Oscar Blitz 2026 – Best Actor (VIDEO)

It’s all but certain that Timothée Chalamet is going to win an Oscar in just over two weeks. He’s a tremendous actor who has rarely had a misfire in his film career, which has lasted just over a decade so far. The man has done everything from sing like Bob Dylan to save a planet to fuck a peach, and I firmly believe that he’s only going to get better as he goes on (he’s only 30 – God I feel old).

My question is, why is he a lock to win Best Actor in this particular year? This is one of the most stacked fields we have ever seen, a true Murderer’s Row of fantastic performances. Chalamet is one of them, unquestionably, but the fact that it’s basically been a sweep for him so far doesn’t quite make sense. The only awards he hasn’t won are the Drama side of the category at the Golden Globes (that went to Wagner Moura while Chalamet took the Comedy side), and the BAFTA, which went to Richard Aramayo (who played the cartoonish villain in Palestine 36) for a film called I Swear, which won’t be released stateside until late April. There’s already been some controversy surrounding it, as at the ceremony, the subject of the film, John Davidson, who has severe Tourette’s Syndrome, repeatedly shouted a racial slur (you know the one) as an involuntary tic while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage presenting, the BBC didn’t edit it out despite airing the show on a two-hour delay, and the only “apology” was a brief throwaway from host Alan Cumming for the profanity.

Anyway, this weekend’s SAG Awards (I refuse to call it the “Actor Awards” or the “Acting Awards,” because those names are stupid) is the last chance anyone has to make a case for an upset. Otherwise, Chalamet will certainly win, which is ironic given that as recently as a year ago he was making jokes that he’d never emerge victorious. My concern is that it’s a foregone conclusion, when the strength of this year’s slate would suggest that it would be a knock-down, drag-out fight until the very end.

Go back through Oscars history. When’s the last time we had a Best Actor field this excellent, where you could make a legitimate case for everyone nominated, as well as several others who weren’t? For my money, you have to go back to at least 2007, where Daniel Day-Lewis won for There Will Be Blood over George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Tommy Lee Jones, and Viggo Mortensen. For as long as I’ve followed the Academy Awards, I can only think of like, three other years that even join the conversation (1995, 1998, and 2004). We have this group of five for 2025, but you could easily sub just about any of them out in favor of Jesse Plemons for Bugonia, Lee Byung-hun for No Other Choice, Robert Pattinson for Mickey 17, Joel Edgerton for Train Dreams, Ryo Yoshizawa for Kokuho, Vincent Cassel for The Shrouds, Hugh Jackman for Song Sung Blue, Glen Powell for The Running Man, or even Oscar Isaac for Frankenstein without anyone really questioning it. That’s how deep this contest was.

I’m not saying Chalamet shouldn’t win (spoiler alert, he doesn’t get my vote), but I can certainly understand why someone would vote for him, as he’s playing remarkably against type. But the fact that he’s basically run the table suggests that no one is even giving the other nominees a second thought despite how incredible they all are. As you’ll see in the video, it’s a matter of degrees between first and fifth for me, so I’m not going to be pissed if and when Chalamet wins. What I’m pissed about is the fact that we’re not even having a discussion, that in a field full of A+ performances, the victory is treated as fiat.

This year’s nominees for Best Actor are… in the video below!

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One of the oddities of Chalamet’s presumed triumph is the fact that it looks like the only award Marty Supreme is going to get. Best Picture has been a two-horse race since the beginning (mostly down to one based on Awards Season results to date), with both of those films having a nominated lead actor that arguably drives the narrative more than Chalamet does as the title character in his own film. This is one of those rare times where you almost have to question the Academy’s logic. If Chalamet did indeed give the best performance, then why isn’t Marty Supreme a serious Best Picture contender (yes, it has nine nominations, but it’s almost certainly only getting this one)? What is it about his turn as Marty Mauser that overrules Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael B. Jordan as the front men for the two true competitors? It reminds me of when Richard Linklater lost Best Director for Boyhood despite the project taking 12 years, then the very next time they gave the award to Alejandro Iñárritu, for the second year running, because The Revenant took TWO years to shoot. Again, Academy voters, tell us how your brains work!

My Rankings:
Are in the video.

Who do you think should win? Vote now in the poll below!

Up next, the Blitz rests for the next two days in order for me to do more catch-up batch reviews. Then, on Monday, we beat around the CGI bush to pretend anyone has a chance to beat Avatar. It’s Visual Effects!

Join the conversation in the comments below! Does Chalamet deserve to win? What’s the strongest Best Actor field you’ve ever seen? Could you ever play two roles at the same time? Let me know! And remember, you can follow me on Twitter (fuck “X”) as well as Bluesky, subscribe to my YouTube channel for even more content, and check out the entire BTRP Media Network at btrpmedia.com!