The next 12 March may be a memorable day for one of the following: five players nominated Oscar For Best Male Lead Performance. Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”), Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Colin Farrell (“Inisherin’s Banshees”), Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”) and Bill Nighy (“Living”) will shoot all the flashes at the Dolby Theater March 12 night.
A priori, they start with more ballots than the rest Brendan Fraser and Austin Butler. The first underwent an incredible physical transformation to put himself in the role of an extremely obese man; this is a fact that the Academy has already awarded more than once (tell Christian Bale or Jared Leto). The latter became the winner of the Golden Globes, the beginning of the Oscars for many. But for the most part, the pools remain a dead letter, and surprises abound on Hollywood’s most important night.
brendan fraser
His role in ‘The Whale’ earned him his first Oscar nomination. It was also her first time at the Golden Globes, but left without receiving the award on this occasion. He currently has two major awards: one from the Actors Guild (from 2004 for ‘Crash’) and one from the Critics of Film in the same year. And his transformation into playing Charlie is obvious at first glance. He gained enough weight to play a nearly 400-pound man. He will be familiar to many because of his roles in the ‘The Mummy’ or ‘George of the Jungle’ sagas.
Austin Butler
At a time when biographies were in vogue and were (almost) always represented on the Oscar shortlist, he replaced Elvis in the feature film of the same name. At 31 and after becoming one of Disney’s biggest assets, King of Rock was Austin Butler’s first major role in his career, but it was enough to win over critics and audiences alike. So much so that he won the Golden Globe last January, which many see as the beginning of the Oscar. She has also appeared in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ and has been confirmed to star in the second episode of ‘Dune’.
Colin Farrel
The Academy recognized his work in ‘The Banshees at Inisherin’ with his first Oscar nomination. Despite being one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood, she never made it into a nomination for the most flamboyant premiere of the year. What he got is that he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical in 2009 for his work in ‘En Brujas’. For the rest, a ‘superproductions’ classic: ‘Batman’, ‘Dumbo’, ‘Fantastic Beasts and where to find them’, ‘SWAT’ or ‘Veronica Guerin’ among them.
Paul Mescal
This young Irish actor starts off undercover, but it can come as a surprise. All thanks to her lead role in ‘Aftersun’, a dramatic feature film that is actually a deep reflection on personal relationships. It scored over 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes upon publication, but Mescal’s is the only nominee the Academy has reserved for it. ‘Normal people’ fans will be familiar with his face as he is one of the protagonists of this acclaimed series.
Bill Nighy
At 73, he is the oldest person on the list. After conquering the audience with ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, ‘The Underworld’, ‘Jack the Giant Hunter’ or ‘Love Actually’, it was his turn to receive Dolby Theatre’s applause despite being the only nominee. She has a Golden Globe (for ‘Gideon’s daughter’ from 2007) and two Bafta Awards (for ‘Love Really’ and ‘State of play’, both from 2003) to her credit. He masterfully interprets the protagonist of Living, a British dramatic film based on a 1952 Japanese film of the same name. His role is a bureaucrat facing a terminal illness in 1950s London.