The 2007 Academy Awards Part 3: Best Actor Hopefuls

Best Actor:

George Clooney in The Good German: I'd say this is pretty close to a lock. Clooney is an absolutely HUGE A-list star at this point, coming off a best supporting actor win last year and furthering his status as a serious dramatic actor in Steven Soderbergh's new film. It's been a very tight-lipped production and should get a ton of hype once it comes out. Clooney plays a journalist in post-war Berlin trying to uncover a mystery surrounding his mistress (played by Cate Blanchett in another Oscar-hopeful performance). It's going to be a highly visible film and from the trailer the production looks absolutely fantastic. Given the scope of the role and Clooney's celebrity status (not to mention the fact that he's turned into an extremely talented actor) I think he's a lock at this point.

Peter O'Toole in Venus: I think this is another one that can probably be inked in at this point. Legendary Hollywood actor Peter O'Toole (Lawrence of Arabia himself) has been nominated many times (7 or 8 I believe) but has never actually won an Oscar. He was given an Honorary Oscar a couple of years ago and almost refused to accept it because he believed he can still win one. Venus is going to be a low profile film that will probably get limited release but they're going to bank on O'Toole getting an Oscar nod. He plays an aging actor who develops a May-December romance with a very young woman. Pre-release reviews have been raving about his work on the film, and apparently O'Toole goes through some pretty intense physical work (including a fight scene) for a man his age. The Oscars have had a long history of giving awards to aging actors that have never won and personally I think it would be wonderful to see O'Toole (he's INCREDIBLE with speeches) get up on stage and win one in the latter years of his life.

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed: I've read some very mixed review about Dicaprio in this film and I really don't understand why. I think it's a very strong, intense dramatic performance. Leo brought strong physicality to the role, something he's struggled with in the past. I bought him as an intense guy who is capable of ripping into somebody. It's a very tough role, with lots of emotion and intensity. The Departed has currently made $91 million dollars and is still going strong. It's likely to be the most profitable awards-friendly film this season and I think they will push Dicaprio for a nomination that he frankly deserves. He holds his own on the screen with Jack Nicholson, creates a torn character that you can empathize with and actually gets himself over as a tough guy. It's far from a sure thing, but I think he stands a good chance at a nomination.

Matt Damon in the Good Shepherd: It's possible that Damon could be considered for The Departed, he pretty much shares leading actor duties with Dicaprio but I believe that Leo will be pushed for this film while Damon's attention will be focused at getting a nomination for The Good Shepherd. He plays one of the founding members of the CIA in a very personal project for director and costar Robert Deniro. It'll be another highly-visible film that's pushing strong for an award. The movie has a great cast including Deniro, Angelina Jolie and Joe Pesci. It could be that Damon splits votes and doesn't get nominated or he could get a stronger push for the Departed but I think his best shot is for this film where he doesn't share leading duties and plays a strong character in a historically significant film.

Brad Pitt in Babel: One of the biggest A-list stars in the world, who has been a consistently good actor who just doesn't always take the more serious roles. Babel is already getting a huge amount of buzz. The story involves a tragedy involving Pitt and his his wife (Cate Blanchett) in Mexico and intercuts with storylines that take place in two other countries. The film made a ton of money given it's limited release over the weekend and I have the feeling it's going to get a great amount of word-of-mouth hype and will be a strong contender for many awards. It's a very serious, emotional dramatic role for Pitt who has never been nominated for Best actor before. The only thing deterring this is I've read in some places that he might be pushed as supporting actor instead but he IS the lead in the film so I don't understand why they would go that route.

Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction: This is I think a long shot, but I believe Farrell will at least get a strong push for a nomination. It seems like he might be trying to make a Jim Carrey-esque transition into dramatic acting, starting with this role which is half comedic/half serious. Early review of the film have been very mixed but it's getting a strong campaign and probably stands a chance to make some good money. Ferrell most likely will be nominated for a Golden Globe and if it's in the comedy/musical category he could stand a good chance at winning given the nature of the Golden Globes. Comedic roles aren't regularly nominated for Oscars but I think there will be a strong push for Ferrell and he's got an outside shot at a nomination.

Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland: Always great and never nominated, Forest Whitaker has a very juicy, high profile role as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. The reviews have been phenomenal thus far and from what I've read Whitaker completely chews the scenery and creates an absolutely vicious, scary performance. It's likely to be the kind of showoff acting that the Academy loves and the fact that Whitaker is playing a real person helps his chances at a nomination even more. I'd say he stands a very good chance at getting nominated.

Will Smith in the Pursuit of Happyness: Another big A-list star stands a great chance at getting nominated for an Oscar this year. Smith looks to take a very serious dramatic role playing a salesman who goes through some serious mid life changes involving the custody of his son. The trailer looks kind of like an update Kramer Vs Kramer as a big tearjerker. It looks like something that could make a good amount of money over the holidays and Smith's presence will certainly help that. It looks like a drastically differrent change of pace from anything else he's done which certainly helps his chances. Smith's celebrity status and against-type performance gives him a good shot at a nomination.

Richard Griffiths in The History Boys: The History Boys will be another moderately released film but the reviews of Griffiths performance have been outstanding. Griffiths is a long time British character actor (you'd probably recognize him most as the uncle from the Harry Potter films) who takes on a scene-stealing leading role as the teacher of a group of unruly British students who are going through life changes. The film is supposed to be a nice blend of comedy and tragedy, the plot seems kind of similar to Dead Poets Society which a ton of people had a soft spot for and earned a bunch of Oscar nominations including a Best Actor nod for Robin Williams. It's a bit of a weak year for Male leads and given the good reviews, the Academy-friendly nature of the film and push he's likely to receive I wouldn't be shocked to see Griffiths included in the list of nominees.

Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson: Another dark horse here, Half Nelson is one of the best reviewed films so far this year with a ton of attention towards Gosling's performance. It's a small film that was released earlier in the year that never got mainstream release but it had an unbelievable string of reviews and their continues to be a lot of hype and push towards Gosling's work. The disturbing nature of the film might turn off some voters but Gosling is a very good actor and this is a juicy role. Given as I said that this is a fairly weak year for the Best Actor award Gosling definitely has an outside chance at getting nominated.

Best Actress will be next.....