Joey Magidson
Welcome back folks! Believe it or not, this series is close to done with for this year, as we’ve come to one of the last installments. We can mourn that soon, but for now, we press on. Continuing a tradition I’ve been keen on for years, I’m ranking the new crop of Academy Award winners. For nearly all of the Oscar categories, you’ll see me list the top 25 recipients of that prize. Sometimes, our newest winner will appear. Other times, they’ll be relegated to the Honorable Mention category. Who knows, maybe one or two won’t even make the cut? It’s a list series that I’ll do each and every single year, in the weeks after the ceremony concludes. So, while this is a fun way to think about the Oscars in the aftermath of the latest telecast, it’s also a beginning for another column here on the site. Of course, definitely show us your own lists as well, in the comments section below. We’re definitely keen to know what you think!
Another big one is coming today for you all…Best Actor! Yes, the Best Actor category, one of the most prestigious at the Academy Awards (so much so that it infamously came after Best Picture at the most recent ceremony). Actor often is where movie stars get to be honored, sometimes for their best work, but often in films that just happen to have them at the right place and the right time. My top picks, however, don’t fall into that trap. Perhaps controversially, my top two winners of this Oscar are Nicolas Cage for Leaving Las Vegas (my all-time favorite acting performance, overall) and Tom Hanks for Philadelphia. The next five on this list, in alphabetical order to maintain some mystery, would be Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea, Marlon Brando for On the Waterfront, Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln, Robert De Niro for Raging Bull, and Jack Nicholson for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. What of Anthony Hopkins, one of our more recent winners, you might ask? His performance in The Father did initially make my top ten, but you’ll have to read on below to find out exactly where it falls this year, just like with our prior winner in Brendan Fraser for The Whale, as well as our most recent in Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer…
Here now are what I consider to be the 25 best winners of the Oscar for Best Actor, to date:
25. Jack Nicholson – As Good As It Gets
24. Forest Whitaker – The Last King of Scotland
23. Ernest Borgnine – Marty
22. Gene Hackman – The French Connection
21. George C. Scott – Patton
20. Kevin Spacey – American Beauty
19. Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
18. Sean Penn – Milk
17. Laurence Olivier – Hamlet
16. Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
15. Marlon Brando – The Godfather
14. Gregory Peck – To Kill a Mockingbird
13. Brendan Fraser – The Whale
12. Anthony Hopkins – The Silence of the Lambs
11. Peter Finch – Network
10. Tom Hanks – Forrest Gump
9. Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
8. Anthony Hopkins – The Father
7. Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
6. Jack Nicholson – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
5. Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
4. Marlon Brando – On the Waterfront
3. Robert De Niro – Raging Bull
2. Tom Hanks – Philadelphia
1. Nicolas Cage – Leaving Las Vegas
Honorable Mention: Colin Firth – The King’s Speech, Dustin Hoffman – Rain Man, Ben Kingsley – Gandhi, Joaquin Phoenix – Joker, Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything, and Cliff Robertson – Charly
Stay tuned for one of the final category next week!
For the first thirty years of my lifetime, I could count exactly one time when the Best Lead Actor winner lined up 100% with my personal choice for the award. Yet, somehow, within just the last five years, it’s now happened twice!
25) Maximilian Schell – Judgment at Nuremberg
24) Forest Whitaker – The Last King of Scotland
23) Paul Scofield – A Man for All Seasons
22) Marlon Brando – The Godfather
21) Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
20) Jon Voight – Coming Home
19) Gregory Peck – To Kill a Mockingbird
18) Adrien Brody – The Pianist
17) Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
16) Nicolas Cage – Leaving Las Vegas
15) Gene Hackman – The French Connection
14) Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
13) Charles Laughton – The Private Life of Henry VIII
12) Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
11) George C. Scott – Patton
10) Emil Jannings – The Last Command
9) Sean Penn – Milk
8) James Stewart – The Philadelphia Story
7) Anthony Hopkins – The Silence of the Lambs
6) Anthony Hopkins – The Father
5) Daniel Day-Lewis – My Left Foot
4) James Cagney – Yankee Doodle Dandy
3) Fredric March – The Best Years of Our Lives
2) Robert De Niro – Raging Bull
1) Marlon Brando – On the Waterfront
It’s rare when any category lines up for me, so I get it!
This Category is difficult many of them are ranked so closely it’s difficult to seperate them .I am constantly rethinking them
25.Henry Fonda- On Golden Pond
24.Maxamillian Schell -Judgement at Nuremburg
23.Daniel Day Lewis -My Left Foot
22.Sidney Poitier -Lillies In The Field
21.Peter Finch – Network
20.Forest Whitaker -The Last King of Scotland
19.Leonardo Di Caprio The Revanant
18.Burt Lancaster -Elmer Gantry
17.Sean Penn-Milk
16.Humphry Bogart -The African Queen
15.Frederic March -Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde
14.Jose Ferrer -Cyrano de Bergerac
13.Eddie Redmayne -The Theory of Everything
12.Brendan Fraiser -The Whale
11.F.Murray Abraham -Amadeus
10.Marlon Brando -On The Waterfront
9.Casey Affleck -Manchester By The Sea
8.Jamie Foxx -Ray
7.Anthanoy Hopkins -The Silence of the Lambs
6.Russell Crowe -Gladiator
5.Robert DeNiro -Raging Bull
4.Frederic March -The Best Year of Our Lives
3.Tom Hanks -Philadelphia
2.Jack Lemmon -Save The Tiger
1.Gregory Peck -To Kill and Mockingbird
HM Coling Firth -The Kings Speech,Joaquin Phoenix -Joker,Pilip Seymour Hoffman -Capote,James Stewart The Philadelphia Story,Cillian Murphy -Oppenheimer ,Jean Dujardin -The Artist ,Rod Steiger -In The Heat of The Night ,Adrien Brody-The Pianist ,Tom Hanks -Forest Gump,Charles Laughton -The Private Lives of Henry VIII,Gary Cooper -High Noon
Oh for sure. You basically have to.