4. Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
(above image is from Castaway in lieu of any images from the production yet to be released) Tom Hanks was Mr. Oscar back in the 1990's. Receiving three Oscar nominations during the decade, as well as becoming the first actor to win back-to-back Best Actor Oscars since Spencer Tracy did so in the late 1930's (Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938)), it was definitely the actor's prime (he also book-ended the decade with one nomination in the late 1980's and one nomination in the early 2000's). He may be preparing for a comeback tour this year though with two potentially Oscar friendly roles that could put him back in the good graces of the Academy. The first of these that I will mention (the second will be showing up momentarily) is Captain Phillips. Using the "taken from the headlines" approach director Paul Greengrass is known for, Captain Phillips tells the story of Richard Phillips, the Captain of the US ship MV Maersk Alabama that was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009. Philips bravely offered himself up as a hostage to gain the freedom for his crew, before a daring rescue operation (spoiler alert for the uninformed) successfully freed him from capture. Hanks hasn't really been a serious player in the Oscar season for some time, but if he is to recapture his mojo, this may be a prime role for him to do so. Playing a heroic captain who makes a crucial sacrifice for the good of his crew sounds like the type of gold-plated britannium Oscars are made of, and the Academy proved last year that they're not adverse to awarding an actor his third Best Actor award. Director Paul Greengrass has never been known as an "actor's director" though, as none of his actors have ever received an Oscar nomination, so there are still a lot of question marks yet to answered on this one.