ROME – Actors and Actresses: Prices go up for everyone, but the statuette is certainly something else. Here’s who is lining up on the night of the 2023 Oscars on March 12: favorites Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh, plus Brendan Fraser and Austin Butler. It’s a five, that of best actress, arriving on The Night of the Stars after navigating a string of controversies. From the absence of black candidates despite high-profile tests like that of Viola Davis in The Woman King, to the intense and successful social media campaign supported by the likes of Jane Fonda and Gwyneth Paltrow to reach the nominees, the multi-faceted Andrea Riseborough, who was surprisingly shortlisted with a little-known indie film, To Leslie by Michael Morris. A big favorite with an impressive streak of over 35 awards including the Volpi Cup in Venice, the Bafta and a rare hat-trick of wins from the major film critics associations, remains CATE BLANCHETT, here at her eighth nomination, following 2005’s for ‘Aviator’ and 2014’s Blue Jasmine, she could win her third Oscar for her volcanic performance in Todd Field’s Tar, where she plays a star conductor at the center of a sex scandal.
The strongest opponent is a movie queen, Oscar debutante MICHELLE YEOH, who in the case of the season film Everything Everywhere All At Once by the Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) multiplies into dozens of versions per multiverse. and has a record: she is actually the first Asian interpreter to make it into the top 5 leading actresses. Michelle Yeoh, born in 1962, Malaysian of Chinese descent, became the star of Asian action and martial arts films and then became a star for global audiences with films like Crouching Tiger, Ang Lee’s Hidden Dragon or series like Star Trek Discovery. MICHELLE WILLIAMS is back in the competition, capturing her fifth nomination and giving a face to Mitzi in Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, inspired by the director’s mother. A role also played by Michelle Williams, Marilyn Monroe brings ANA DE ARMAS her first nomination for Blonde’s controversial portrayal of the diva, directed by Andrew Dominik.
The nominees for the statuette for best actor have one thing in common: They are all at the Oscars for the first time. A race between physical and emotional transformations, homages to cinematic masterpieces and rock icons. The big favorite, already with over 20 awards for his performance, is BRENDAN FRASER, who plays Charlie in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, a sensitive and lonely obese English teacher who is determined to reconnect with his teenage daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink). Fraser’s story is one of success, relative oblivion, and a return to the top, the kind Hollywood loves so much. After starring in blockbusters like The Mummy for the past decade, Fraser had slipped off the radar and dabbled with dad and stage. For Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, he also won the physical challenge of playing a severely obese man, thanks to a suit/costume weighing over 300 pounds and advice from the Obesity Action Coalition to be as truthful as possible. The toughest opponent seems to be AUSTIN BUTLER, who accepted the challenge to follow in Elvis Presley’s footsteps in the dreamlike portrayal of the Baz Luhrmann-signed King of Rock in Elvis. Born in 1991, Butler, known for series such as The Carrie Diaries and The Shannara Chronicles or for the role of Tex Watson in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, worked on the character of Elvis for more than a year before filming.
It is the new partnership with his director friend Martin McDonagh, 15 years from Bruges and 11 years from Seven Psychopaths, that earns Irishman COLIN FARRELL his first nomination for the tragic comedy The Spirits of the Island. With a career that has spanned more than 150 roles on stage, big and small screen, radio and game dubbing, BILL NIGHY, born in 1949, made an impression as a worker who lived his life in Oliver Hermanus’ Living, a remake from Living ( Ikiru), Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece. Finally, the fifth surprise is another Irish talent, PAUL MESCAL, an actor on the rise thanks to the Normal People series. The struggling father of newcomer Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun puts him in the running for an Oscar.
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