3. Benedict Cumberbatch - Best Actor For The Fifth Estate
Likely Winner: Benedict Cumberbatch for his role in The Fifth Estate. Yes, we definitely predict he'll be nominated for both Best Actor
and Supporting Actor, for different roles. In this instance, it'll be for playing Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks.
Other Top Choices: Several of them. One at a time, they are (1) Leonardo DiCaprio for his performance in The Wolf Of Wall Street, the latest Scorsese flick. (2) Forest Whitaker, playing real life Cecil Gaines in the historical drama The Butler, alongside a long and prestigious list of fellow actors, including Oprah Winfrey, Alan Rickman, John Cusack, and Jane Fonda. (3) Chiwetel Ejiofor in Steve McQueen's surefire winner Twelve Years a Slave. The film looks to be a painfully honest look at slavery, and can only possibly benefit from Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance.
Long Shot: Tom Hanks in Captain Philips, starring as Richard Philips, the captain of the Maersk Alabama that was captured by Somalian pirates.