2. Leonardo DiCaprio - Django Unchained (2012)
The Role: DiCaprio plays slave plantation owner Calvin Candie, the primary antagonist of Tarantio's latest film. He's currently in possession of Django's wife, Broomhilda, who he initially agrees to sell to Django (he's unaware of Django's identity as Broomhilda's husband) and bounty-hunter Dr. King Schultz, but decides otherwise when he realizes what Django and Schultz are really up to.
Why It's Oscar Worthy: Many critics and journalists expected DiCaprio to win his first Oscar for his role as Calvin J. Candie, and so when the Academy failed to nominate the often-snubbed DiCaprio the decision was met with much criticism. Candie provides a challenge of being both charming and brutal, and DiCaprio does an incredible job of balancing between the two.