Leading Actor 2012

This Best Actor group is seriously one of the strongest I've encountered so far. From top to bottom it's pretty amazing. I'll enjoy this group immensely.

2012 Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln

I don't know how much more I can gush about DDL but I'll try. It's hard to decide which role of his is better and more iconic: Daniel Plainview, Bill the Butcher, or Abraham Lincoln? And that's not including his earlier work that he was nominated and won an Oscar for! This man is the greatest living actor going and he will never not be amazing to me. When I say that I have a tough time choosing what his best performance is, I mean it. His Lincoln is just immeasurably good. I've marveled in the past about his inhabiting a character and his mastery of different accents and that all holds true here. He IS Lincoln. I can't think of anyone else as being him ever again. His soft voice is mind blowing. It's just so anti DDL that you wonder if he's not some shape-shifting alien or something because he is that good. And when he has a serious moment yet still has that soft voice, it's flipping intense! I love Spielberg's intimate look at Lincoln because DDL shines in making him human and not appear as such a mythological figure. Every other version of Lincoln is the same: a stiff representation of a cliche spouting guy offers nothing unique or that you wouldn't find in an elementary school play. DDL changes all that by giving us a look at a real man and not just a legend. I'm not sure what else can be said because DDL looks the part, sounds great, has the gravitas to pull off a super important US President, and the appeal to make that man human. It's literally one of the greatest performances ever which I know I've said about DDL before but still holds true. He is truly gifted and I can't wait to see what he does next.

Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook

When I first watched this film, I think Cooper got drowned out. I mean, just look at his competition! DDL is a legend, Denzel is Denzel. Joaquin was fucking amazing and Jackman exceeded expectations. Then you have newbie Cooper and it's easy to overlook him and say yeah, whatever, flavor of the week. But this is really when Cooper caught fire. And it's very easy to see why that happened. He's extremely charming in this film and incredibly likable. That is all despite his mental illness which is the subject of the entire film. He's bipolar and suffered a break that had him committed by the courts and he's returning home and trying to cope with his dysfunctional family. Mental illness doesn't get talked about enough, so it's good to see it tackled here. It can be a rough thing, especially the bipolar disease. It's great that this film shows that one can overcome the setbacks of the disease and live a somewhat normal life, or at least find others that don't make you feel so alone and fucked up. And when it comes to mental illness, it's very easy for an actor to take it to the extremes and overact. But it's typically more subtle than that in regular life. There's probably a lot of people you interact with daily that are dealing with something and you don't even know. That's where Cooper shines for me in this film. Yes, it has comedic elements and when Cooper gets focused on meeting his wife again or getting her a letter it's funny in a sad way. But he brings a human element to the character as well. He makes the mental illness part of the story and character feel a bit more real than it otherwise could have ended up. Cooper shoulders the heaviest load of carrying the film and is mostly up to it. All film we are told Cooper's character was fat and mean and different prior to his stent in the institute but none of that seems believable when you see Cooper. None of that change is effectively shown, it's only told to us over and over. I think that's a misstep for the film since it's supposed to be all about change. Cooper does a good enough job in his first nomination but I feel there are still some glaring faults in the performance. And when you compare it to the 4 other guys nominated here, it just doesn't quite stand up to them.

Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables

This role seems like the one Jackman was born to play, not counting Wolverine, of course. But he just slips into the character so effortlessly that watching him on screen is truly mesmerizing. Upon re-watch, I actually liked it even more because you can just sense the pleasure and pride and comfort radiating off of him throughout the film. He just looks so at home and happy playing Jean Valjean, like he finally found his release. I think you could make a case for his inclusion as a nominee solely based off his song right in the beginning of the film where he sings the shit out of it and creates more feeling in that one song than many bands can do over a career. It's that good to me. It's just raw and powerful and angry and hopeful and sad and determined and a million other adjectives. It doesn't matter that he's not the greatest singer because that's part of the appeal to me. The song and the way he sings it and plays the character doesn't work with a typical Broadway big time singer. He embodies that downtrodden, poor man persona - and it works for him. It's kind of funny that in a musical, I'm not very concerned with the lead actor's singing ability but instead focus on how much he seems to enjoy inhabiting the character. I think that speaks to the acting and how important it can be even in a musical. Jackman really made the most of this heavy role - making it his own and making it look like it was written just for him. To make Jean Valjean your own is certainly no easy feat. What a great performance and nomination.

