Oscar Best Actor 2016: Will Bryan Cranston Or Michael Fassbender Upset Leonardo DiCaprio? [POLL]
Throughout this award season, all the buzz has been on Leonardo DiCaprio finally winning the elusive Oscar, but is his path to a victory that easy?
Whether DiCaprio wins an Oscar is one of the prevailing questions heading into this year's ceremony. He may be the heavy favorite, but it's always possible that another contender could pull off the ultimate upset.
Let's break down the five actors nominated for Best Actor, ranked from least likely to win to most likely.
5. Matt Damon - The Martian
While The Martian received six other nominations, including Best Picture, this simply isn't Damon's year to win. His performance as Mark Watney, an astronaut stranded on Mars, helped carry The Martian to great box office success, but the role simply doesn't stand out enough. Most of Damon's performance is that of an everyman, without many defining characteristics, and Damon uses his natural charm to carry the film. But Oscars for acting traditionally go to whomever displays the most acting, as well as the most dramatic acting, neither of which pertain to Damon.
4. Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl
Redmayne won this category last year for his performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. This time around he has a similarly transformative performance as Lili Elbe, one of the first recorded people to receive sex assignment surgery. Redmayne is largely unrecognizable in the role, wearing heavy makeup, a wig and flowing dresses. However, The Danish Girl received very mixed reviews, with numerous negative reviews from the transgender community, singling out Redmayne himself as one of the main problems. The Danish Girl did receive four Oscar nominations, but it's very unlikely that Redmayne will pull off back to back victories.
3. Bryan Cranston - Trumbo
Fresh off his legendary performance as Walter White in Breaking Bad, the role of his career, Cranston received his very first Oscar nomination for playing disgraced Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in Trumbo. Cranston gets to perform with an accent and plays a relatively well known screenwriter, which undoubtedly help him. This, plus afterglow love for Breaking Bad will probably convince more than a few voters to check his name. Yet, this is Trumbo's only nomination, so who knows how many voters will or have even watched the film.
2. Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs
Before DiCaprio came along, Fassbender was the prohibitive frontrunner to win an Oscar for his performance as Steve Jobs in the film of the same name. Steve Jobs allows Fassbender to spout numerous monologues and speeches, which traditionally plays well to the Academy. Fassbender is also a well respected member of the acting community, especially for his tireless devotion to his characters in movies like 12 Years a Slave, Shame and Inglourious Basterds. If anyone could pull off an upset on DiCaprio, it's Fassbender - though it still seems very unlikely.
1. Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant
Was there any doubt? If his persistent narrative of being overdue for an Oscar and his massive popularity weren't enough, his actual performance as Hugh Glass in The Revenant shows just how devoted DiCaprio is to his craft. DiCaprio gets to scream, fight a bear, suffer in the wilderness and exact revenge in the film, showing a different side compared to his usually debonair roles. There's also the fact that The Revenant received 12 Oscar nominations, which is the most of any film. All of these factors prove that DiCaprio is one of the biggest locks of the night to finally win the Oscar that has eluded him for so long.
The Oscars will air live Sunday, Feb. 28 at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT on ABC.
