Yidio Oscars Spotlight: Best Actor
by Andy Neuenschwander
.jpg)
In the Yidio Oscars Spotlight, we take a look at the key races at this year's Academy Awards. Today we look at the Best Actor Category, where the veterans are neck and neck with a new breed.
Best Actor
Veterans mix with young talent in this year's pool of nominees, though the winner is already all but decided.
Past Winners
This is the category that brought us Roberto Benigni's famous acceptance, so you never really know what might happen. Over the past decade, though, we have seen a fairly predictable (but worthy) list of winners, with veterans like Jeff Bridges and Daniel Day-Lewis each winning.
Sean Penn has won twice, once for "Mystic River" and again for "Milk". Some unexpected names made the list of winners in the last decade as well, including Jamie Foxx (who won for his portrayal of Ray Charles in "Ray") and Adrien Brody, who had a breakout performance in "The Pianist".
The 2000 and 2001 seasons saw some controversial picks, as Russell Crowe won for "Gladiator" and Denzel Washington won for "Training Day". Both were good performances, but not what would traditionally be considered Oscar-worthy.
The Nominees
Javier Bardem ("Biutiful")
Jeff Bridges ("True Grit")
Jesse Eisenberg ("The Social Network")
Colin Firth ("The King's Speech")
James Franco ("127 Hours")
What Critics are Saying
This is possibly the most easily predicted category in the entire ceremony this year. Colin Firth, in his portrayal of the stuttering King George VI, has already swept the Golden Globes, SAG awards, and BAFTA awards, winning the top honors at all three. James Franco certainly deserves some recognition for carrying an entire movie almost on his own, though that hasn't impressed the Academy in the past...after all, Tom Hanks lost to Russell Crowe despite a great performance in "Cast Away."
Jeff Bridges just won last year for "Crazy Heart" and could have a little extra momentum because of it, but not having won any awards this year so far significantly lowers his Oscar chances.
Meanwhile, Javier Bardem put forth a great performance in "Biutiful", but the movie was not well-reviewed (or seen all that much), so his momentum is shot. Jesse Eisenberg has the momentum of "The Social Network" behind him along with a terrific performance, and any other year might have a good shot at winning.
Firth, though, has two of the "Oscar bait" character traits going for him: he plays a real person in a biographical period piece, and his character struggles with a physical handicap, in this case a stutter. The fact that Firth inhabits the character so fully and manages to make the speech impediment so believable is the reason why he has won every acting award so far this season.
Prediction
It is unlikely that the Academy will stray from the trend. Bet the farm on Colin Firth.