By Peter Knegt | Indiewire Wed Nov 12 14:25:00 EST 2014
Before this year even reached its half way point, folks had three very strong possibilities in this category thanks to Ethan Hawke and JK Simmons (with their Sundance premieres "Boyhood" and "Whiplash," respectively) and Mark Ruffalo (Cannes premiere "Foxcatcher"). They've held on nice and strong months and months later, welcoming Edward Norton (Venice premiere "Birdman") to their gang back in September. But do they all hang in there?
There's a few other contenders. Josh Brolin in "Inherent Vice," Robert Duvall in "The Judge," John Goodman in "The Gambler," Tim Roth and/or Tom Wilkinson in "Selma," and Tyler Perry in "Gone Girl," for example. But our sneaking suspicion is that a relative unknown gets in here. Japanese singer Miyavi has a juicy, villainous role in "Unbroken" as a "The Bird," the guard who made it his mission to break the spirit of the film's hero. This category has been all about rewarding villains as of late (see Javier Bardem, Heath Ledger and Christoph Waltz), and perhaps Miyavi will be the latest.
Check out our predictions in other categories here.
Best Bets From What We've Seen:
1. J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"
2. Edward Norton, "Birdman"
3. Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"
4. Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
The Big Threat Left To Be Seen:
5. Miyavi, "Unbroken"
They Could Rise:
6. Tim Roth, "Selma"
7. Josh Brolin, "Inherent Vice"
8. Tom Wilkinson, "Selma"
9. Tyler Perry, "Gone Girl"
10. John Goodman, "The Gambler"
11. Christoph Waltz, "Big Eyes"
12. Johnny Depp, "Into The Woods"
13. Domhall Gleeson, "Unbroken"
14. Jamie Foxx, "Annie"
15. James Corden, "Into The Woods"
Will Be Tough For Them To Break Through (But It's Still Possible):
16. Charlie Cox, "The Theory of Everything"
17. Albert Brooks, "A Most Violent Year"
18. Robert Duvall, "The Judge"
19. Alec Baldwin, "Still Alice"
20. Neil Patrick Harris, "Gone Girl"READ MORE: J.K. Simmons on Why Miles Teller is ‘Such a Slappable Little Bastard’