13 Unexpected Actors Who Might Win Oscars Next Year

12. Zoe Saldana - Nina

The Actor: Zoe Saldana came to most film fans' attention in 2009 when she starred in Star Trek and then Avatar, the latter of which even saw a small but passionate Best Supporting Actress campaign launched in her favour. Aside from an appearance in 2013's Out of the Furnace, though, she's pretty much stayed away from the prestige movie field. The Role: Saldana is to play jazz musician and classical pianist Nina Simone during her rise to fame, though in fairness, her casting has not been without its controversy. "Blackface" and nose prosthetics were used to make Saldana more closely resemble Simone, which many criticised because it favoured star power over casting someone who just looked like the musician anyway. Plus, director Cynthia Mort sued the producers of the film for apparently taking control of the edit away from her, and though the movie was screened for buyers at Cannes last May, word has gone pretty quiet ever since. Why They Might Win: If Saldana can prove the skeptics wrong and deliver a spot-on performance, none of this controversy will matter one bit. Sure, it could just be another Grace of Monaco in the waiting, but it could also be the movie that elevates the actress to the A-list if she nails it.