Ranking the 2026 Best Actor Oscar nominees
This year, the Best Actor Oscar race is between Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan and Wagner Moura.
They are all worthy of a nomination, but I don’t have a true favourite this year because my top two didn’t get recognised. I Swear’s Robert Aramayo is fair enough because the film isn’t out in America yet, but Joel Edgerton not getting nommed for Train Dreams is just baffling to me. It’s beautiful, subtle and absolutely devastating.
So, that explains why I’m not as invested in the Best Actor race as much as usual and have a bit more perspective on it. So without further ado, here’s my ranking of this year’s nominees.
Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme
I think Chalamet will be the one who walks away with the Oscar this year. He ran a great promo campaign for the movie and captured the zeitgeist only two months ago. Fandom doesn’t always equate to awards but I think it will on this occasion. He is very good in Marty Supreme, as this overconfident bragger with the gift of the gab. But I actually think he deserved it more with his previous two nominations for Call Me By Your Name (still my fave performance of his) and A Complete Unknown (his Bob Dylan portrayal was great!)
Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon
Hawke, who is also on his third acting nomination, is very impressive as bitter lyricist Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon. He is on camera basically the entire film and the sheer volume of lines he has is insane. Blue Moon is set over the course of one night and is basically run like a play, with Hart navigating different encounters with people in one NYC bar. The film is all about his performance and it is a masterclass. He would be my second choice, however, I don’t think he has any realistic chance of winning because Blue Moon won’t appeal to everyone.
Michael B. Jordan in Sinners
Playing twins isn’t easy, but Jordan makes it look effortless in Ryan Coogler‘s smash hit Sinners. I don’t love the film as much as most (sorry!) but I can appreciate the difficulty of what Jordan had to do. You genuinely forget that you’re watching Jordan interact with himself (or to thin air, as it would have been on set) because Smoke and Smack feel like completely different people. He totally deserves to win, and the Actor Award glory has certainly upped his chances, so you never know, he could pull it off!
Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another
The Oscars love Leo – and don’t we all! It’s nice to see a role with a more comedic register getting time to shine at the Oscars. He is really funny in this! His comedic timing and general bumbling buffoon energy are fantastic. The scene where he runs over the rooftops with the young kids is one of my favourites in the movie. But he’s already got an Oscar under his belt and I don’t think he needs another one right now!
Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent
I’ve got to be honest, I thought Moura was good in this Brazilian thriller, but I didn’t expect him to be in the awards conversation. I also didn’t love the film, so perhaps that has clouded my judgment. It’s great to see a Brazilian star breaking into the Best Actor category for the first time though.