Alternate Best Actor 2024: Results

10. Keith Kupferer in Ghostlight - Kupferer gives a convincing and very moving portrayal of a man finding a healthy way to release his pent up trauma. 

Best Scene: Court deposition. 

9. Hugh Grant in Heretic - Grant elevates the entirety of the film just through his off-beat deliveries and quietly chilling moments. 

Best Scene: Monopoly. 

8. Daniel Zovatto in Woman of the Hour - Zovatto gives a terrifying performance by convincingly portraying both the false charm and brutal cruelty of his serial killer. 

Best Scene: Letting a victim live. 

7. Jesse Plemons in Kinds of Kindness - Plemons artfully manages the film's unique tone to deliver on the deadpan comedy along but with some genuine emotion buried within that. 

Best Scene: Twisted request.

6. Timothée Chalamet in Dune Part II - Chalamet gives a properly charismatic hero's journey for much of the film but then takes it to the next level by twisting it into something nefarious by the end of the film. 

Best Scene: Rallying the Fremen. 

5. George MacKay in The Beast - MacKay gives multiple compelling performances, including a wholly convincing portrayal of repression and a terrifyingly convincing portrayal of the build up of a psychotic. 

Best Scene: First vlog. 

4. Josh O'Connor in Challengers - O'Connor gives a dynamic portrayal of one part of a love triangle, with a particularly effective weaponization of charisma both when it works and when it doesn't.

Best Scene: Failing to get a room. 

3. Nicholas Hoult in Nosferatu - Hoult takes the traditionally thankless role of Jonathan Harker (here named Thomas Hutter) and running it through his sheer acting talent by making the emotional and actual horror he goes through so brutally real. 

Best Scene: Ending. 

2. Cillian Murphy in Small Things Like These - Murphy delivers such a modest yet wholly impactful portrayal of a man slowly committing to action and living up to his empathy. 

Best Scene: Choosing to help. 

1. Sebastian Stan in A Different Man - Good predictions Tony, Lucas, Robert, Matt, Tahmeed, A, Ytrewq, Luke, 8000's, Jonathan & Brazinterma. Stan easily tops this list for me, despite loving many other performances. Stan gave the only performance that gave me any doubt on who my #1 should be. As Stan through his entire output in 2024 has proven to be an immense talent. Here giving such a dynamic, tangible but also hilarious realization of a one of a kind journey for a character. 

Best Scene: Pretending to be Oswald. 

Overall Ranking:

1. Adrien Brody in The Brutalist
2. Sebastian Stan in A Different Man
3. Colman Domingo in Sing Sing
4. Cillian Murphy in Small Things Like These
5. Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice
6. Nicholas Hoult in Nosferatu
7. Josh O'Connor in Challengers
8. Mike Faist in Challengers
9. George MacKay in The Beast
10. Timothée Chalamet in Dune Part II - 5
11. Ralph Fiennes in Conclave
12. Jesse Plemons in Kinds of Kindness
13. Daniel Zovatto in Woman of the Hour
14. Hugh Grant in Heretic
15. Keith Kupferer in Ghostlight 
16. Lars Eidinger in Dying
17. Nicholas Hoult in The Order
18. Joseph Quinn in A Quiet Place Day One
19. Brian Tyree Henry in The Fire Inside
20. Izaac Wang in Didi 
21. John Magaro in September 5
22. Brandon Wilson in Nickle Boys
23. Ethan Herisse in Nickle Boys - 4.5
    
