PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
George Clooney in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros.,
Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)
Analysis
This is the second acting nomination for George Clooney, who won the Supporting Actor Oscar in 2005 for “Syriana.”
Daniel Day-Lewis had received his first Best Actor Oscar in 1989 for “My Left Foot.” His fourth nomination this year follows two others in the lead category: “In the Name of the Father,” in 1993, and “Gangs of New York,” in 2002.
This is the third nomination for Johnny Depp, who was previously singled out by the Actors Branch for his turns in the first “The Pirates of the Caribbeans” movie, in 2003, and then again a year later for “Finding Neverland.”
Viggo Mortensen has not been nominated before, and as noted elsewhere playing a Russian mobster with a convincing accent, and having a fight in the nude in a London bathhouse, were eye-grabbing elements that elevated his performance in the eyes of the Academy voters.
Tommy Lee Jones has been nominated twice before, both times in the supporting league. Jones was first nominated for his part in Oliver Stone's 1991 biopic “JFK,” and then again two years later for “The Fugitive,” for which he won the 1993 Supporting Actor Oscar.
My Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis.
