Jake Gyllenhaal (28)
Nominated For: “Brokeback Mountain” – 2006 – Supporting
Why He’s a Contender: After more than proving himself with the feel-good film “October Sky” (’99) and the cult hit “Donnie Darko” (’01), Gyllenhaal hit the big time after receiving an Oscar nomination along with his late co-star/secret lover, Heath Ledger, for the infamous gay cowboy film, “Brokeback Mountain” (’05). Neither man went on to win the award, although Ledger received one posthumously for his role in “The Dark Knight” (’08). Whether or not Gyllenhaal can obtain one of his own, remains to be seen. His performance in “Jarhead” (’05) was overlooked in our opinion, much like the film itself, and later this year he co-stars in the family drama “Brothers” with Tobey Maguire. That film looks a little forced to us, but in a weak year might give either actor a chance.
Ryan Gosling (28)
Nominated For: “Half Nelson” – 2007 – Leading
Why He’s a Contender: Ryan Gosling gained some critical attention early in his career playing a skin head, much like his Oscar nominated peers before him Edward Norton and Russell Crowe, in “The Believer” (’01). He continued playing troubled teens with the likes of “Murder by Numbers” (’02) and “The United States of Leland” (’03), until he was old enough to play a troubled adult, a drug addicted high school teacher, in “Half Nelson” (’06). That role earned him an Oscar nomination, and although some viewers found him to be equally impressive playing the title character in “Lars and the Real Girl” (’07) the following year, that performance apparently failed to register with the Academy. Recently, Gosling had landed the lead role in the new Peter Jackson drama, “The Lovely Bones,” which comes out this December, but not long after shooting began, he was mysteriously fired and replaced by Mark Wahlberg with the director claiming Gosling was “too demanding.” Both parties denied this, but either way, he’s not in the film. So what’s next for the young actor? He does have a film called ‘”All Good Things” set for release in December, although we haven’t heard much about it, and rumor has it, Danny Boyle might be eyeing him for the lead in what could be his next project, the true-life tale of a mountain climber forced to cut off his own arm in order to survive.
Joaquin Phoenix (34)
Nominated For: “Gladiator” – 2001 – Supporting
“Walk the Line” – 2006 – Leading
Why He’s a Contender: Let’s start at the end for this one and check on what’s on the horizon for Joaquin Phoenix shall we? Well unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you already know Phoenix announced his retirement from the film industry, and so far has stayed true to that decision. According to IMDB, he is not in any stage of production for any film what-so-ever, not counting Casey Affleck’s supposed documentary capturing his foray into hip hop. So we guess that sums up the question as to whether he’ll ever win an Oscar or not. But before all this foolishness began, Phoenix had been working on building quite a name for himself and a respectable body of work. From his sniveling turn as Commodus in “Gladiator” (’00), to a spot on imitation of Johnny Cash in “Walk the Line” (’05). Phoenix’s last film, “Two Lovers” (’09), garnered some positive reviews that praised him, but probably won’t be remembered come Oscar time.
Casey Affleck (34)
Nominated For: “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” – 2008 – Supporting
Why He’s a Contender: Playing Ben Affleck’s kid brother in “Good Will Hunting” (’98) wasn’t much of a stretch for Casey Affleck, but regardless, he made an impression. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t land a decent role again until tackling the troubled title character in “Lonesome Jim” (’05), proving he has what it takes to carry a film. Finally in 2007, Affleck was cast in the role he was born to play, as the coward, Robert Ford, in “The Assassination of Jesse James.” He was nothing short than perfect in the film, and it paid off with an Oscar nomination for supporting actor. If only it wasn’t for Javier Bardem, who was also perfect in “No Country for Old Men” (’08), we think Affleck would be an Oscar winner right now. He continued his hot streak starring in his brother’s directorial debut, “Gone Baby Gone,” which was released less than a month after ‘Jesse James,’ and will be seen next in “The Killer Inside Me” (’10), playing a deputy sheriff who happens to be a psychotic murderer.
Leonardo DiCaprio (34)
Nominated For: “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” – 1994 – Supporting
“The Aviator” – 2005 – Leading
“Blood Diamond” – 2007 – Leading
Why He’s a Contender: After his stint on the TV show, “Growing Pains,” Leonardo DiCaprio made his leap into the film industry, and made a big splash. First starring in “This Boy’s Life” (’93), Leo held his own, squaring off against multi-Academy Award winner, Robert DeNiro. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, he scored a supporting actor nomination the same year for playing a mentally challenged innocent in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (’93) at only nineteen years old. He followed that performance up with an equally powerful one in “The Basketball Diaries” (’95) before going mainstream with “Romeo + Juliet” (’96) and “Titanic” (’97). A little bit later, Leo began his partnership with Martin Scorsese which proved a good combination, and landed him a second nom playing the mentally unstable mogul, Howard Hughes, in “The Aviator” (’04). We’ll go ahead and grant this is best performance thus far, and think he should’ve won instead of Jamie Foxx. He got another chance a short time later with “Blood Diamond” (’06), instead of “The Departed” (’06), and we agree it was the right choice though still not potent enough to win. He was snubbed last year, failing to get nominated for “Revolutionary Road” (’08), and with the recent announcement his next Scorsese collaboration, “Shutter Island,” won’t make it out this year like originally planned, he’s got nothing to show for 2009. Also next year, be sure to watch out for “Inception,” his teaming with Chris Nolan, which should be nothing less than astounding. Mark our words, Leo will have an Oscar not too long from now. It’s only a matter of time. — Jonathan Helm
