Oldman, Day-Lewis and Kaluuya are rivals for an Oscar
BRITS lead the Oscars field as it was announced today that Gary Oldman and a couple of our Daniels — Day-Lewis and Kaluuya — will battle it out for best actor at the ceremony next month.
And it’s not just the gents doing their bit for Blighty — Sally Hawkins and Ireland’s Saoirse Ronan have both been nominated for best actress, for their roles in Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape Of Water and Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, respectively.
Also flying the flag for Britain are Christoper Nolan, who is nominated for best director for Dunkirk, which is one of three films in the best picture category to be helmed by Brits — the other two being Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour and Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Oldman has been having a great run of it lately, with his Winston Churchill portrayal in Darkest Hour winning him both a Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild award.
Meanwhile, this may be Daniel Day-Lewis’s last chance to add another Oscar to his collection (he already has three) as he has declared his latest collaboration with director Paul Thomas Anderson — the 1950s London couture movie Phantom Thread — to be his last.
Just starting out, however, is the other Daniel — Kaluuya — whose turn in Jordan Peele’s horror comedy Get Out has clearly impressed the Academy.
Still, despite Brits leading the field, it is entirely possible the best actor gong could go to either of the other two nominees — American Denzel Washington (for Roman J Israel, Esq) and Frenchman Timothee Chalamet ( forCall Me By Your Name).
One chap who is not a risk to Gary or the two Daniels, however, is James Franco, who has been notably left off the best actor list following allegations of sexual misconduct by five women.
Franco has already been recognised with a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award for his role in The Disaster Artist, but news of the allegations — which he describes as ‘not accurate’ — broke during the Academy members’ voting period and this may well have scuppered his chances.
Jimmy Kimmel will host the Oscars from Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on March 4
Author: Anna Thomson
