The Best Actor category for this year is such an odd creature. To the point where Tom Cruise (“Top Gun: Maverick”) is being mentioned as a genuine nominee, you have a weak group of individuals vying to make the final five.
The L.A. Times is claiming that, based on the many voters they’ve been speaking to, Cruise as a Best Actor nominee is purely wishful thinking at this point (I don’t believe it):
In a big swings prediction piece I wrote a couple months back, I mused about the possibility of Cruise earning a lead actor nomination. But now that people are jumping on the Cruise bandwagon, I’m hearing from more actors branch voters who just aren’t feeling it. So if not Cruise, who gets that fifth spot?
Listen, I’ve been pulling for Cruise to get in, not because I believe he delivered a great performance, but purely for entertainment purposes. It’d be amusing to watch him get a nod and, know what, I’m a Cruise fan, and wouldn’t at all mind him getting recognized.
Of course he didn’t give us an Oscar-worthy performance in ‘Maverick’, but he’s had other great performances completely shafted by the academy over the last few decades that I just say, yeah, bring it, honor the legend.
Think of “Collateral,” one of his best performances, completely snubbed. He also should have WON for the best performance of his career in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia” — they instead gave it to Michael Caine for “The Cider House Rules.”
Cruise, who used his charisma and physical prowess to literally save the American blockbuster this past year, held up the industry on his shoulders and showed us how it could still be done. Cruise is one of the last remaining old-school actors in Hollywood and that’s more than enough reason to have him in contention.
Right now, I’m leaning towards Collin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin”), Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”), Bill Nighy (“Living”) and, yes, Tom Cruise (“Top Gun: Maverick”) as our five Best Actor nominees.
Right behind them are Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”), Hugh Jackman (“The Son”), Diego Calva (“Babylon”) and Jeremy Pope (“The Inspection”). Weak field and Cruise’s for the taking,
We’ll know who our actual frontrunners are this coming Wednesday when the SAG nominees get announced.
