In 2020, Jonathan Pryce earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Pope Francis in The Two Popes. At 72, he is one of the oldest first-time nominees.
Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce CBE (born June 1, 1947) studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and began his career as a stage actor in the early 1970s.
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His work in theatre, including an award-winning performance in the title role of the Royal Court Theatre’s Hamlet, led to several supporting roles in film and TV.
His breakthrough screen performance was in Terry Gilliam’s 1985 film Brazil, opposite Robert De Niro.
Pryce has appeared in big-budget films like Evita, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as indie films such as Glengarry Glen Ross, The Age of Innocence, Carrington, The New World, and The Wife.
Pryce has won two Tony Awards—the first in 1977 for his Broadway debut in Comedians, the second for his 1991 role as The Engineer in the musical Miss Saigon.
He was a guest actor as the High Sparrow in the HBO series Game of Thrones in 2015, before becoming a cast member in 2016.
Since early 2017, he has starred as Sir Stuart Strange in the series Taboo.
Pryce, the oldest Best Actor nominee this year, competes in his category with four estimable actors:
Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
DiCaprio, already an Oscar winner (“The Revenant”), and a recent one, is not likely to win.
Adam Driver and Joaquin Phoenix have been nominated before.
The other first-time nominee is Antonio Banderas, up for his performance for a Spanish-language film, Almodovar’s “Pain and Glory.”
My Prediction for Best Actor winner: Joaquin Phoenix for “Joker”