24. Daniel Craig in Queer
25. Kyle Gallner in Strange Darling
26. Missagh Zareh  in The Seed of the Sacred Fig
27. James Le Gros in Good One
28. Andrew Garfield in We Live in Time
29. Josh Hartnett in Trap
30. Lakshya in Kill 
31. Jude Law in The Order
32. Jason Schwartzman in Between The Temples
33. Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 
34. Jesse Eisenberg in A Real Pain
35. Dev Patel in Monkey Man
36. Putthipong "Billkin" Assaratanakul  in How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
37. Nicholas Hoult in Juror No. 2
38. Pierre Niney in The Count of Monte Cristo
39. Aaron Pierre in Rebel Ridge 
40. Viggo Mortensen in The Dead Don't Hurt - 4
41. Gabriel LaBelle in Saturday Night
42. Jonno Davies in Better Man
43. Glen Powell in Hit Man
44. Ben Whitehead in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
45. Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain
46. Owen Teague in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
47. JJ "DJ Próvaí" Ó Dochartaigh in Kneecap
48. Tom Hardy in The Bikeriders
49. Austin Butler in The Bikeriders
50. Ryan Gosling in The Fall Guy
    
51. Tommy Dewey in Your Monster
52. Ben Whishaw in Paddington in Peru
    
53. Brian Tyree Henry in Transformers One
54. Taron Egerton in Carry-On
55. Chris Hemsworth in Transformers One
56. Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool & Wolverine
57. Jake Gyllenhaal in Roadhouse - 3.5
58. Dave Dastmalchian in Late Night With The Devil
59. Raul Briones in La Cocina
60. Egill Ólafsson in Touch
61. Charlie Plummer in National Anthem
62. Glen Powell in Twisters
63. George MacKay in The End
64. Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie a Deux
65. Josh Brolin in Brothers
66. Eddie Peng in Black Dog
67. Paul Mescal in Gladiator II
68. Elliott Heffernan in Blitz
69. Tom Hanks in Here
70. Liam Óg "Mo Chara" Ó Hannaidh in Kneecap
71. Naoise "Móglaí Bap" Ó Cairealláin in Kneecap
72. Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown 
73. Rene Perez in In The Summers - 3
74. Adam Driver in Megalopolis
75. Justice Smith in I Saw the TV Glow
76. Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop: Axle F 
77. Peter Dinklage in Brothers
78. Kelvin Harrison Jr. in Mufasa: The Lion King
79. Aaron Pierre in Mufasa: The Lion King
80. Isaac Krasner in Big Boys
81. Ryland Tews in Hundreds of Beavers - 2.5
    
82. Wagner Moura in Civil War
83. Palmi Kormakur in Touch
84. Julio Torres in Problemista  - 2

Next: 1986 Supporting after the Oscars. 

Alternate Best Actor 2024: Daniel Zovatto in Woman of the Hour

Daniel Zovatto did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Rodney Alcala in Woman of the Hour. 

Woman of the Hour follows serial killer Rodney Alcala including his appearance on the dating game. 

Daniel Zovatto takes on the role of real life Rodney Alcala which is actually the majority of the film despite the name of the film where we occasionally check in with the strange dating game story. Much of the time the film captures instead the horrible crimes of Alcala as he goes about brutally murdering various women, directed with often eerie calm by director/co-star Anna Kendrick, which very much relies on Zovatto’s performance. Where Zovatto’s performance very much is realizing the nature of the psychopath, specifically the ability to create an appearance of normalcy. Zovatto though doesn’t just portray Alcala’s ability at being normal but rather even worse his ability to be charming. The activity we see associated with him being his interest in photography and film. Zovatto brings an outgoing ease with these scenes, and despite his impressive stature is even able to be disarming. The way he presents himself physically there’s a certain relaxed open manner he exudes when approaching the women each time. Zovatto makes it worse than that because when you see Alcala compliment the women, Zovatto very much brings this quiet warmth in his performance whenever he compliments them about their beauty and just seems to be a caring guy. Zovatto puts on the seemingly ideal face of the good person who you can trust each time he approaches the women, Zovatto makes it eerily convincing because of that charm. 

