Best Actor - trivia, polls, and "how'd he get nominated?" thoughts
Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at 1:30PM by Nathaniel R
Will Will Smith hear his name called on March 27th?
You know the drill by now. As we're working on trivia and "how'd they get nominated?" theorizing, we love to imagine an avatar for each category melding all the nominees together. In the case of this year's Best Actor race that's a 51 year old bi-racial American movie star, who is married with multiple kids and who spends a lot of time in action franchises. Wait a minute this sounds suspiciously like The Rock! Oh, wait. Never mind. This fictional amalgam of our Leading Men is also an Oscar favourite with four nominations under his belt, usually for playing real life people. In all seriousness though...
This race is all Oscar players -- no newbies allowed. This is the first time since 1980 when all five of the Best Actor nominees are returning nominees. It's very uncommon to have a lead acting field with no first time nominees!
Benedict onstage in A Midsummer Night's Dream (2001) and Denzel onscreen in Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Our favourite trivia discovery was that Denzel Washington and Benedict Cumberbatch have each done five Shakespeares in their career but there's no overlap in the plays. (It helps that Shakespeare was prolific but both of these acclaimed actors clearly enjoy performing his works)
With the completion of the Best Actor category, all of the Big Eight categories pages are fully polished, polled, and trivia-served so check them out and vote on the daily polls. Do you agree with our takes on how each of the acting and directing nominees landed their nominations?
- PICTURE
- DIRECTOR
- ACTRESS
- ACTOR - new
- SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- SUPPORTING ACTOR
- ORIGINAL & ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Reader Comments (20)
That would be great but you must try this for the waok
Your Best Actor trivia may be my favorite! And I feel very short :P
I should know this, but what gay role has Smith played?
Interesting tidbit on Washington not playing a gay role, although not completely surprising. The story goes that he told Will Smith to "not be kissing no man" once he was cast in Six Degrees of Separation (LOVE that film, LOVE Channing and Sutherland in it). You can totally see Smith fake out on the kiss, and I've read that he regrets the decision. You knew what the part was, is all I'm saying. I won't claim Denzel Washington is a homophobe, but that story is ick.
I have to imagine something that helped Bardem get the nomination was also that he had to deal with Sorkin's difficult dialogue. That's partially baked into the role, but so many actors have been crushed by Sorkin's dialogue, that Bardem's ability to both conquer it and make it his own is impressive. Especially because it's his second language!
@Val, I've read that Denzel influenced the decision around the kiss, but in more recent interviews Smith said he was just afraid to kiss a man on screen because of how his Philly friends would see it. I wonder if the Denzel part of that story is just myth?
On Denzel never playing gay: I don't think I'd ever noticed that before so fun fact. I also can't help but think about the impact of his role in Philadelphia. It doesn't strike me that a homophobe would be able to play that role with as much depth as he gives it.
Greg -- SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION is Will Smith's only gay role. Such a good play/movie.
Joe G -- yeah, Denzel is great in Philadelphia (better than Hanks I think)
@ Joe G & Val
That story is credible, and I've had a soft spot for Wesley Snipes ever since.
That said, DW can still be a talented actor and grapple with homophobia at the same time. I would hope that he's evolved since 1993, when both those films were released.
You hear these stories about Hollywood homophobia but who can ever say what happened exactly. I remember Mark Wahlberg was piled on for supposedly turning down Brokeback Mountain due to the ick factor (despite already having pretty much been there done that in Boogie Nights), but he recently did Joe Bell. Who knows, they never seem to get asked about it.
I'm shocked that Andrew Garfield is only 5'10"! I always thought he was like 6'2" or something.
"You hear these stories about Hollywood homophobia but who can ever say what happened exactly."
And just like that you can hear that individual say his homophobic bullshit himself . . .
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz/smith-launches-homophobic-anti-aids-21354383.amp
Garfield 33% nominated for his performance?? Absolutely not. That's at least 60%. I'd like to speak to your manager.
GShaq -- lol. These are not value judgments, just acknowledgements that performance ia always only part of it.
I want to know what the 10 shakespeare plays Denzel and Benedict have done are! What a tease
Watching the Olympic women’s figure skating and hearing the discussions of how very young girls are relentlessly pressured to perform by coaches, trainers, and all the adults in their lives, the horror stories of gymnastics and figure skating...
In this time of discussion of mental health in sports, as we hear from those who speak up, like Simone Biles in gymnastics and Naomi Osaka in tennis...
I’m thinking that the story of domineering sports dad as hero is not one that is going to wear well.
peter --
DENZEL has done
Much Ado About Nothing (Film)
Macbeth (Film)
Julius Caesar
The Ttagedy of Richard III
Coriolanus
BENEDICT has done
Midsummer Nights Dream
Hamlet
As You Like It
Romeo & Juliet
Love's Labours Lost
McGill in King Richard, the character is not domineering though is he, just driven .... he gives Venus and Serena agency (Venus decides she wants to play the large event, she decides on whether or not to turn down the Nike sponsorship).... and there is a whole storyline about not wanting them to end up like Jennifer Capriati and burn out at a young age and making sure he shields them from the junior system that does those exact things to younger players.
I've seen 3 of the performances and I would love anyone but Washington - who I haven't seen, but is a previous 2 time winner - to win. Bardem's performance is waaaay better than he's given credit for, and Garfield is electric, while Cumberbatch is completely under control - kind of what Antonio Banderas was doing in Pain & Glory, but in another fashion, but the same key. Great, great set of nominees, and it is true that another bunch of performers would have equally deserved the nomination
@Finbar: your link may address Will Smith's one-time homophobia but it does NOT address Denzel Washington's. I'm not saying it didn't happen either, just that journalists never seem to push the issue with the subjects of the controversy themselves, to their faces.
@Ramification1: Thank you for telling me that. I’m glad to hear it!
“ Will Smith's one-time homophobia “
Is there anyone here who thinks that a person can be homophobic just one time? Will Smith made those disgusting remarks at the height of the AIDS crisis. Those of us who survived that era are scarred by the decimation of a community. We remember how such bigotry and hate wounded an ill group of people who already felt diminished, defeated and unloved.
This is the wrong audience for posting a rationalization for overt homophobia. READ THE ROOM.
So, we’re clear. Will Smith continued his tirade in his work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ_krMfZgi8