Countdown to the Oscars: Best Actor

the nominees for best actor are:

george clooney, michael clayton
daniel day-lewis, there will be blood
johnny depp, sweeney todd: the demon barber of fleet street
tommy lee jones, in the valley of elah
viggo mortensen, eastern promises

best actor is an interesting category. its very rare that the winner of best actor does not truly deserve it. the winner can come from smaller films and box office rarely has anything to do with it.

best actor is also probably the most respected category. winners in other categories can be written off for several different reasons... but if you win best actor...you probably deserve it.

there are exceptions: al pacino probably should have lost to denzel washington back in 1992. it's hard to believe that peter o'toole has never won an oscar... most notably for 1968's the lion in winter.

but think of recent winners forest whitaker and philip seymour hoffman... both winning for smaller films. both for roles that were outside the mainstream of hollywood.

the academy likes it when an actor stretches himself for a role... emotionally, physically. it rewards that. deniro putting on weight for raging bull. tom hanks breaking down the stigma of AIDS in philadelphia.

and the category of best actor often has the best pedigree. just look at this year's crop.

out of the five nominees...three have previous wins. jones and clooney in the supporting actor category (the fugitive and syriana, respectively). daniel day-lewis won best actor back in 1989 for my left foot.

PLEASE NOTE: the academy awards may take place in 2008 but the awards are for the 2007 crop of movies. so when i mention movies...i mention their release years...not the year of the awards ceremony. should someone suddenly want to argue a year.

add to the three wins these nominees have seen over the years.... four out of the five have prior nominations... only mortensen is a first time nominee. there are a total of 8 prior nominations among the other four (not including clooney's nod for best director).

so who will win out of this impressive group?

clooney just won two years ago and i can't imagine they'll honor him again so soon.... as much as he is adored.

depp's performance is not the type the academy tends to reward... his roles rarely are. however, this is his third nomination without a win.

i think if jones had been nominated for no country for old men (a better performance) his chances would be better.... more people saw that film and this is the only nomination for elah. same with mortensen and this is only his first nod... the academy may want to let him earn the nomination a bit more (although he has been turning in stellar performances since 1985's witness).

as much as i hate to call any category a lock.... this is about as close as you can get (without being javier bardem in supporting actor).

daniel day-lewis' magnificent and explosive turn in there will be blood is everything the academy loves in a performance. there's fire and anger and insanity... it's a sweeping epic and it may be the only award the movie receives... but taking home best actor is quite a prize and will satisfy the academy.

day-lewis has not taken a lot of roles over the years...but when he has - they are performances to behold. gangs of new york, in the name of the father... these are powerful performances created by one of the best actors working in film.

it's time to reward this man again and there's not much more out there that's more powerful than his daniel plainview in there will be blood.

will win: daniel day-lewis, there will be blood
should win: daniel day-lewis, there will be blood

e.