The 2021 Best Actor line-up still has a lot of worthy contenders vying for a spot in the final five nominees – even in a year where theaters were closed for most of it! In what could be a banner year for representation, there could be up to four BIPOC nominees, a record for the category.
Most contenders have had their films out for months now, with only Lakeith Stanfield’s Judas and the Black Messiah pending. With the Golden Globe nominations about to be announced, and the last batch of critics awards releasing their results before the month ends, the category is close to taking its final shape. Still, the Academy likes its surprises, so nothing is set in stone.
Tom Hanks – News Of The World
American treasure Tom Hanks is back in the Oscar conversation, thanks to his role in Paul Greengrass’s Western News of the World. The film, based on the 2016 novel of the same name, tells the story of a Civil War veteran who must return a young girl, taken by Native Americans as an infant, to her last surviving family.
The film is bound to strike a chord with older Academy members. However, Hanks has been snubbed before, twice in 2013 for both Saving Mr. Banks and Captain Phillips, another Greengrass film, in 2016 for Sully, and in 2017 for The Post. Should he succeed this year, it would be his seventh nomination and his sixth in the Leading Actor category.
Mads Mikkelsen – Another Round
Danish icon Mads Mikkelsen could score his very first Academy Award nomination thanks to his role as Martin, in the comedy-drama Another Round. The film, about four middle-aged men who begin consistently drinking alcohol to see if it improves their lives, is the official Danish entry for Best Foreign Language Film and is sure to be nominated.
Mikkelsen, a very respected actor within the industry who’s about to assume the very high-profile role of Grindelwald in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts 3, is at the perfect moment in his career to be recognized. He could follow in Antonio Banderas’ footsteps and achieve the coveted fifth spot, but tough competition might prevent him from going all the way.
Lakeith Stanfield – Judas And The Black Messiah
Since making his feature film debut in the critically acclaimed indie drama Short Term 12, Lakeith Stanfield has experimented with his career. He’s taken both leading and supporting turns in independent films like Uncut Gems and Sorry to Bother You, and box-office successes, like Get Out and Knives Out.
In Judas and the Black Messiah, he plays William O’Neal, a petty criminal who agrees to infiltrate the Black Panther Party and act as an informant for the FBI. Although most of the film’s buzz seems to center around Daniel Kaluuya, Stanfield could ride the film’s success all the way to a nomination. The film’s late entry into the race could act against him, though.
Steven Yeun – Minari
After receiving critical acclaim for his role in the 2018 film Burning, Steven Yeun returns to Awards Season thanks to his role as Jacob Yi in Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari. The film is about a family of South Korean immigrants trying to build a life in rural America during the 1980s.
Ever since premiering at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Minari has positioned itself as one of the major players, a status it has since consolidated. Yeun might seem like a long shot, but if the film is a strong performer, his name might easily make it to the final five. This would be his first nomination, a very deserved one indeed.
Kingsley Ben-Adir – One Night In Miami
Directed by Regina King and written by Kemp Powers, based on his stage play of the same name, One Night in Miami portrays a fictionalized meeting between Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke. Ben-Adir portrays Malcolm X, a role for which he has garnered critical acclaim.
Ben-Adir faces competition from within his own film, as Eli Goree is also being submitted for Lead Actor consideration. The story could also be seen more as an ensemble piece, hurting his chances at individual recognition. However, the film seems likely to be a Best Picture contender, and considering Mank‘s lukewarm reception so far, Ben-Adir could easily land the coveted fifth spot.
Gary Oldman – Mank
Once a frontrunner to receive a nomination, Gary Oldman’s chances greatly diminished once Mank was released. While the film received an overall positive reception, it wasn’t the masterpiece many were hoping for. Directed by David Fincher, Mank follows Herman J. Mankiewicz as he tries to complete his screenplay for Citizen Kane.
Mank is expected to be a big contender in the below-the-line categories, particularly Score and Cinematography. However, its chances in the Best Actor and Director categories suffered a blow, and with so many worthy competitors, it wouldn’t be surprising if both Oldman and Fincher barely missed a spot in the final five of their respective categories.
Riz Ahmed – Sound Of Metal
Riz Ahmed has consistently shown up in most Best Actor line-ups during the critic’s portion of Awards Season. He’s won several of them, quickly becoming a very real possibility to show up come Oscar morning. In Sound of Metal, Ahmed plays Ruben Stone, a drummer who begins to lose his hearing.
After his breakthrough performance in 2014’s Nightcrawler, Ahmed won further acclaim and an Emmy Award for his performance in the HBO miniseries The Night Of. Sound of Metal would be his first of what will surely be many Oscar nominations in his rapidly growing career.
Delroy Lindo – Da 5 Bloods
Veteran actor Delroy Lindo is bound to receive some much deserved Oscar recognition for his role in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods. The film follows a group of four aging Vietnam veterans, who return to the country in search of their fallen squad leader’s remains, and to retrieve the treasure they buried during the war.
Lindo, like Ahmed, has been a familiar name in most critics’ line-ups for Best Actor, winning several of them, including one from the prestigious New York Film Critics Circle. His status as a veteran and respected actor, and the overall strength of his performance, make him one of the surest bets for a nomination.
Anthony Hopkins – The Father
Already an Academy Award winner, thanks to his now iconic performance as Hannibal Lecter in 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins is looking to add another golden statuette to his collection. In The Father, he plays Anthony, an aging Welshman who must deal with his increasing memory loss.
Hopkins received rave reviews for his performance, with some critics even calling it the best of his long and esteemed career. This would be his sixth nomination, and his first in the Leading Actor category since 1996, when he was recognized for his role in Nixon.
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Directed by George C. Wolfe, and based on August Wilson’s play of the same name, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom dramatizes a recording session for influential blues singer, Ma Rainey. Chadwick Boseman, in his final film role before his tragic passing last year, plays Levee, a trumpeter with big dreams and a volatile temperament.
The film received critical praise, particularly for Boseman and Viola Davis’ lead performances. Boseman is currently the frontrunner to not only receive a nomination, but to win the Academy Award. This would make him only the second actor to win posthumously, after Peter Finch, who claimed the Oscar in 1977 for his role in Network.
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