After years of being snubbed at the Oscar alter, Leonardo DiCaprio looks to be at the cusp of yet another possible Oscar win. With the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama already in his hands, The Revenant’s star is ready for his acceptance speech; and the world is right behind him. However, looking at the field that’s in competition for the Best Actor honors at this year’s Oscars, it’s not going to be an easy victory for everyone’s favorite upset. Envelopes in hand, here are the rankings for the Best Actor field and their possible ability to continue Leo’s losing streak.
For the second year in a row, Eddie Redmayne has picked up a nomination for a transformative performance, this time for Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl. With Redmayne’s chameleon powers on full blast, his performance was tipped for a nod long before it even hit the screen. But the fact that he won last year for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything weighs heavily against his odds with The Academy. Not to mention tempers toward The Danish Girl are either cool, if not negative, towards the film. Despite his previous win, it doesn’t look like it’s Eddie Redmayne’s year for victory.
Working his way through the EGOT paradigm at a fair clip, Trumbo’s Bryan Cranston has already bagged himself some Emmy awards for Breaking Bad, as well as a Tony for his portrayal of Lyndon B. Johnson in All The Way. With a Best Actor nomination at this year’s Academy Awards, Cranston is continuing to ride the train of goodwill he’s earned from his critics. The unfortunate downside to Bryan Cranston’s wave of good feelings is the fact that Trumbo went from awards front runner to also-ran in the blink of an eye. Still, Cranston is an actor for our time, so we’ll expect him to rack up some more nominations in the future.
How’s this for coincidence: Michael Fassbender is nominated for the titular role in Steve Jobs. That very same role was offered to, and rejected by, Leonardo DiCaprio himself; yet here it is… back to haunt him from his past. Fassbender has gotten some great notices on his performance in the Danny Boyle helmed biopic, and his candidacy is where the tide starts to swing away from DiCaprio’s favor. Thanks to Kate Winslet’s win for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes, the talk around Michael Fassbender’s performance could spark up again, as his nomination is proof that Steve Jobs hasn’t been completely forgotten.
1. Matt Damon
Out of the entire Best Actor field that’s been nominated for this year’s trophy, it’s fellow Golden Globe winner Matt Damon that’s the force to be reckoned with this year. With The Martian being the most commercial hit of the pack, a Damon win could be in the cards, so as to please the public who turned out in droves to see the film. Of course, it also helps that Matt Damon’s performance as Mark Watney is truly an organic masterpiece of solo work that deserves awards recognition. If Leo’s going to lose again this year, it’s a good chance that Damon will be the one snagging the gold this year.
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