Every Best Actor Oscar Movie Winner Of The 21st Century Ranked

Who should have won: Michael Keaton - Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).

As is the case with many modern biopics, The Theory of Everything doesn't give star Eddie Redmayne the opportunity to overcome its unchallenging and by the numbers execution, but Redmayne still soars as late physicist Stephen Hawking.

Though relatively easy to dismiss as Oscar-bait, Redmayne's performance is much more internal and heart-rending than it may appear, capturing Hawking's physical deterioration with a subtle cockiness and larger-than-life personality that never wavers in the face of immeasurable pain and loss.

Yes, the film's simplicity stifles him in places, and he never touches Michael Keaton's deeply personal performance in Birdman, but Redmayne's complex portrayal of perseverance is still powerfully inspirational. It's much better than you might recall.