Will Smith in “King Richard”
BEST ACTOR
Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”
Andrew Garfield, “tick, tick…Boom!”
Will Smith, “King Richard”
Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth”
I have an inkling that this is Will Smith’s turn to finally be crowned Best Actor for his role as the ambitious father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, after being passed over for his nominated work on the 2002 biopic “Ali” and 2007’s “The Pursuit of Happyness.” Meanwhile, Andrew Garfield had two major roles this movie year: he played the disgraced TV evangelist Jim Bakker opposite his co-star Jessica Chastain in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” though he didn’t have much of an impact. In “tick, tick…Boom!”, however, his role as “Rent” playwright Jonathan Larson allows Garfield to show off both his singing talents and swimming prowess in an indoor pool.
Nicole Kidman in “Being the Ricardos”
BEST ACTRESS
Olivia Colman, “The Lost Daughter”
Alana Haim, “Licorice Pizza”
Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos”
Showbiz-types love to bestow Olivia Colman with honors. She won her first Oscar for her lead role as England’s ditzy rabbit-loving Queen Anne in the wry biopic “The Favourite.” She also was nominated last year in a supporting role as a daughter coping with her dad’s dementia in “The Father,” and earned an Emmy for her lead role as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s “The Crown.” Colman’s closest rival this year is likely Nicole Kidman, who hasn’t claimed a little gold man since she won for her role as author Virginia Woolf in 2002’s “The Hours.” Previously, she was up for Best Actress in the 2001 musical “Moulin Rouge” and 2010 drama “Rabbit Hole.” And in 2016, Kidman was up for Best Supporting Actress for her role as an adoptive mother in “Lion.” Oscar voters tend to revel in showbiz sagas and it helps that Kidman brings Lucille Ball, an iconic female comedian, to life.
Jared Leto in “House of Gucci”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, “Licorice Pizza”
Ciarán Hinds, “Belfast”
Troy Kotsur, “CODA”
Jared Leto, “House of Gucci”
Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”
Kodi Smit-McPhee’s supporting role as Kirsten Dunst’s son in “The Power of the Dog” eventually allows his character to go from underdog to being the main catalyst of the Western’s action. As for Jared Leto, he gets to transform himself behind a middle-aged masculine façade as Paolo Gucci, sporting a hefty chrome dome of a naked forehead, a thick cascade of gray hair covering the back of his neck, and a burly mustache. Voters tend to love this kind of performance art.
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