- Javier Bardem for Biutiful: everybody knows that Bardem is an excelent actor and his role as a man involved in illegal activity who is confronted by an old childhood friend, who is now a police officer, seems strong and the kind of role Academy loves. Besides, Bardem received the Cannes Film Festival Award of Best Male Performance, which is a good indicator of how amazing he's in this Alejandro González-Iñárritu Spanish language movie. One of the strongest contenders.
- Stephen Dorff for Somewhere: Dorff isn't a Hollywood star as many Oscar contenders in acting categories, which can be a good thing for him - people see the character easilier than the actor itself. He's a good actor (I just saw him in Felon and I like the way he acts) and Coppola is a specialist in making her movies' actors shinning (just the case of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in Lost In Translation). Somewhere seems a very personnal style movie, the kind of picture with good roles for the actors. Stephen Dorff can be easily nominated for the Best Actor category if the movie will be well received.
- Robert Duvall for Get Low: critics say that Duvall's performance in Get Low is one of his "acting gems" and it's no secret that Duvall is one of the best actors alive. The role of a spooky man, that's suspect of being in a league with the Devil, that demanded a "living funeral" for himself sounds really interesting and I'm sure that his performance won't be ignored by the Academy.
- Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine: one of the most promising actors shinned in Sundance Film Festival and in Cannes because of his performance as a husband and father in an acclaimed indie movie. Gosling is a smart guy and he knows which roles he has to choose to shine and his Dean in Blue Valentine seems the kind of character in which he can give his best. But there's the problem that the Academy may snubb Gosling just because there may be other actors with good performances in more bankable movies.
- Jim Sturgess for The Way Back: the Academy loves big breaks (like last year Jeremy Renner's and Carey Mulligan's case) and Sturgess can have his big one in The Way Back as a Polish soldier in a World War II epic directed by Peter Weir. I liked him in Across The Universe and I've no doubt that he has talent enough to give a strong performance in this movie. But there's a problem: Academy may want to give nods to Hollywood's darlings and Sturgess is a relatively new face.
in consideration: Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network); Colin Firth (The King's Speech); Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter);
- Stephen Dorff for Somewhere: Dorff isn't a Hollywood star as many Oscar contenders in acting categories, which can be a good thing for him - people see the character easilier than the actor itself. He's a good actor (I just saw him in Felon and I like the way he acts) and Coppola is a specialist in making her movies' actors shinning (just the case of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in Lost In Translation). Somewhere seems a very personnal style movie, the kind of picture with good roles for the actors. Stephen Dorff can be easily nominated for the Best Actor category if the movie will be well received.
- Robert Duvall for Get Low: critics say that Duvall's performance in Get Low is one of his "acting gems" and it's no secret that Duvall is one of the best actors alive. The role of a spooky man, that's suspect of being in a league with the Devil, that demanded a "living funeral" for himself sounds really interesting and I'm sure that his performance won't be ignored by the Academy.
- Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine: one of the most promising actors shinned in Sundance Film Festival and in Cannes because of his performance as a husband and father in an acclaimed indie movie. Gosling is a smart guy and he knows which roles he has to choose to shine and his Dean in Blue Valentine seems the kind of character in which he can give his best. But there's the problem that the Academy may snubb Gosling just because there may be other actors with good performances in more bankable movies.
- Jim Sturgess for The Way Back: the Academy loves big breaks (like last year Jeremy Renner's and Carey Mulligan's case) and Sturgess can have his big one in The Way Back as a Polish soldier in a World War II epic directed by Peter Weir. I liked him in Across The Universe and I've no doubt that he has talent enough to give a strong performance in this movie. But there's a problem: Academy may want to give nods to Hollywood's darlings and Sturgess is a relatively new face.
in consideration: Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network); Colin Firth (The King's Speech); Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter);
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