Oscars 2016: It looks like it’s finally Leonardo DiCaprio’s year
For once he looks unbeatable in the category
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Your support makes all the difference.Leonardo DiCaprio’s lack of a Leading Actor Oscar is something that perennially fascinates film fans.
How can one of the actors of his generation, who gave memorable performances in The Aviator, The Wolf of Wall Street, Django Unchained and Catch Me If You Can, to name but a few, have never won acting's biggest prize?
The Academy will almost certainly make amends in 2016 however, following the announcement of the nominations today.
Let’s look at his rivals:
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
There is no doubting Cranston’s talent, but he earned literal sackfuls of awards for Breaking Bad not so long ago, and given Trumbo’s absence in all of the other major categories, it’s unlikely he’ll be picking this up.
Matt Damon, The Martian
A confident performance from Damon, but by no means an award-winning one. The role didn’t require a lot of range from him, and while Ridley Scott’s film was very enjoyable, its dialogue was a little limp in places - you weren't left reeling by Damon's (very much existant) talent.
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Given Steve Jobs utter commercial failure and it generally being the butt of Hollywood jokes, its hard to see it scooping many awards, no matter how good the cast might have been in their respective roles.
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Probably Leo’s biggest rival and, Oscar bait-y, or not, Redmayne did an incredible job in the trans drama, completely relearning how to carry himself. He did however, win the award last year, so they owe him nothing.
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Odds-wise, DiCaprio is a huge favourite, with bookmakers William Hill offering the category as follows: 1/9 Leonardo DiCaprio, 11/2 Michael Fassbender, 14/1, 20/1 Bryan Cranston, 20/1 Matt Damon.
Few would argue that Leo doesn’t deserve an Oscar, but plenty might assert that he shouldn’t win for this role.
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It was an incredibly intense, visceral and committed performance he gave in The Revenant, yes, but as magnetic as his Howard Hughes in The Aviator? Hmm.
Another issue not often discussed with regards to Leo’s lack of Oscar, is whether he actually cares.
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