2017 Oscar Predictions: BEST ACTOR (November)

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Very little to report for Best Actor this month as we have the same lineup as last month, minus Joe Alwyn – yet another casualty in the culling of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. Denzel Washington (Fences) and Manchester by the Sea‘s Casey Affleck’s point totals even remain the same for the third month in a row. Ryan Gosling (La La Land) sees a point boost, as does Tom Hanks (Sully) who is now tied for 4th with Andrew Garfield (Silence). Garfield also has Hacksaw Ridge, a film and lead performance that has gotten some rave reviews and could pull votes from Silence, once it’s seen. Joel Edgerton (Loving) hangs on for dear life with just a two 5th place votes.

LISTEN – Oscar Podcast #43: Best Actress, Pundit Advocacy and ‘Oscar Bait’ with special guest Kyle Buchanan

Lurking beneath this list but seemingly unlikely unless things get shaken up by the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild next month are Matthew McConaughey in Gold, Michael Keaton in The Founder (both from The Weinstein Company) and Mark Wahlberg in Patriots Day, which was recently announced as the surprise closing film of AFI Fest.

LISTEN – Oscar Podcast #44: Viola Davis, Moonlight, Billy Lynn and Oscar Predictions with special guest Joey Nolfi

Something interesting this year with Best Actor is that the top 3 (and one of the top 4) are all fictional characters. Five of the last seven winners in this category played real-life people and right now only the two performers on this list, Tom Hanks and Joel Edgerton, are and neither are frontrunners to win by any means. But, that is just an observation, not a rule by any means.

Here are the 2017 Oscar predictions for Best Actor from The Gold Rush Gang for November:

OTHER CONTENDERS
Ben Affleck – Live by Night
Joe Alwyn – Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
Warren Beatty – Rules Don’t Apply
Robert De Niro – The Comedian
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nocturnal Animals
Michael Keaton – The Founder
Matthew McConaughey – Gold
Nate Parker – The Birth of a Nation
Miles Teller – Bleed For This
Mark Wahlberg – Patriots Day

Follow the updated Gold Rush Gang predictions in these Oscar categories here:

BEST PICTURE
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST ACTOR
BEST ACTRESS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BEST FILM EDITING
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
BEST SOUND EDITING
BEST SOUND MIXING
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM (the shortlist)