Bill Wine’s Oscar Predictions: Best Actor, Supporting Actor

(Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Abraham Lincoln in “Lincoln.”)
By Bill Wine
KYW Newsradio 1060
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — With just a few days to go before the annual Academy Awards ceremony, it’s time to handicap the races among 2012’s top performances by male performers.
Who are the likely winners of this year’s Oscars for best lead actor and best supporting actor?
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In the impressive category of “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role,” all five nominees are past winners. So this won’t be anybody’s first Oscar.
Four-time nominee Alan Arkin, as the resourceful movie producer in
And Christoph Waltz, with his second nomination for his loquacious bounty hunter in
Philip Seymour Hoffman (who would get my vote, but not by much) scores his fourth nomination as the charismatic religious-cult leader in
Four-time nominee Tommy Lee Jones’ reading of crusty abolitionist congressman Thaddeus Stephens is a highlight in
But it is most likely to go to two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro (below), who returns to form in a big way as the gambling-addict Eagles fan/dad with OCD, in
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In the category of “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role,” there is as little suspense as you are ever likely to see in an Oscars race. This will be a coronation.
With two Oscar wins and six nominations, Denzel Washington’s body of work remains at an elite level, but this particular outing as an alcoholic pilot in
Reluctant nominee Joaquin Phoenix, with his third nomination as the troubled follower of the title character in
This category also features two first-time nominees who hereby establish themselves as serious screen actors without putting a dent in this race’s inevitable outcome.
With his first nomination, as prisoner-turned-mayor Jean Valjean in
And Bradley Cooper, already an A-List star, showcases his acting talent and officially widens his range as the looking-on-the-bright-side son with bipolar disorder in
And that would be the formidable two-time Oscar winner and five-time nominee Daniel Day-Lewis (top photo), portraying president Abraham Lincoln in
Somebody’s got to be the best and, at this juncture, Daniel Day-Lewis is just that.
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