Alternative Oscars 2019: The Nominees & Winners For Every Category
8. Best Actor
WINNER: Ethan Hawke (First Reformed)
The Best Actor field is, well, a bit of a mess this year, with a number of middling and low-effort nominees who should've been supplanted by far more consistently acclaimed - if admittedly less popular - picks.
Ethan Hawke's career-best performance in First Reformed should've streamrolled the entire awards season, but despite passionate support from critics guilds, more mainstream awards bodies weren't quite so enthusiastic.
Ultimately the only nominated performance we've kept is Christian Bale (Vice), more on the virtue of his transformation than anything else.
Though Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) and Willem Dafoe (At Eternity's Gate) did fine work, it wasn't quite top-tier calibre. Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Viggo Mortensen (Green Book) were meanwhile severely handicapped by the overall quality of their respective films.
In place, we've included Ryan Gosling's criminally underrated performance in First Man, capturing the stoic spirit of Neil Armstrong with affecting grace. Ben Foster was meanwhile stunning as a PTSD-afflicted veteran in Leave No Trace, and Matt Dillon gave a career-best performance in Lars von Trier's ultra-controversial The House That Jack Built.
RUNNERS-UP:
2. Ryan Gosling (First Man)
3. Ben Foster (Leave No Trace)
4. Christian Bale (Vice)*
5. Matt Dillon (The House That Jack Built)