There is commonly plenty of overlap between the actors who are nominated for Best Actor and the excerpt of films contending for Best Picture . Since those ten movie are deemed the best of the honorable , it ’s apprehensible that some of the best performances of the yr are admit in them . This year , theOscars 2025 Best Picture nominated moviesare creditworthy for only three of the Best Actor nominee . And thanks to how the awards season has played out so far , predicting the Best Actor Oscar succeeder this year is a nigh call to make .
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Movie
Custom Image by Ana Nieves
1
Timothée Chalamet
A Complete Unknown
2
Adrien Brody
The Brutalist
3
Ralph Fiennes
Conclave
4
Colman Domingo
Sing Sing
5
Sebastian Stan
The Apprentice
5Sebastian Stan - The Apprentice
His First Oscar Nomination
Sebastian Stan has continue to happen favor throughout honour season thanks to his performance inThe Apprentice , and that ’s now put him among the Best Actor candidate . The realization for his portraiture of Donald Trump comes after Stanwon Best Actor - Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes meeting place Different Man . Instead of recognise that carrying into action again , the Academy elector put the spotlight onThe Apprentice , which Stan was also nominate for at the Golden Globes .
Stan has already turn out he ’s a able spectacular player who can surrender functioning worthy of laurels recognition on TV withPam & Tommy . Now , he ’s in a position where he could do the same withThe Apprentice . The odds are not in Stan ’s favour that he ’ll win the Oscar , but it would be a fault to overlook his nominating speech after how wellThe Apprenticedid . It ’s a hit with the actor ’s outgrowth of the Academy , as Jeremy Strong also got a Best abide Actor nomination . Stan ’s portrayal of the now - re - elect President could ’ve work in his favor in a different yr .
at long last , there ’s no sane caseful to be made for Stan to gain Best Actor . He repeatedly miss out on opportunities to succeed for this performance and strengthen his spot . While he won the Golden Globe forA Different Man , that ’s not the carrying into action the Oscars agnize . Stan has lost at BAFTA , Spirit Awards , and now SAG . Those nominations are worth celebrating if you ’re Sebastian Stan after Hollywood distanced itself fromThe Apprentice . His Oscar nominating speech is a immense acquisition in that regard . There ’s no shot that he ’s winning the Best Actor Oscar this year .
4Colman Domingo - Sing Sing
Domingo Got His First Oscar Nomination Last Year
Colman Domingo is back in award contention yet again , and he ’s still chasing the Best Actor win . He had a breakthrough part as far as the Academy Award are come to in 2023 withRustin . Domingo ’s powerful performance in the biopic draw strong support from voters as he received his first Best Actor Oscar nomination . While he ultimately did not pull ahead the category , it suggested that it would only take another keen operation for him to be back in the wash .
Domingo is an Oscar nominee for Best Actor in back - to - back years
Thanks toSing Sing ’s introduction at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023 , Domingo was in a estimable blot for another nominating speech before officially lose at the 2024 Academy Award . A24 held off on releasingSing Singuntil 2024 so it would be a contender for the Oscars 2025 , likely partially due to the supporting Domingo already had for a nomination forRustin . While the film ’s rollout could be questioned , the scheme in the end worked . Domingo is an Oscar campaigner for Best Actor in back - to - back year .
The inauspicious newsworthiness for Domingo is that the early succeeder he had in award time of year has evaporated . He notablywon the Gotham Awards ' Best Actor , giving him his first major winnings of the season . That was thought to be a victory that could catapult him to come through an Oscar . While he continued to gain recognition from the Golden Globes , Critics Choice Awards , SAG Awards , and Independent Spirit Awards , he give way to win at each event . The want of recent success andSing Sing ’s miss in Best Picture has allow for Domingo near the back of the pack this year .
3Ralph Fiennes - Conclave
He’s A Two-Time Oscar Nominee
The Oscars 2025 Best Actor category could ’ve been the time for Ralph Fiennes to become an Oscar winner . Fiennes ' performance is one of the highlights ofConclavefor just about everyone who assure it . His oeuvre has resonated with Academy voters and turn in a Best Actor Oscar nomination . He was even our foretell success in the category early on in the slipstream . Although that is no longer the case , to no fault of his own , there would be a good argument to be made that he should win the Oscar in other year .
He ’s move nearly thirty years since his last Oscar nomination
One element that should go in Ralph Fiennes ' party favor is the narrative behind him win . He ’s been propose twice beforeby the Academy . His first Oscar nomination come in 1994 forSchindler ’s Listin Best Supporting Actor . He followed that up with a Best Actor nomination three eld later forThe English Patient . Despite the overall excellence of his career , it ’s been nearly thirty years since his last Oscar nominating address and a win has still elude him . The Oscars could change that if he managed to win forConclave- but that will not happen at this stage .
