The 2007 Academy Awards Part 3: Best Actor Hopefuls

Here are my top 10 candidates for Best Actor for 2006:

Best Actor:

George Clooney in The Good German: I'd say this is pretty close to a lock. Clooney is an absolutely HUGE A-list star at this point, coming off a best supporting actor win last year and furthering his status as a serious dramatic actor in Steven Soderbergh's new film. It's been a very tight-lipped production and should get a ton of hype once it comes out. Clooney plays a journalist in post-war Berlin trying to uncover a mystery surrounding his mistress (played by Cate Blanchett in another Oscar-hopeful performance). It's going to be a highly visible film and from the trailer the production looks absolutely fantastic. Given the scope of the role and Clooney's celebrity status (not to mention the fact that he's turned into an extremely talented actor) I think he's a lock at this point.

Peter O'Toole in Venus: I think this is another one that can probably be inked in at this point. Legendary Hollywood actor Peter O'Toole (Lawrence of Arabia himself) has been nominated many times (7 or 8 I believe) but has never actually won an Oscar. He was given an Honorary Oscar a couple of years ago and almost refused to accept it because he believed he can still win one. Venus is going to be a low profile film that will probably get limited release but they're going to bank on O'Toole getting an Oscar nod. He plays an aging actor who develops a May-December romance with a very young woman. Pre-release reviews have been raving about his work on the film, and apparently O'Toole goes through some pretty intense physical work (including a fight scene) for a man his age. The Oscars have had a long history of giving awards to aging actors that have never won and personally I think it would be wonderful to see O'Toole (he's INCREDIBLE with speeches) get up on stage and win one in the latter years of his life.