2027 Oscar Predictions: BEST ACTOR (May)
As I mentioned in my first Oscar predictions of the season, waiting for the annual April Board of Governors meeting of the Academy proved to be the right choice as we were given a truly shocking rule change regarding the acting categories by expanding the ability for an actor to be nominated twice in the same category for the first time ever.
In 1929, at the first Academy Awards representing the films of 1927-1928, the nomination process allowed candidates to be nominated and awarded for a single film, multiple films, or without reference to any specific film. Janet Gaynor received a single nomination (and won) the Best Actress Oscar for her performances in 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise. Famously, Barry Fitzgerald was nominated in both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for 1944’s Going My Way, winning the latter. As a result, the Academy instituted a rule that no person could be nominated in more than one category for the same performance.
The exact wording by the Academy states: In the Acting category, actors may be nominated for multiple performances in the same category if those performances place in the top five votes, which aligns with achievements in other award categories.
Looking at the Best Actor candidates for this season, there are a handful of names that could qualify, but as it’s so early in the year, many either don’t have distributors attached to their films, aren’t finished shooting them or we don’t have a release date yet. All of which make it dubious to predict this category to be the one that crosses that new Oscar threshold. Robert Pattinson has a pair of films (The Drama, released last month and the upcoming Primetime), and Brad Pitt, Josh O’Connor, Javier Bardem and Charles Melton all have at least one project expected this year and possibly a second.
In my first look at Best Actor I found what is often the case in this category, a wealth of options. From Tom Cruise’s potential return to an acting nomination in over 25 years, to biopics galore (Michael Jackson, Sylvester Stallone and Anthony Bourdain just to name a few) to several returning winners and nominees (like Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Matt Damon), this looks like The Year of the Man for the 99th year in a row.
Here are my very early 2027 Oscar nomination predictions in Best Actor for May.
| 1. Tom Cruise – Digger (Warner Bros) |
| 2. Ryan Gosling – Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM Studios) |
| 3. Sebastian Stan – Fjord (NEON) |
| 4. Rami Malek – The Man I Love (TBD) |
| 5. John Turturro – The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (Sony Pictures Classics) |
| 6. Matt Damon – The Odyssey (Universal Pictures) |
| 7. Jaafar Jackson – Michael (Lionsgate) |
| 8. John Malkovich – Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight Pictures) |
| 9. Dominic Sessa – Tony (A24) |
| 10. Hanns Zischler – Fatherland (MUBI) |
Next up: Robert Aramayo – I Swear (Sony Pictures Classics), Adam Driver – Paper Tiger (NEON), Andrew Garfield – The Uprising (Focus Features), Anthony Ippolito – I Play Rocky (Amazon MGM Studios), Charles Melton – Saturn Return (Netflix), Brad Pitt – The Adventures of Cliff Booth (Netflix), Sam Rockwell – Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight Pictures), Andrew Scott – Elsinore (TBD), Denzel Washington – Here Comes the Flood (Netflix), Jeremy Allen White – The Social Reckoning (Sony Pictures/Columbia)
Full list (alphabetical)
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – By Any Means (Paramount Pictures)
Robert Aramayo – I Swear (Sony Pictures Classics)
Javier Bardem – The Beloved (TBD)
Javier Bardem – Bunker (TBD)
Adam Bessa – Parallel Tales (TBD)
Bastien Bouillon – The Birthday Party (TBD)
Timothée Chalamet – Dune: Messiah (Warner Bros)
Russell Crowe – Billion Dollar Spy (Lionsgate)
Tom Cruise – Digger (Warner Bros)
Matt Damon – The Odyssey (Universal Pictures)
Adam Driver – Paper Tiger (NEON)
Jean Dujardin – The Rays and Shadows (TBD)
Alden Ehrenreich – A Talent for Murder (TBD)
Jacob Elordi – The Dog Stars (20th Century Studios)
Jamie Foxx – Fight for 84 (Netflix)
Andrew Garfield – The Uprising (Focus Features)
Ryan Gosling – Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM Studios)
Fred Hechinger – A Long Winter (TBD)
Nicholas Hoult – Cry to Heaven (TBD)
Anthony Ippolito – I Play Rocky (Amazon MGM Studios)
Hugh Jackman – The Death of Robin Hood (A24)
Jaafar Jackson – Michael (Lionsgate)
Andrzej Konopka – Hot Spot (Focus Features)
Peter Lanzani – The Most Intimate Betrayal (Netflix)
Gilles Lellouche – Moulin (TBD)
Tony Leung Chiu-wai – Silent Friend (1-2 Special)
Matthew Macfadyen – Seance of a Wet Afternoon (TBD)
Rami Malek – The Man I Love (TBD)
John Malkovich – Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight Pictures)
Luca Marinelli – The Echo Chamber (TBD)
Scoot McNairy – The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd (TBD)
Charles Melton – Audition (LAIKA)
Charles Melton – Saturn Return (Netflix)
Josh O’Connor – Disclosure Day (Universal Pictures)
Josh O’Connor – Jack of Spades (TBD)
Pedro Pascal – Behemoth! (Searchlight Pictures)
Pedro Pascal – De Noche (TBD)
Robert Pattinson – The Drama (A24)
Robert Pattinson – Primetime (A24)
Genden Phuntsok – Tenzing (Apple Original Films)
Brad Pitt – The Adventures of Cliff Booth (Netflix)
Brad Pitt – Heart of a Beast (Paramount Pictures)
Brad Pitt – The Riders (A24)
Will Poulter – Saturn Return (Netflix)
Sam Rockwell – Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight Pictures)
Seth Rogen – The Invite (A24)
Leonardo Sbaraglia – Bitter Christmas (Sony Pictures Classics)
Andrew Scott – Elsinore (TBD)
Dominic Sessa – Tony (A24)
Sebastian Stan – Fjord (NEON)
Sul Kyung-gu – Possible Love (Netflix)
Aaron Taylor-Johnson – Cry to Heaven (TBD)
Miles Telller – Paper Tiger (NEON)
John Turturro – The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (Sony Pictures Classics)
Mark Wahlberg – By Any Means (Paramount Pictures)
Taika Waititi – Place to Be (TBD)
Denzel Washington – Here Comes the Flood (Netflix)
Jeremy Allen White – The Social Reckoning (Sony Pictures/Columbia)
Juris Žagars – Minotaur (MUBI)
Hanns Zischler – Fatherland (MUBI)
Zo In-sung – Possible Love (Netflix)
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
2027 Oscar Predictions: BEST ACTOR (May) 
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