AlthoughConclavedid well with its Oscar nominations and has picked up some major profits elsewhere , Ralph Fiennes has not managed to steal the thunder from Adrien Brody or Timothée Chalamet . Even with the film pick up steam for a potential Best Picture win , it ’s unlikely that will be enough to fight its leading actor to an individual victory . He lose at Critics Choice , Golden Globes , and SAG.Fiennes even failed to win Best Actor at BAFTA , which was arguably his best situation to do so . His lacking performance at precursors does not inspire authority he can win .
2Adrien Brody - The Brutalist
He’s Already A Best Actor Oscar Winner
Adrien Brody is back in the Best Actor race for the Oscars 2025 . His part inThe Brutalisthas put him firmly in competition to gain the Academy Award once again . Adrien Brody won the Best Actor Oscar in 2003 forThe Pianist , andhe made history by becoming the youngest actor to deliver the goods an Oscar . That would have seemingly positioned him as a frequent contender for more nomination and profits , but that has not happened . The Brutalistis Brody ’s first Oscar nominating speech since deliver the goods the award over two X earlier .
Adrien Brody was 29 class sometime when he lay the criminal record for the young Oscar - winning actor
The Brutalistis a strong Oscar contender in many family , and it ’s becoming a substantial predicted winner in many . That could prefer Adrien Brody more ifThe Brutalistbecomes a film that tangle through the Oscars . He could watch a similar route to victory as Cillian Murphy did last year withOppenheimer , as being the star of the likely Best Picture winner helps in theory . However , only 27 Best Actor winners have fare from the film that also win Best Picture .
The real argument to be made in Brody ’s party favor get along from his overall laterality during the awards time of year . He arrive a polar early profits at the Golden Globes for Best Actor - Drama , ticktock out Chalamet . Brody continue to vote out the rise headliner at Critics Choice , BAFTA , and with various major critic group . His only real slip - up came at SAG . That passing keeps Brody from being a definitive picking to win Best Actor at the Oscars . While I am not currently predicting a win forThe Brutalist ’s star , it ’s completely graspable to think he ’ll win based on his cartroad record .
Brody is undeniably one of the top two contenders to win Best Actor
It also seems as though Brody has mostly overcomeThe Brutalist ’s AI controversy . The pic used an AI curriculum to change a few part of Brody ’s talks to make the Magyar language auditory sensation reliable . While it ’s a minor use in the magisterial dodging of the film , there was pushback to the estimation of rewarding a performance with any AI tweaking involved . His and A24 ’s ability to smooth out the situation with elector has kept him near the front of the pack . Brody is undeniably one of the top two contenders to win Best Actor . He ’s just not my predicted winner .
1Timothée Chalamet - A Complete Unknown
Chalamet Is Predicted To Win His First Oscar
Timothée Chalamet earned his 2d Best Actor Oscar nominating speech thanks toA Complete Unknown . He plays iconic instrumentalist Bob Dylan in the film , guide by James Mangold . The transformational execution by the young Hollywood star , as he arrange his spin on Dylan ’s talking and singing voice , help him land a nomination . The Academy has a mild spot for biopics , specially when they involve a celebrity as famous as Bob Dylan , which is another point in Chalamet ’s favor . That ’s whywe’re predicting Chalamet to win Best Actor .
A Complete Unknownis Chalamet ’s first Oscar nomination since 2018 when he enter the race thanks toCall Me By Your Name . He ’s only become a bigger star in the years since , with him balancing roles with more obvious Oscar potential likeA Complete Unknownwith his first franchise , Dune . Although his performance as Paul Atreides is corking inDune : Part Two , elector favour a more traditional Oscars movie to give Chalamet this nominating speech . This could still be fancy asa chance for the Oscars to in effect acknowledge the overall oeuvre he did in 2024between the two picture show .
Gary Oldman beat Timothée Chalamet for the Best Actor Oscar in 2018
forecast Chalamet to win Best Actor at the Oscars is more so a gut feeling ground on recent ontogenesis than something that can really be backed up by the overall outcome of awards season . lose the Golden Globe , BAFTA , and other precursors did little to help his standing . However , Chalamet ’s profits at SAG Awards is a biz auto-changer . It shows there is a fortune of support for the new star among other actors . And since the worker ’s limb of the Academy is the largest , what they think really matters .
The Oscars and SAG have only disagreed on the Best Actor winner six times in last 30 years . Notably , Adrien Brody is one of those examples , as he lost SAG but still win the Oscar . Chalamet has had an splendid honor season effort and voice his desire to be one of the greats in his SAG acceptance speech . While Academy Award voting is already closed and wo n’t be touch on by that speech communication , he ’s seen as the next major star Hollywood has and resonates with people . Winning Best Actor at theOscars 2025would be monumental and break records .
