Okay, we're done with the techs! Time to move on to the acting awards, the big ones that people actually watch the show for, right? Well, don't worry Leo stans, you're all getting your wish this year.
BEST ACTOR
- Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
- Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
- Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
- Matt Damon, The Martian
- Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Leo seems to have this in the bag, he's won everything else, and now the people who are inexplicably obsessed with him winning an Oscar (I think more than he is) can finally shut the hell up, because it's happening. Too bad it's for a movie where he barely spoke. I think he should have won for Wolf of Wall Street, if he was going to win one of these, which he doesn't necessarily deserve, and I say that as as big a Leo fan as anybody- I was one of the original Titanic fangirls, believe me. But he's not exactly Robert DeNiro in his prime, okay? He tries really hard, but he's too big a matinee idol to ever be a chameleon or a character actor, and this is first and foremost an award for being a massive movie star who brought a movie like The Revenant to over 160 million dollars. If we're going by actual performance, Fassbender deserves this hands down.
Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio
BEST ACTRESS
- Brie Larson, Room
- Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
- Cate Blanchett, Carol
- Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
- Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Another one I don't really agree with. Brie Larson has won everything leading up to this, so I guess it's hers. Look, I saw Room and I did like it, but she was practically a supporting performance to little Jacob Tremblay, who carried that whole film on his shoulders. I prefer Saoirse Ronan, who really was her entire movie and didn't have to be histrionic in any sense to be convincing. But I rarely agree with the winners here.
Winner: Brie Larson
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Sylvester Stallone, Creed
- Christian Bale, The Big Short
- Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
- Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
- Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Sylvester Stallone has won the Golden Globe and the Critics Choice award, and even though he wasn't even nominated at SAG and Bafta, his standing ovations at every awards show he's made an appearance at (including the BET awards!) show you just how beloved he is after all these years, and how much people really want to give him that trophy. In other words, like Leo, he's really coasting on stardom this year, and this is kinda like when John Wayne finally won an Oscar in his old age that was primarily seen as a "we love you, thank you for being you," award. Funnily enough, Stallone's filmography doesn't include nearly as many great movies or acting roles, but c'mon, he's Rocky Balboa, people! Even I can't be too cynical about this one- I'd like to see him win that Oscar too. And you know what? He was great in Creed.
Winner: Sylvester Stallone
Alternate: Mark Rylance (he won the Bafta, and if there's any groundswell for someone else, I guess it would be him)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
- Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
- Rooney Mara, Carol
- Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
- Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
This is the one acting category that I actually don't think is set in stone. I'm predicting Alicia Vikander for her LEADING role in The Danish Girl, because she won the SAG award and the Critics Choice, but Kate Winslet winning that Golden Globe and Bafta award does not mean nothing. It's true that she wasn't competing against Vikander for Danish Girl at those shows, because some places did the right thing and placed her in lead where she belonged (although she was still up against her for Ex Machina), but Winslet is still a respected actress and an Academy Award winner already, and not someone they'd necessarily balk at giving another Oscar to. And Alicia Vikander is new, still unknown, and her film is very little seen. I'm going to say the SAG outweighs the other two groups, but we could definitely see a Kate upset here.
Winner: Alicia Vikander
Alternate: Kate Winslet
