Clifton Collins Jr Jockey	Michael Keaton Worth	Bradley Cooper Soggy Bottom	Will Smith King Richard	Brendan Fraser The Whale
No nominations	1 nomination	4 nominations (for acting)	2 nominations	No nominations
Character actor makes good is a tale as old as time and Collins won raves for his work as a complex horse jockey. Expect this one to stick	He was this close to winning Best Actor for Birdman and has yet to return to the nominees since. If Worth hits big, he could easily be along for the ride	The Oscars obviously love him with four acting nominations, and PTA gets his actors nominated quite often. Is this more Phantom Thread or Inherent Vice?	Smith’s public life has surpassed his work in recent years, but a high-profile role as the father of the Williams sisters could set the stage for a critical comeback	Frasier has never truly been close to Oscar and Aronofsky could change that. But, the more problematic aspects of the film could doom his chances
		ALTERNATIVES
Benedict Cumberbatch The Power of the Dog	Denzel Washington The Tragedy of Macbeth	Andrew Garfield Tick, Tick, Boom!	Michael Fassbender Next Goal Wins	Ralph Fiennes The Forgiven
1 nomination	8 nominations (for acting), 2 wins	1 nomination	2 nominations	1 nomination
The role in Campion’s film is supposed to be the juiciest, but Cumberbatch can go a bit too big. The cast could also overshadow his efforts	The most reliable of Oscar’s favorite men, Denzel always delivers, but how does that work when it a Coen is involved and they have Shakespeare to deal with?	His career has been more on the indie side lately, but with Lin Manuel Miranda behind the camera, a La La Land reception could get Garfield his second nomination	Fassbender has been hit or miss with broad or specialized Oscar films so who really knows?	Fiennes feels like he is constantly nominated, but he actually hasn’t recieved attention since 1996. He could be due for a return
		MORE ALTERNATIVES
Austin Butler Baz Lurhman’s Elvis FIlm	Anthony Ramos In the Heights	Michael Gandolfini The Many Saints of Newark	Bradley Cooper Nightmare Alley	Winston Duke Nine Days
No nominations	No nominations	No nominations	4 nominations (for acting)	No nominations
There is no precedent for big screen Elvis adaptations (they’ve all be on TV), so Butler has his work cut out for him. Will Hanks steal the spotlight?	The breakout star of a crowd-pleasing Best Picture contender will always be in consideration. The film might be viewed more as an ensemble than a showcase	How much of the film will be performance and how much will be imitation. The late James Gandolfini never got any Academy recognition, but maybe his son can	Cooper stays working, but he might be overworking and cancels himself out over all these roles. Will this one stand out over the PTA film?	Duke shot to stardom almost instantly and this Sundance entry could translate if they embrace the film. It might be too weird for them