In Character: 2016 Oscar Nominees Edition

With the Oscars set to role today, I thought it’d be fun to take a quick look at the careers of all the acting nominees. Be sure to let me know your favorite performances by each nominee!

BEST ACTOR

Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea

Notable Roles: To Die For, Good Will Hunting, The Assassination of Jesse James…, Gone Baby Gone

Best Role: Manchester by the Sea, no question. What eternal dread the man encapsulated.

Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge

Notable Roles: Boy A, Red Riding 1974-1983, Never Let Me Go, 99 Homes, Silence

Best Role: Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network. I still can’t believe he wasn’t nominated for that.

Ryan Gosling – La La Land

Notable Roles: The Believer, The Notebook, Half Nelson, Drive, The Place Beyond the Pines

Best Role: Blue Valentine. I adore him in Half Nelson, but his transformation in Blue Valentine devastates me.

Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic

Notable Roles: The Indian Runner, The Lord of the Rings, Eastern Promises, The Road

Best Role: I’ll always be most drawn to his secretive Tom Stall in A History of Violence. There’s just something about that movie I absolutely love.

Denzel Washington – Fences

Notable Roles: Glory, Philadelphia, The Hurricane, Training Day, American Gangster, Flight

Best Role: Malcolm X. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow – it will always be Malcolm X.

BEST ACTRESS

Isabelle Huppert – Elle

Notable Roles: Violette Nozière, Time of the Wolf, Abuse of Weakness, Louder than Bombs, Things to Come

Best Role: Huppert’s filmography is full of perfect performances. She’s genuinely one of the finest actors to ever grace the screen. I’ll go with The Piano Teacher. But her work in Elle should be regarded as some of the best she’s ever done.

Ruth Negga – Loving

Notable Roles: Breakfast on Pluto, World War Z, Jimi: All Is by My Side, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Best Role: Loving, no question. She’s likely to have a career surge following this nomination.

Natalie Portman – Jackie

Notable Roles: Leon, Star Wars Episodes I-III, Garden State, Closer, V for Vendetta

Best Role: Portman carries Jackie, and does some of her finest work to date in it, but her work in Black Swan was next-level dedicated.

Emma Stone – La La Land

Notable Roles: Superbad, Zombieland, Easy A, The Help, Birdman

Best Role: I love her angst in Birdman, but she stole my heart in La La Land. I have no problem calling Mia her best work.

Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins

Notable Roles: Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, Adaptation, The Devil Wears Prada, Doubt

Best Role: You could pick any of the roles I already mentioned, but I’m sticking with The Deer Hunter. Such innocence, such longing.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali – Moonlight

Notable Roles: The Place Beyond the Pines, Treme, House of Cards, Luke Cage, Hidden Figures

Best Role: Tough call. I’ve loved his work on House of Cards, but it’s unfair to judge the hours of screentime he’s had on that show against supporting film performances. Noting that, I’m going with Moonlight.

Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water

Notable Roles: The Last Picture Show, Starman, The Fisher King, The Contender, Crazy Heart, True Grit

Best Role: My favorite: The Big Lebowski. His “best”: too tough to call.

Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea

Notable Roles: Moonrise Kingdom, Labor Day, The Zero Theorem, The Slap

Best Role: It isn’t Manchester by default. It’s Manchester because they kid is so damn good in it.

Dev Patel – Lion

Notable Roles: Skins, Slumdog Millionaire, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Newsroom

Best Role: In Lion, Patel showed dramatic acting chops I didn’t know he had in him.

Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals

Notable Roles: Bug, Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, Mud, Boardwalk Empire, 99 Homes

Best Role: So difficult to choose. I’ll stick with Revolutionary Road, but any of those performances I listed (and a handful others, too), would be justifiable picks.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Viola Davis – Fences

Notable Roles: Antwone Fisher, World Trade Center, Doubt, The Help, How to Get Away with Murder

Best Role: For me, it’s always been her one scene wonder in Antwone Fisher. Until I saw Fences. Ms. Davis, your Oscar is waiting.

Naomie Harris – Moonlight

Notable Roles: 28 Days Later, Miami Vice, Skyfall, Southpaw, Spectre

Best Role: Paula in Moonlight. And to think, she filmed her entire role in three days. Incredible.

Nicole Kidman – Lion

Notable Roles: To Die For, Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge!, The Hours, Birth, Margot at the Wedding

Best Role: The insurmountable grief she brought to Rabbit Hole is something I haven’t seen from her before or since.

Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures

Notable Roles: Bad Santa, Coach Carter, The Help, Snowpiercer, Black or White, Mom

Best Role: The compassion and restraint she brought to her Fruitvale Station character is something I’ll never forget.

Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea

Notable Roles: Dawson’s Creek, Brokeback Mountain, Wendy and Lucy, Take this Waltz, My Week with Marilyn

Best Role: Blue Valentine. Similar to Ryan Gosling, Williams has delivered numerous stellar roles in her still-young career. But the anguish she brings to her Blue Valentine character is so palpable.

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