13 Unexpected Actors Who Might Win Oscars Next Year

11. Alicia Vikander - The Light Between Oceans / The Danish Girl

The Actor: The gorgeous Swedish actress has had quite the year, starring in the acclaimed likes of Testament of Youth, Son of a Gun and Ex Machina, with a multitude of enticing projects (such as Guy Richie's The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) on the way. The Roles: In Derek Cianfrance's (The Place Beyond the Pines) drama, Vikander plays a young woman who, as a baby, washed up on a shore and was adopted by a lighthouse keeper (Michael Fassbender) and his wife (Rachel Weisz). Secondly, Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) directs The Danish Girl, in which she plays Gerda Wegener, the wife of Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne), one of the first people to undergo sexual reassignment surgery. Why They Might Win: The former subject is an extremely popular book which always serves as catnip to Oscar voters, while the latter should see Vikander in a heavily put-upon role about a strong woman, which again, the voters love. Plus, she's an on-the-rise talent, and the Academy enjoys rewarding that.