Joaquin Phoenix - The Master

I am still really surprised that this film didn't get a Best Picture nomination because it more than deserved one. It was my favorite film of the year and this might just be my favorite performance of the year. I know I gushed about DDL but my God, Phoenix is incredible as Freddie Quell. This is to me a performance for the ages and easily the best thing Phoenix has ever done and probably will ever do. It's just so good and such a fully realized character. Phoenix plays Quell, a veteran home from the war trying to adjust back into society. He's a booze hound that seems to only care about next drink and screw he can find. From the beginning you can tell that he's not really normal and we begin to experience just how much of a pathetic loser he is. It's somewhat of a sympathetic character but it's a repulsive sympathy. We look at him with disgust and sadness and feel the palpable awkward tension he emits. That's all from Phoenix who fully inhabits Quell and turns him into this odd little sorry man. Quell works odd jobs and gets drunk on his own concoctions and finally drifts into PSH's cult. The two have amazing chemistry and feed off each other in every scene they have together and really give us some memorable scenes like the jail and the interrogation/interviews. Part of what makes the performance so amazing is how much detail Phoenix has put into quell. His sneer, his bad posture, his inappropriate laughing, his fiery anger, his speech pattern. All of it strengthens a character that is already unique and made the film beyond compelling to watch. The first time I saw it on the big screen, I was mesmerized and in awe the entire time. Part of that reason was because of Phoenix. There's so much subtlety and explosiveness in this performance that seeing the balance from Phoenix is a treat to watch. I could go on and on about this one but I think my point has been made pretty clear - I love this performance! There's so many complex emotions being expressed by Phoenix at one time that it's incredible. Quell is a loner but intrigued by the Master and sees himself in him but doesn't get hooked into the cult because he doesn't believe but he wants to so he can belong and be loved and be wanted but he thinks they are crazy or at least as crazy as he is and on and on. Phoenix can shift between those feelings in one scene and one look with ease. It truly is a great performance and one I highly recommend checking out.

Denzel Washington - Flight

Let's face it, the big appeal of Flight was the big upside down plane sequence. That's in the very beginning and I'm sure there were some upset people that wanted more of that throughout the film. But this is a look at the troubles of addiction and it takes an intimate look that's very compelling. Zemeckis does these sort of adult dramas really well and does the big spectacle such as a plane crash extremely well. He also gets the most out of his actors and it helps that Denzel is world class. Denzel brings his usual bravado to the role where it is well served in smaller doses and at key moments. This isn't just a rehash of his other badass tough guy, super stud roles. No, Denzel brings an honesty to his pilot character in the performance of the addict. He plays a great drunk and shows just how strong the struggle is even if you're a successful pilot who pulled off this impossible maneuver to save a plane full of people and that those people can have demons that are constantly warring inside them. I think we forget just how well Denzel can act because he's had a lot of action roles and those tough guy roles where he can be all gangsta. But he still excels at delivering a thoughtful performance and Flight allows him to do just that. It's not a performance that overwhelms you when you're watching it but when it's over and you think about it, you realize just how good it was. He can make a dickhead addict sympathetic and that's no easy task. Denzel rounds out what came to be a really incredibly strong group of Best Actor nominees and he fully belongs here.


What a hell of a group! Two performances that I think are flat out great and three that I think are pretty damn solid. I'm not sure I can pick a winner between DDL and Phoenix but I think I'd give the nanometer edge to Phoenix because it blew me away and DDL already has two other wins and probably will have more as I go back in time more. From there, the next three are a jumble but I'd go Jackman - Denzel - Cooper as my final three. Jackman was born for that imagining of that role and gave it his all. Denzel gives a solid, but not-so-flashy performance and Cooper throws his hat into the ring and announces his arrival to Oscar with a pretty good performance of his own. Really an incredible group of actors and one that was pretty fun to watch and review. More of these please!

Oscar Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
My Winner:   Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
Daniel Day-Lewis
Hugh Jackman
Denzel Washington
Bradley Cooper