Continuing on from our discussion regarding above-the-line prospects last week, let’s dive into some Best Actor contenders, specifically, who has the narrative, and what one could see unfold throughout the year.
Sight unseen, perhaps the most significant actor in this race, and one who has obtained the status of “current frontrunner” would be that of Tom Cruise for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Digger, which is slated to open up in the fall of the year, and more likely than not, will show the actor in a role that is very much more prestige-coded than what he is usually known for. It’s a compelling narrative, more of a Will Smith in Green’s King Richard than a Timothée Chalamet in Safdie’s Marty Supreme on paper. One of the few global movie stars left, seeing Cruise win an Oscar (a competitive one, I may add) would be quite satisfying to witness, and would be an Oscar moment for the ages. Slated to play a comedic and flawed, but powerful individual attempting to save the world seems like a compelling character study on paper, and add in the director’s signature if controversial extreme push on everyone involved in the production, and this will no doubt be quite a film of the year one will have to discuss.
Many believe, perhaps prematurely, that the race might be over before it has even begun. Unless Digger proves to be a mess of unbelievable proportions, it’s a safe bet to assume the film will be a success, and one that will be, at the very minimum, a showing for the lead actor, and an ensemble that is quite sprawling and full of known names, in addition to his satirical (and perhaps timely) narrative. Besides Cruise, several other leading men can become staples in the race this year, such as John Malkovich (or Sam Rockwell) in McDonaugh’s Wild Horse Nine, Sebastian Stan in Mungiu’s Fjord, Matt Damon in Nolan’s The Odyssey, and Ryan Gosling in Lord and Miller’s Project Hail Mary, who faces an uphill battle considering the academy’s resistance to science fiction performances, but if the film is truly a Best Picture contender, it seems almost impossible to pass up the opportunity to at least nominated the lead actor for his work. It’s a largely competitive field, and for the sake of it, here are 15 performances to look out for
- Tom Cruise, Digger
- John Malkovich (could be supporting), Wild Horse Nine
- Matt Damon, The Odyssey
- Sebastian Stan, Fjord
- Ryan Gosling, Project Hail Mary
- Javier Bardem, The Beloved
- Nicholas Hoult, Cry To Heaven
- Sam Rockwell (could be supporting), Wild Horse Nine
- Josh O’Connell (could be supporting), Ink
- Guy Pearce (could be supporting), Ink
- Jaafar Jackson, Michael
- Josh O’Connor, Jack of Spades
- Robert Aramayo, I Swear
- Jeremy Allen White, The Social Reckoning
- Dominic Sessa, Tony
Found below is the Award Expert Community and the “consensus” for Best Actor at the moment.
Cannes Preview
Looking ahead to the Cannes Film Festival, one will undoubtedly look towards what could pop up as an Awards Player, or what could just be considered something to see and look forward to. Rumored to be light on American films, but big on International Names, it will no doubt be a sizable number of films, some that will receive critical acclaim, others bewilderment, but that’s the joy in the experience.
Here are ten films that seem fairly plausible to be screened in addition to what has already been confirmed (Salvadori’s The Electric Kiss and Travolta’s Propeller One-Way Night Coach).
- Fatherland (Pawlikowski)
- Fjord (Mungiu)
- All of a Sudden (Hamaguchi)
- Bitter Christmas (Almodóvar)
- Minotaur (Zyvagintsev)
- Parallel Tales (Farhadi)
- Sheep in the Box (Kore-eda)
- Paper Tiger (Gray)
- Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (Schoenbrun)
- The Unknown (Harari)
Several other films will be announced on April 9th, but at the moment, this seems to be a solid enough consensus to look out for.
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