Brian Cox for Coriolanus
Coriolanus got raves in Berlin and Brian Cox was one of their targets: his performance as a cagey diplomat was so critically well-received... Everybody knows that Cox has appeared in a big couple of great movies but he never got Oscar recognition in spite of having an high-quality consistence work and good performances, but it may change with Coriolanus: if the movie gets enough Oscar attention, Cox may have good chances to be recognized by the AMPAS. He and Vanessa Redgrave delivered the best performances of the movie, by far, according to Berlin Film Festival reviews, but unlike Redgrave, Brian Cox's performance reviews were great but not THAT great and he may be put in her shadow... So, he and the movie may need a good Oscar campaign in order to have enough attention in order to Mr. Cox be able to get an Oscar nod in the Best Supporting Actor category (which seems a bit unpredictable category at the moment), but I believe Coriolanus will be really well-received and he will be nominated.
Armie Hammer for J. Edgar
The Academy has a crush for "the gay lover" and Hammer plays Hoover's lover in Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar. In fact, James Franco also played "the gay lover" in Milk and didn't get an Oscar nomination, but it was an exception due to the fact of being the first (or one of the first) Oscar-quality movie from Franco, once he was seen has the handsome guy for most people. But Armie Hammer case is different: he got a lot of critical acclaim and some award recognition last year for The Social Network for a "small" (double) part in the Oscar nominated movie and now he was casted in Eastwood's biopic about J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI guy. He may be a fresh face, but the Academy loves a fresh face, specially when this "fresh face" has a couple of Oscar-caliber movies in his/her body of work and he/she is a rising star. Jake Gyllenhaal, Annette Bening, Colin Firth, Heath Ledger, Sean Penn, Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman or Nicole Kidman got Oscar recognition for playing gay characters, so, I think Armie Hammer has the Academy's history on his side when we talk about his chances of getting an Oscar nomination for J. Edgar.
Viggo Mortensen for A Dangerous Method
After working with Cronenberg in A History of Violence and Eastern Promises, Mortensen will reunite again with the acclaimed director but this time he will have a supporting role. It may be supporting, but it promises to be juicy, specially when the character to be portrayed is Sigmund Freud, the father of psychonalisys, in the highly antecipated A Dangerous Method. The movie also has Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Vincent Cassell in the cast, and everybody knows that with a cast plenty of talented actors and actresses there will be really nice performances and Mortensen's may be a great one! The movie itself seems to be more about Jung/Freud duo (a two men show) than properly the love story of Jung and Sabina, and it benefits Mortensen so much! The role is promising and so it's the movie, so what could Viggo Mortensen ask more to get an Oscar nod? Nothing more. He just needs rave reviews and he'll be nominated, because the movie itself is very Oscar-friendly.
Brad Pitt for The Tree of Life
The Tree of Life was the darling of Cannes and got the Palme D'Or and Pitt was the most praised actor in the whole movie! In fact, Terrence Malick movie's don't give acting nods in theory, but it is possible, specially if the movie gets enough Oscar buzz and the actor is a well-known face with previous Oscar nominations, like Brad Pitt's case! He showed that he's more than a sex symbol in this one and that his previous nominations (Twelve Monkeys and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) weren't fruit of lucky moments. His performance have been described as (maybe) the most solid performance he has ever delivered, so I think the AMPAS already has the eyes on Pitt. If some member of The Tree of Life's cast gets an Oscar nom, the one will be Pitt, (almost) for sure: he's a true movie star, a mediatic figure, he has talent, he has a great body of work, he has previous Oscar nominations and he got raves for this movie!
Christopher Plummer for Beginners
According to reviews, Mr. Plummer delivered an Oscar-caliber performance in Beginners as a late gay bloomer in a movie that received a lot of raves itself. The movie is a dramatic comedy who looks at love and family and where they collide and seems to be full of great performances, but Plummer's was reviewed has the brightest one. The AMPAS loves gay character, but Plummer goes beyond of playing the stereotypical gay old man, he's much deeper, he shows the audience a heart and plays the character with a brilliant empathy and energy. More than a funny character, Plummer's character teaches how valuable every minute in our lives can be and this is why he will get an Oscar nod: more than a brilliant gay character, a brilliant performance, a previous Oscar nomination (The Last Station), Plummer's character has a great message to the audiences and the Academy likes it most the times.
in consideration: Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn); Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Ides of March); Christoph Waltz (Carnage);
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