5. Will Forte - Nebraska
If some of you balked at my inclusion of Steve Carell in my preview of possible 2014 Best Actor contenders, you're likely to flip your lid over the prospects of former SNL alum Will Forte joining the ranks of Oscar nominated actors. While this reaction is kind of understandable, I warn you, laugh at your own risk, because you may very well be eating a steady diet of crow come nine months time. The reason why this unlikely Oscar prospect has suddenly become quite the contender is fairly simple, he's appearing in the newest Alexander Payne movie. The Academy has been fairly kind to the actors appearing in Payne's movies, even when they aren't the sexiest names in the business, such as Thomas Hayden Church, who received a best supporting actor nomination for his role in Sideways. Payne's Oscar prowess appears to be only increasing as well, considering his last two films both earned Best Picture nominations and earned two Best Director nominations for Payne himself. Payne's newest film, currently premiering at Cannes, follows an estranged father (Bruce Dern) and son (Will Forte) who take a road trip from Montana to Nebraska in order to claim a million dollar Mega Sweepstakes Prize the father believes he has won. The film appears in black-and-white, which should add some esteem to the proceedings even for those who do not consider themselves avid Payne fanatics. It also sounds like the perfect father-son relationship movie, with just enough opportunities for comedy and levity but leaving appropriate room for touching emotional breakthroughs, that should have Academy members eating out of Payne's hands. All this is serious reason to consider Forte's play for an Oscar nomination. These types of "dramedic" roles are often where the Academy stays its usual embargo on comedians and lets them in the lounge for a cocktail or two before asking them politely to leave (see Bill Murray's sole nomination for Lost in Translation). It's the sort of transitional role that allows a comedian to show their range, but doesn't throw them so far off into the deep end as to disturb anyone's preconceived notions of what the comedian is, and should be, capable of. Of course, if the movie proves unpopular or middling, then all this analysis is moot, but assuming the movie goes over well enough (which I'm sure it will), then get use to the idea of hearing Will Forte's name being mentioned for a possible Oscar nomination.