In a remarkably crowded field, just being included in this year’s crop of best actor nominees should feel like a victory in itself. Standout performances by Forest Whitaker (“The Butler”), Oscar Isaac (“Inside Llewyn Davis”), Robert Redford (“All is Lost”) and Tom Hanks (“Captain Phillips”), all unfortunately had to be passed on. Now that the difficult question of who will actually get nominated has been answered, the academy is left with the even harder task of choosing a winner.

And the nominees are…

Christian Bale, American Hustle

Bruce Dern, Nebraska

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street

Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

The two frontrunners for the award in my opinion are Chiwetel Ejiofor and Matthew McConaughey. While I want to see Ejiofor win for ’12 Years a Slave’,  I think the allure of the McConaughey performance may be too much for voter’s to overlook. A household name actor, with a checkered career including some cheesy romantic comedies, delivers a where-did-that-come-from performance for the ages.

Bruce Dern has an outside shot as “the feel good” choice for his role in the Midwestern drama “Nebraska”. Dern, who has spent most of his illustrious acting career playing interesting secondary characters, now finds himself at the centre of a Best Picture nominated feature. It would be quite the story for Dern to win his first Oscar in the twilight of his career at age 77.

Another nominee with an outside shot is Leonardo Dicaprio. It’s the fourth nomination for the decorated actor but he has yet to win the elusive Oscar. His three hour performance in “The Wolf of Wall Street” was absolutely captivating. With that said it’s still somewhat unlikely that the Academy will award the Best Actor to a performance originating from a comedic film.

Who will win: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyer’s Club

Who should wIn: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Who got left out: Forest Whitaker The Butler, Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis

– Marshall Jeske