The King, the upcoming Henry V biopic by David Michod. He became the youngest actor in 78 years to score a Best Actor nomination with Call Me By Your Name back in 2017 and might’ve been a runner-up all season. Also, he nearly came close to a Supporting Actor nomination for Beautiful Boy last year. So, he’s garnered a fair amount of goodwill right out of the gate.
For what it’s worth, much like the year of Call Me By Your Name, he’s also got a film by Greta Gerwig coming soon (Little Women). Maybe she could act as a slight good luck charm.
Robert De Niro, The Irishman: Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese re-collaborating for the highly anticipated The Irishman seems like a strong recipe for a legitimate contender. However, De Niro is currently a strong contender on paper. Also, while he did land a “welcome back” nomination for Silver Linings Playbook not too long ago, can he manage another one?
Taron Egerton, Rocketman: Oscar is a sucker for not just biopics but musical biopics. So, playing a world famous musician is already quite baity. Not to mention, a straight actor playing gay is another thing they’re kind of a sucker for. If the film has the right reviews and becomes a huge hit, Egerton should easily be in play. For what it’s worth, his campaign has already gotten a head start with him participating in featurettes showing him doing his own singing. Unless they get deja vu after just awarding an actor for playing a British queer musician, Egerton is a formidable contender as far as we know.
Daniel Kaluuya, Queen & Slim: After scoring a Best Actor nomination for Get Out and being overlooked for his genius supporting turn in Widows, Daniel Kaluuya could make a return with Queen & Slim. The film, written by Emmy winner Lena Waithe and directed by Melina Matsoukas, is a very timely story about a black couple that goes on the run after shooting a police officer. In addition, the film has a very awards-friendly release date in November.
Ian McKellen, The Good Liar: If Best Actor goes old this year, as it always does, a case could be made for Sir Ian McKellen. Despite having two nominations under his belt and a prolific career, he’s never won an Oscar. But that could change with The Good Liar where he plays a conman who falls for a woman who he tries to scheme. It’s also directed by Bill Condon who guided him to his first nomination for Gods and Monsters. Can lightning strike twice?
Outside Looking In:
6. Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: DiCaprio finally got his overdue Oscar for The Revenant and is re-teaming with Quentin Tarantino after Django Unchained. However, now that he has his Oscar, will they already move on? That sometimes happens with overdue actors when they get their reward (i.e. Shirley Maclaine, Robin Williams, etc.).
7. Adam Driver, The Report: After getting an Oscar nomination for BlacKkKlansman, Adam Driver already seems set to capitalize on it. This year, he’s got the currently untitled Noah Baumbach project, Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die, and Star Wars: Episode IX. Most importantly, he’s won some of the best reviews of his career for the journalist drama The Report which premiered back at Sundance. Out of all the projects he has coming, this one seems like his best bet.
8. Dev Patel, The Personal History of David Copperfield: The film currently doesn’t have distribution but playing a famous literary figure may warrant some awards buzz. In addition, Dev Patel already has an Oscar nomination under his belt for Lion and would be the first Asian actor to be a Best Actor nominee since Sir Ben Kingsley for House of Sand and Fog back in 2003.
9. Jonathan Pryce, The Pope: Jonathan Pryce has two things possibly going for him. One being that The Pope is a biopic about Pope Benedict (Pryce) and his successor Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins). The other potential benefit is writer Anthony McCarten who has scribed three films that won Best Actor (Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour, and Bohemian Rhapsody). That being said, the biggest question is not just the potential quality of the film. It also depends on whether Pryce or Hopkins is the bigger lead.
10. Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory: Despite having a lengthy and illustrious career in both the United States and Spain, Antonio Banderas has never been cited with this kind of recognition. However, his upcoming effort with frequent collaborator Pedro Almodovar might do the trick for him. It helps that he’s also got the journalist drama The Laundromat on the horizon.
Who do you think could be nominated for Best Actor at this stage? Also, do you think they’ll go older or attempt a change of pace and award a younger actor this time around? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading!
