11 Unexpected Actors Who Might Win Oscars Next Year
The Clown Prince of Gold?
Who doesn't love seeing a totally unexpected actor scoop up an Academy Award? After all, who could've predicted a few years ago that the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jean Dujardin, Sandra Bullock, Lupita Nyong'o and... Monique... would all end up with little gold guys? Sometimes an actor surprises us because they're simply not conventional Oscar material, as in the case of McConaughey, the star of bonafide classics like Surfer, Dude and Fool's Gold whose performance in Dallas Buyers Club sustained momentum from festival screenings all the way to the ceremony virtually unchallenged. Then there are actors like Nyong'o, who are unexpected simply because we most likely hadn't heard of them previously, even though her turn was a conventionally box-ticking, Oscar-worthy performance. This year's Oscar race won't really kick off in earnest until around September, but it's always fun to try and guess the winners way ahead of time, especially in the insanely competitive acting categories. And, going off prior successes, acclaimed source material and the fallout of this year's #OscarSoWhite controversy, we can make some educated guesses about a few left-field actors and actresses who could unexpectedly end up nominated for, and even winning an award outright.