Today on the blog I give the five actors that, at press time, I believe will be nominated for Best Actor at this year’s Oscars. In previous posts over the past week, I’ve predicted Actress and Supporting Actor and Actress. You can find those here:
https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/early-oscar-predictions-best-actress/
https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/early-oscar-predictions-best-supporting-actor/
https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/09/01/early-oscar-predictions-best-supporting-actress/
Much like the Best Actress category (where I feel Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine and Sandra Bullock in Gravity will definitely be recognized), I see two surefire nominees for Best Actor. Steve McQueen’s slavery drama Twelve Years a Slave has received raves from the film festival circuit and it appears its star Chiwetel Ejiofor is in line for recognition. You may know Ejiofor for supporting roles in Inside Man or American Gangster or Love Actually, but this looks to be his breakout performance. A much more known actor is my second pick for a definite nomination: Robert Redford in All is Lost, in which the veteran performer plays a sailor stranded at sea. Like Slave, Lost has garnered raves at festivals, particularly for Redford. Shockingly, this would mark only the second acting nomination for him – 40 years after The Sting.
Besides Ejiofor and Redford, everything is uncertain and there are plenty of actors competing for the remaining three slots. I have predicted Tom Hanks to receive a Supporting Actor nod for his role as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks. He also appears a likely nominee for Paul Greengrass’ Somali pirate drama Captain Phillips. As mentioned in all other nomination posts, director David O. Russell gets his actors nominated (his last two pictures have featured seven nominees) and that could mean recognition for Christian Bale in American Hustle. Matthew McConaughey has yet to receive a nomination and he could get one for portraying an HIV positive man in Dallas Buyer’s Club. Hugh Jackman’s performance in the abduction drama Prisoners has been called career-best and he could receive his second nomination in as many years after the Les Miserables nod last year. Leonardo DiCaprio can’t be counted out for Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, though his nomination may depend on how well the pic does with the Academy. Audiences and many critics have embraced Lee Daniels’ The Butler and star Forest Whitaker could certainly benefit. Veteran actor Bruce Dern’s performance in Alexander Payne’s Nebraska has garnered high praise. Idris Elba is in contention for playing Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Oscar Isaac may receive a nomination for the Coen Brothers Inside Llewyn Davis. Director Bennett Miller made Capote which got Philip Seymour Hoffman a golden statue in this category and Moneyball for which Brad Pitt was nominated. Miller’s new pic Foxcatcher could see Steve Carell getting his first nomination. However, at press time, it’s uncertain whether Carell will be touted for Actor or Supporting Actor. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in Bill Condon’s The Fifth Estate, though the pic has opened to mixed reviews over the past couple of days. There’s Ben Stiller in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (which he directed) and Joaquin Phoenix going for his second nomination in a row with Spike Jonze’s Her. And there’s Michael Fassbender in Ridley Scott’s The Counselor which is possible though the actor is much more likely to be nominated for Supporting Actor in Twelve Years a Slave.
So… there’s your contenders and there’s lots of ’em. As previously mentioned, I believe Ejiofor and Redford are in but the rest of the field could change quite a bit over the next many weeks until nomination time. Right now, here are my five predicted nominees:
BEST ACTOR
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Twelve Years a Slave
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyer’s Club
Robert Redford, All is Lost
Forest Whitaker, Lee Daniels’ The Butler
I’ll be back with my predictions for Best Director and then Best Picture shortly!
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