Unfortunately in every situation what we have with Alcala is a true psychopath who can present himself one way, which being completely the opposite behind the false charming mask he puts forth for all to see. Zovatto’s performance is particularly disturbing in the ease of his performance in putting the hints to his nature in the moments just before he approaches the women or merely when they aren’t looking. In just a second his eyes change from that of the disarming man, to that of a predator as he looks upon them suddenly with this cold detachment and very much seems to be observing them as a specimen for himself rather than as a person. Zovatto’s physical manner changes as the way he can suddenly no longer seem like a gentle giant, but instead the scariest of brutes. As Zovatto just changed his posture a little to suddenly create this more vicious stance where you see the monster in the waiting show itself. Zovatto’s performance is particularly disturbing in the way he presents this as a natural flow for Alcala in these scenes, it isn’t a case where you see him go one way or another, rather what Zovatto shows is this particularly chilling control over his own nature. Zovatto very specifically presents the way that Alcala willingly plays a game with the women. He’s not turning from one nature to another, he is the psychopath the entire time, and rather the false face of the trustworthy photographer is merely a tool he knowingly engages as much as he does with his photographs. 

When the monster fully comes out it becomes absolutely horrifying each and every time Because Zovatto’s performance makes it all so easy for the man. The viciousness isn’t something he needs to pull out of himself, it's just what he is and he begins to be himself in such disturbing detail. Such as in the opening scene of the film, which is honestly one of the most chilling cinematic moments depicted in a film, where Alcala goes about choking a woman to death, only to perform CPR on her in order to essentially murder her twice. Zovatto throughout this process is terrifying because you see the calm about himself so often, in even the way he physically starts to interact as he’s making the turn is though he’s playing with a tone he chooses to break in the way he feels like. As it progresses Zovatto presents this clarity in Alcala’s thought throughout, as it isn’t something he pulls out, it is rather the actions of the man where it is merely something he does to himself. Something we also see in the couple moments where one of the other dating game bachelor’s confront him and Alcala shows the man one of his murder photos. Zovatto’s smile is incredibly disturbing because you see just how much for Alcala that the whole process, including murder photos, and every brutality is nothing but a hobby for himself, with the false face, and the brutality just going naturally hand in hand as a step by step process of a fiend. 

The one exception to this game is specifically with one potential victim a runaway Amy (Autumn Best) who we mostly see him going about his usual process by describing her as looking like Linda Manz then getting her to come out with him to the desert with the idea of a photoshoot, and again Zovatto in portraying each segment of the process is scary just by the how relaxed it all is. The difference in this situation though is after the initial attack by Alcala, Amy doesn't react how he expected her to do so, as instead of screaming or attacking she just lies by treating as normal and that she promises to keep it all a secret. Zovatto’s great in this scene because his emotional breakdown in the moment shows that frankly this is something that isn’t computing in the twisted mind of Alcala and by breaking the mold, we see Zovatto portray just the emotional mess of a creature that Alcala is behind all the confidence he expresses when within his process. However it works as Alcala lets her live and even begins driving her back to the city, where Zovatto’s performance continues to impress by the differences he brings throughout the sequence. As you see the man is somewhat lost as he’s strangely lost his usual control, and almost unable to comprehend what is going on in his mind. Zovatto successfully reveals the one time Alcala is out of his comfort zone in a way which reveals just this broken mess of a psyche that by chance allows Amy to get away. Zovatto gives a terrific performance here by granting such chilling detail to the process where he is captivating in showing both the lure of his killer but also the hideous nature behind a deceptive smile. 

Alternate Best Actor 2024

And the Nominees Were Not:

Sebastian Stan in A Different Man

Timothée Chalamet in Dune Part II

Jesse Plemons in Kinds of Kindness

George MacKay in The Beast
 

Hugh Grant in Heretic

Feel free to predict these five, those five or both.

Cillian Murphy in Small Things Like These

Josh O'Connor in Challengers

Daniel Zovatto in Woman of the Hour

Keith Kupferer in Ghostlight

Nicholas Hoult in Nosferatu