This year's best actor race could well be entirely composed of famous stars playing real life people... as is not unfortunately uncommon as creating a wholly original character from the imagination to the point where they feel three dimensional to the audience without any "borrowed glory" can be just as if not more difficult! But awards are what they are and "true stories" are preferred. This year Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum, Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, Benedict Cumberbath as Thomas Edison, Domhnall Gleeson as A.A. Milne, Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs, and Chadwick Boseman asThurgood Marshall. And that's just the famous real life people. Other actors going the true story / real life character route include Andrew Garfield, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Bell, Miles Teller, and Tom Hanks.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Jeff Bauman, Boston Marathon bombing survivor in STRONGER
I didn't mean to predict two movies that feature stars in wheelchairs in the predictions but that's what happened with Stronger and Breathe.
Other possibilities for awards honors this year include fictional characters played by Michael Fassbender, Timothy Chalamet, Colin Farrell, Idris Elba, Matt Damon, and Daniel Day-Lewis. Who do you think makes the list 10 months or so from now?
previous discussions:
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
SUPPORTING ACTOR
PICTURE & DIRECTOR
COSTUME DESIGN
VISUALS
SOUND
ANIMATION