Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Acting Style: Almost pulling off being a leading man
What He Would Have Done If He Didn’t Start Acting: Without the theater? Died, man. Just goddamn died
Biggest Challenge On Set Of A Star Is Born: The difficulty of creating great acting while working under a middling director
Home Address: 1437 Palisades Ave., Santa Monica, CA 91428
Career Highlights: A Star Is Born (1937), A Star Is Born (1976), A Star Is Born (2018)
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Methodology: Deeply immersed self in role of man who knows nothing about Bryan Singer’s pedophilia allegations
Preparation For Role As Freddie Mercury: Listened to Queen’s Greatest Hits once or twice
Acting Record: 22-5
Odds: Oscar voters have been impressed by his amazing ability to kind of look like a popular dead celebrity
Career High: Appearing alongside childhood idol Destroyer in the film Battleship
Christian Bale, Vice
Acting Style: Fat
Warm-Up Acting Technique: Berating whoever happens to be within a 35-foot radius
Background: Born an orphan in early Victorian England, Bale spent his childhood working as an undertaker’s apprentice and dabbled in petty thievery before finally being adopted by a kindly, wealthy benefactor
Metabolism: Fucked
Commitment To The Craft: Performed all of his own murders in American Psycho
Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
Role He’s Nominated For: Vincent Van Gogh, if he was 62 when he died instead of 37
Acting Style: Dafoeian
You Mean William?: No
Wait, What Movie Is This?: How about you get out of your fucking bubble and stop pretending your ignorance of independent cinema is some kind of populist badge of honor, asshole. It’s about Vincent fucking Van Gogh, ever heard of him?
Prospects: Academy voters were impressed by Dafoe stepping outside his comfort zone of playing unlikeable creeps to portray a likable creep
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
Best Known For: Being the only Viggo to ever exist
Most Notable Work: His 2004 book of equine photography, The Horse Is Good
First Acting Role: Mortensen made his film debut in the 1985 thriller Witness, playing a bale of hay
Biggest Career Challenge: Having to call Peter Jackson and tell him how much he enjoyed the Hobbit movies
Acting Influences: Just that electric moment when the director calls “Action!” and, bam! Those wild acting juices get a-flowing! It’s like 100 volts of drama straight to the performance muscles, baby! Watch ’em pop!
