Oscar Predictions — Best Actor
Nominees:
Casey Affleck — Manchester By The Sea, Denzel Washington — Fences, Andrew Garfield — Hacksaw Ridge, Ryan Gosling — La La Land, & Viggo Mortensen — Captain Fantastic
This is another category that is just stacked with quality performances. You can whittle away Mortensen — and that doesn’t take anything away from a captivating appearance in Captain Fantastic. I just think it was a little too under the radar, and when compared to the other performances nominated it really doesn’t stand a chance. The second actor we can cut I think would be Andrew Garfield. Hacksaw Ridge was a great movie, if you haven’t seen it you should do yourself a favor and go see it — or rent it, I believe it’s out on VOD now. Again, just not as good as the other candidates.
Here’s where it gets tricky, because ultimately I think this comes down to Casey or Denzel, but La La Land was nominated for 14 awards, and I can completely see the Academy giving in to a ‘La La Landslide,’ and awarding Ryan Gosling the Oscar.
So, let’s say that the Academy doesn’t have the La La Fever, who then gets the Oscar? The two best performances in my opinion are from Casey Affleck and Denzel Washington. Affleck’s performance in Manchester By The Sea was masterful, but Denzel is ‘Denzel’ and his portrayal in Fences was exactly what I would expect from him, near perfect. I could see this being ‘a tie’ in the eyes of the Academy voters, when that happens they typically look at the body of work between the two actors, and the clear winner there is Denzel. I am simply going to go with my gut here, and say the award will go to Casey Affleck, even though there is more that a good chance Denzel Washington wins this one.
TWM Pick: Casey Affleck — Manchester By The Sea
TWM Upset: Ryan Gosling — La La Land
