Jeff Bridges for True Grit
He might be the last year's winner of the Oscar of Best Leading Actor, but it seems that Bridges will take another Oscar nod this year, in spite of the fact that the won't win again (in fact, he have been raved for his performance in True Grit and have been collecting some awards nominations but he missed a Golden Globe nod and he didn't was named Best Actor for some major film critics' associations in spite of having Critics' Choice Award and a SAG Award nods). The previous interpretation of Bridges' character was from the legendary John Wayne in the previous adaptation of True Grit and it seems that the actor of Crazy Heart has "just" done a great tribute to it. Although he have already been recognized by the Academy last year, Bridges has good chances of getting a Best Leading Actor nod this year.
Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network
Eisenberg got raves for playing Mark Zuckerberg, the guy who founded the Facebook, in the movie of the year. In fact, The Social Network was a commercial and critical sucess and Eisenberg may benefit from the favoritism that the Facebook movie is getting in the Oscar race, getting a nomination. He's very talented and reviews described his "nuanced performance" as something like "awesome" and he has been getting a lot of awards nods, winning the National Board of Review of Best Actor and some critics associations awards and being nominated for a Golden Globe, a Critics' Choice Award and a Screen Actors Guild. In spite of not having strong chances to win due to the fact of being young (27) (the Academy seems to have something against giving to a young MALE actor the Best Leading Actor Oscar), Eisenberg has a strong chance to get a place between the 5 Best Leading Actor nominees due to his work, to his talent and to the "Facebook movie"'s sucess.
Colin Firth for The King's Speech
Playing English royalty have been helping a couple of actors to get an Academy Award nod and, in Helen Mirren's case, a win. Firth is amazing while portraying the King With a Speech Problem (George VI) and the critics seems to agree, raving him like they did last year, or even more! In A Single Man, Firth delivered a "performance of a lifetime", but the Academy didn't gave him the Oscar, the voters decided to give the gold to the very overdue Jeff Bridges. This year, Firth took home some couples of critics associations awards, the BIFA Award of Best Actor and a Satellite Award and he's nominated for a Golden Globe, a Critics' Choice Award and a SAG Award. So, Firth is THE frontrunner for the Oscar will be nominated in the end of this race (certainly) and, maybe, take the gold home, which is the most likely thing to happen!
James Franco for 127 Hours
While the Academy loves to give an Oscar nod to an actor/actress' breakthough performances, some actors that are overdue for some recognition must wait and this year may be James Franco's opportunitie. He's very well-known in the cinema business and named a good actor by the critics in general and he has a good body of work, but no Oscar nod. His role in the Academy winner director Danny Boyle's 127 Hours as the mountain climber Aron Ralston (who had to cut his own arm during one of his adventures) may be his best chance ever to see his talent recognized by the Academy. This is a juicy role that the Academy may like, but a similiar one wasn't recognized some years ago: Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless in the acclaimed Sean Penn's Into the Wild. James Franco is overdue for an Oscar nod (did you ever watched his performance in Milk?) and his performance in this "one man show" have been receiving raves from the critics and compliments from audiences, while the awards put his names between their nominees (like Golden Globes, SAG Awards and Critics' Choice Awards) and a big of them between their winners (a lot of critics associations). The Academy must recognize him this year!
Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine
If Gosling had a kind of title like "Indie Prince", it wouldn't be silly at all. fact, Ryan Gosling is one of the best actors of his generation if not the best one! He have been receiving raves for his performance in Blue Valentine, describing him as "amazing", comparing him to the iconic Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (yes, I read a review that compared both actors and that said Gosling was as good as Brando). His emotionally naked and depht performance as a husband with a marriage on the rocks gave him Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award nods, between some couples of critics associations awards nominations, but he missed a precious SAG Award nomination. In spite of some strong competition for the fifth seat in the five Academy's Best Leading Actor Oscar nominees, Gosling is on a good way to get the nomination, but I wouldn't be surprised if I saw Robert Duvall between the chosen instead of Gosling... Academy, give this guy the nod, please! He deserves it for being such a serious actor and for delivering never than less "very good" performances (Blue Valentine seems to be a kind of "perfect")...
in serious consideration: Robert Duvall (Get Low)
in serious consideration: Robert Duvall (Get Low)
in consideration: Javier Bardem (Biutiful)
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