7. Jeff Bridges - Starman
This is probably going to be the most controversial entry on this list, since the performance that ended up winning the 1984 Best Actor award (F. Murray Abraham as Salieri in Amadeus) is pretty brilliant. The reason that I feel Jeff Bridges was more deserving of the award is twofold. First, Jeff Bridges is, in my humble opinion, the best actor working right now. The man's a chameleon; he's different in every role he plays. It's a tragedy that Bridges, who was nominated for his first Oscar at the tender age of 22 (for Best Supporting Actor in 1971's The Last Picture Show), didn't win an Oscar until he had reached his sixties. My first argument is a personal bias; I'll admit it. My second argument, however, is based on the styles of each performance. Abraham's performance, while powerful, is too big; it's a performance more suited for stage than film. Abraham's performance consists primarily of speeches delivered with an extra-large dollop of emotion. As I said, it's not a bad performance; it just doesn't fit the movie mold. Bridges' performance, however, is built on subtle nuance. Bridges' portrayal of the alien visiting Earth finds its strength in small touches: the way Bridges moves his mouth when he speaks, the robot-like cadence of his voice, and the jerky way in which he moves. These are the kind of small touches that film accentuates so well. Any good film performance needs to utilize these small touches, and Bridges does so beautifully. Had Abraham's and Bridges' performances been competing for a Tony Award, Abraham's performance would be the most deserving. In a film-oriented competition like the Oscars, however, Bridges comes out on top.