Ahead of the Oscars on March 27, here’s a look at the leading contenders for Best Actor and Best Actress.
Will Smith is nominated for Best Actor for his role in King Richard as the father of tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams. This is Smith’s third Oscar nomination, and so far, he’s won quite a few of the awards that are key indicators of Oscar glory, including the Screen Actors Guild and the BAFTA Awards for Best Actor.
Benedict Cumberbatch earned his second Oscar nod this year for his role as an abusive cowboy in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. He’s won a few awards so far this season, but not as many as Smith.
In the Best Actress category, Jessica Chastain may be the one to beat. She’s earned her third Oscar nod for her starring role as the late televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye — and she’s won the most awards of any other female acting nominee leading up to the Oscars.
But don’t count out Nicole Kidman. A previous Oscar-winner, she received her fifth career nomination for her portrayal of TV icon Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos.
The rest of the Best Actor field includes Andrew Garfield for tick, tick…Boom!, two-time Oscar-winner Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth, and previous winner Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos.
The rest of the Best Actress nominees include Bardem’s wife Penélope Cruz — also a past Oscar winner — for Parallel Mothers. Olivia Colman, nominated for The Lost Daughter, has an Oscar at home as well. The only first-time nominee in the category is Kristen Stewart, for Spencer.
Tune into the 94th annual Academy Awards March 27 on ABC to see who takes home the prizes.
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