2010 Oscar Nominees

Best Actor

 

Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)

Jeff Bridges has been nominated five times for an Academy Award, but this may be the year he actually sweeps one away for his portrayal of hard-living country singer Bad Blake. This role has solidified Bridges’ (whose movie career spans more than 40 years) knack for showing audiences that the best acting is proved by how well you can easily slip in and out of a character. Bridges does just that with Bad Blake, a befitting name for a country music singer who’s had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks. However, Bridges makes Blake redeemable through Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a journalist who discovers

George Clooney (Up in the Air)

George Clooney is bang-on as a corporate downsizer, but his character, Ryan Bingham, is not so spot-on when it comes to life and relationships. For Bingham, airport lounges, first-class air service and hotels are where he feels at home. The only thing he’s really committed to is racking up air miles points. But Clooney’s acting really shines when his co-stars Vera Fermiga and Anna Kendrick come into the picture and take him to task, which he handles beautifully. It’s a perfect role for Clooney, who excels in balancing the line between comedy and drama. But Clooney may have to take a back seat to Jeff Bridges this time around.

 

Morgan Freeman (Invictus)

Playing a real-life character is always a surefire way to generate Oscar buzz. Although Freeman is no stranger to Oscar—he won Best Supporting Actor for Million Dollar Baby—playing a character as big as Nelson Mandela has certainly given him the ammunition he needs to grab another golden statue for his mantel. The story follows how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), to help unite their country, rallying South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match. His mesmerizing performance makes Freeman a top candidate.

 

Colin Firth (A Single Man)

Colin Firth is always loved for his socially awkward characters (think Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones’s Diary or Jamie Bennett in Love, Actually) but in former fashion designer Tom Ford’s directorial debut A Single Man, audiences are raving about Firth’s emotionally charged portrayal of a gay man in the ’60s who has lost his lover. But all the buzz is in fact paying off, so much so that Firth’s already garnering many accolades and awards, including the Best Actor award at the Venice film festival. This is Firth’s first Oscar nod and this role, which was no doubt a risk for the typically reserved actor, is what he needed to go up against the heavy hitters in this category.

 

Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

You may remember him in 2002’s Dahmer, or more recently in The Assassination of Jesse James, but otherwise Jeremy Renner’s career has been under the radar. But with The Hurt Locker, Renner’s role as Will James, a cocky bomb technician who seems to have a death wish working amid the chaos and carnage of the Iraq war has become his major breakthrough performance. The film, which made its premiere last year at the Venice Film Festival, has received unanimous raves from industry critics and has already racked up many awards. Renner’s commanding performance as a soldier who treats war like a drug is powerful but may not necessarily grab him top honors. But for Renner, just being nominated is a great career achievement.

By Toni-Marie Ippolito