This is a good year for Best Actor nominees. All five actors gave strong performances in their respective films. But the field isn’t as even as it appears.

The questions remains the same as it was two years ago: Will Leo finally win? For once, it seems like a good bet that it is DiCaprio’s year. His turn in The Revenant may not be eloquent, in fact it is quite the opposite, but it is raw and base in a natural way. Look for Leo to finally get his much deserved and long awaited Oscar.

If we don’t see that, for whatever reason, it will be Michael Fassbender and Matt Damon duking it out for the top spot. Bryan Cranston also had a good performance, disappearing into the title role in Trumbo, but I don’t think the film stood up enough as a whole to lift him into the upper echelon of the category.

Update: Leonardo DiCaprio won the Screen Actor’s Guild Award on Jan. 30 for his performance in The Revenant, essentially nailing the final nail in the coffin of his Oscar chances. At this point, it might be a push for a career Oscar for Leo, but he deserves it all the same. Leo is the surest bet to take home the trophy on Feb. 28.

 

Nominees:

• Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
• Matt Damon (The Martian)
• Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
• Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
• Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

 

Will Win: Leonardo DiCaprio

Could Win: Matt Damon

Dark Horse: Michael Fassbender

 

You can read a full list of Oscar predictions here.

As always, thanks for reading!

What do you think? Will Leo take home his first Oscar trophy? Will someone pull an upset? What was your favorite acting performance of the year? Let me know in the comments!

—Alex Brannan (@TheAlexBrannnan)