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Oscar_bestactor.appFooter = "Stuart Levine is a senior editor at Variety. He can be reached at stuart.levine@variety.com.";
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Oscar_bestactor[i-1].body = "Traditionally, this category is where the brightest of stars would shine on Oscar night.Last year, however, actors such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, David Strathairn and Terrence Howard competed, leaving the at-home viewer wondering, “Who’s that”?
Now we’ve got some bonafide celebrity wattage back in play: Will Smith is a three-star player — rapper, TV star and producer, and longtime movie king; Leonardo DiCaprio has taken his “Titanic” fame and proved he’s the real deal, not some fanzine flash in the pan; and Peter O’Toole has the longevity all the others in this category can only hope to attain by the twilight of their careers.
But does having a household name guarantee a win? Does box office matter? Let’s examine the best actor race to whose fortunes are peaking just at the right time.";
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Oscar_bestactor[i++] = new Array("","Forest Whitaker","","http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/z_Projects_in_progress/_Ent/Oscar_nominations_2007/best_actor/whittaker_big.standard.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Fox Searchlight Pictures", "194", "298", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
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Like Helen Mirren in “The Queen,” Whitaker has become the darling of this year’s awards circuit, capturing almost every guild and critics trophy out there. There’s little reason to believe his hot streak won’t continue, and marking him on your Oscar ballot would be a fairly safe exercise at this point.
Winning the Screen Actors Guild award is the most recent icing on the cake and only adds to the stranglehold he has in this category right now. As Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland,” Whitaker — a shy, spiritual and reserved man — finds his hidden rage, turning his character from a beloved populist leader to cold-blooded killer, paranoia creeping into his every thought.
His large presence and physical resemblance to Amin makes the performance feel even more lifelike. Whitaker made his debut in the 1982 high school comedy “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” — in which Sean Penn became a star — and has a career that’s included working with directors such as Clint Eastwood in the Charlie Parker biopic “Bird,” Oliver Stone in “Platoon,” Martin Scorsese in “The Color of Money,” Robert Altman in “Pret a Porter” and David Fincher in “Panic Room.”
That’s a director’s who’s who, and those names aren’t connected with Whitaker by accident. Those helmers are unique, not only because of their ability to control and express their vision, but for their casting acumen as well. They were all quite aware of Whitaker’s talents and now, it seems, voters are about to get on board as well.
Now the only thing he needs to do after winning is work on an acceptance speech. If his fumbling speeches at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards are any indication, he can’t start too soon.
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Oscar_bestactor[i++] = new Array("","Leonardo DiCaprio","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/z_Projects_in_progress/_Ent/Oscar_nominations_2007/best_actor/leonardo_big.standard.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Warner Bros.", "194", "298", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
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DiCaprio got to work on his Boston and South African accents this year in “The Departed” and “Blood Diamond,” respectively. For Oscar purposes, however, starring in both movies may prove too much of a good thing.
Most would agree that “The Departed” was the superior of the pair, and here DiCaprio found himself alongside a who’s who of acting stalwarts, including the vastly underrated Mark Wahlberg and 12-time nominee Jack Nicholson. But both films were from Warner Bros., a studio that couldn’t quite ever decide if DiCaprio was the lead in “Departed” or more of a supporting player, and their indecision probably played havoc with voters as well. We’ll never know if he received more total votes for “The Departed” — some for supporting, some for lead — than for his role in “Blood Diamond,” but the confusion might’ve split his vote, ruining his chances with the film.
In “Blood Diamond,” he carried the film on his shoulders — with some great supporting work by nominee Djimon Hounsou — and did so admirably, helping to secure a nomination. But the appreciation for “The Departed” remains and academy members wanting to acknowledge his work in both films have that opportunity to vote for him here, a virtual 2-for-1 on the ballot.";
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This year’s spot for the best of the independents goes to Gosling, an enormously talented actor with an extremely bright future.
He burst into the public eye with the hanky-inducing weepy “The Notebook” (co-starring Rachel McAdams) and has proven that he much prefers smaller vehicles and introspective characters rather than going the studio (read: checkbook) route.
Not his fault at all, but he’s completely overmatched in this contest. Starring in “Half Nelson,” a film that’s full of critical raves but has barely been able to break out from the art-house circuit, Gosling is a New York teacher trying to teach students right from wrong while fighting his own drug addictions.
The Academy has tapped actors for the big prize in films that barely made a blip at the box office (did anybody see Jessica Lange in “Blue Sky”?) but don’t expect it to happen with Gosling.";
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When the academy presented Peter O’Toole with an Honorary Award in 2003 for his lifetime contribution to film, he humbly accepted but said, in so many words, “Thanks, but this doesn’t mean I’m heading out to the old folks home.”
So now O’Toole is back in contention with “Venus,” about an aging actor’s resiliency, and his determination not to simply fade away. Comparisons can be made to the real-life actor, of course, and the huge question that hangs over his nomination is whether voters will reward him for his performance here, or look at the gaping hole in his resume — the seven Oscar nominations with no wins.
It’s not often that the academy gets to right a wrong (nothing against Gregory Peck and his win for “To Kill a Mockingbird” in 1963, but was it really better than O’Toole in “Lawrence of Arabia”?) and this offers them a rare opportunity to make a statement about sustaining a 50-year career.";
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There’s only so many times Smith can play shoot ’em up (“Bad Boys”), battle with nasty alien creatures (“Men in Black“) or save the world (“Independence Day”) while still being thought of as a serious artist.
While those movies might’ve made him a multimillionaire and one of the most well-liked stars of the past couple of decades, it’s films with much more texture, such as “Ali” and this year’s “The Pursuit of Happyness” that will enhance his legacy in the long run.
In “Happyness,” he plays Chris Gardner, a hard-working and intelligent dad who, try as he might, can’t find his financial footing. With a brain for compiling numbers, he lands an internship at a major San Francisco brokerage firm but is barely staying alive, living in subway bathrooms and homeless shelters.
He’ll do anything for his son, and the rapport between the two is a natural. It should be, considering his on-screen child is his actual boy, Jaden Smith. It’s a performance that screams “look at me,” which isn’t necessarily always a good thing. Performances like these, known as “Oscar bait,” can go either way voters: they may be turned off or, in this case, taken in by the underdog story.
For Smith, it feels like he’s on the cusp of greatness but isn’t quite there yet. More roles that have him branching out in new directions and fewer scenes that involve bullets sounds like a recipe for success.";
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Oscar_bestactor[i++] = new Array("","Sacha Baron Cohen","","http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070129/070129_borat5p.standard.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "20th Century Fox", "183", "298", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
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When “Borat” first came out, the film looked like nothing more than a lark; an improvised comedy starring an actor impersonating a foreign journalist.
Well, a throwaway movie turned into a cultural phenomenon and the talents of Cohen — previously known to HBO viewers as the star of “Da Ali G Show” — and, turning himself completely into character with unsuspecting collaborators, proved to be a comic genius.
In normal filmmaking, actors work on a scene that may last anywhere from 10 second to 10 minutes and then the director yells cut, the cameras turn off and everyone gets a chance to refresh their batteries. For “Borat,” however, Cohen had to stay in character for months. He’d go to the bathroom in character, eat at restaurants in character and — this is the coup de grace — wore a shirt and jacket that had never been washed ... making him smell like the character.
All that effort certainly paid off — both in box office and accolades — and Cohen’s work deserved better from the academy, who too often don’t appreciate an actor’s sacrifice until the moment is gone.
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// END editorial data