The Strangelove (Best Actor in Movie)

Previous Winners:  James McAvoy (Split), Denzel Washington (Fences), Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Michael Keaton (Birdman), Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Ryan Gosling (Drive), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), Joaquin Phoenix (Joker), Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick…Boom), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers), Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown).

We come to the BEST ACTOR award that we have named in honor of EYG Hall of Famer Peter Sellers and his multiple roles in the movie Dr. Strangelove. Again, no actor has won this award more than once. We do have one possible two-timer on the list and we will see if he can reach the top of the list.

#20. Austin Baker (Caught Stealing)

#19. George Clooney (Jay Kelly)

#18. Paul Mescal (Hamnet)

#17. Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value)

#16. Cooper Hoffman (The Long Walk)

Our first five on the list all have nice performances. Cooper Hoffman was the biggest surprise of these five as his work on The Long Walk was exceptional.

#15. Brad Pitt (F1: The Movie)

#14. Daniel Craig (Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery)

#13. Jeremy Allen White (Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere)

#12. Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams)

#11. Pedro Pascal (Fantastic Four: First Steps)

Big names in this part of the list. Pedro Pascal I expected to be higher until I stated to compile the list. I loved his portray of Reed Richards. Jeremy Allen White did a great job as Springsteen. Daniel Craig was down further than I thought too. His performance as Benoit Blanc is always sensational. Some are saying Joel Edgerton has a chance to be nominated for an Oscar. I am not sure I would go that far, but he was good in Train Dreams.

#10. Channing Tatum (Roofman)

#9. David Jonsson (The Long Walk)

#8. Russell Crowe (Nuremberg)

#7. Matthew McConaughey (The Lost Bus)

#6. Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another)

Some think Leonardo is going to win the Oscar this year. I have already said that I was not a fan of One Battle After Another. He was fine there. Heck, he was better than fine as I have him at #6. David Jonsson in The Long Walk was exceptional and extremely moving. Russell Crowe playing Herman Goering is hard to give a lot of affirmations. He was great as the Nazi.

#5. Josh O’Connor (Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery)

#4. Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme)

#3. Hugh Jackman (Song Sung Blue)

#2. Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine)

Timothee Chalamet won this award last year when he played Bob Dylan, so no two-time winner this year. The Rock gave his best performance of his career. It is a shame it is being overshadowed by the failure at the box office of Smashing Machine. Hugh Jackman is brilliant in Song Sung Blue, a film I just saw yesterday. Josh O’Connor did the impossible… stole the Knives Out movie from Benoit Blanc.

And #1…Strangelove winner for 2025

Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)

Michael B. Jordan played twins in Sinners and he did such a great job, there were times that I wondered if it was actually him playing both roles. Both characters, Smoke and Stack Moore, were individual people and had their own traits and personalities. It was a tour de force performance from a man who has only been getting better every movie.