2025 Academy Awards: Early Predictions for Best Actor & Actress Nominees | Oscar Contenders
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00:00Get ready for an exciting awards season as the 2025 Academy Awards race is officially
00:05heating up.
00:06With the conclusion of major film festivals like Cannes, Venice, Telluride, and Toronto,
00:11all eyes are on the stars who could take home Oscar gold.
00:15The upcoming season promises a mix of veteran Oscar winners such as Angelina Jolie, Nicole
00:20Kidman, and Adrienne Brody returning to the spotlight, while long-time enlisters like
00:25Demi Moore, Daniel Craig, and Zoe Saldana are finally gaining momentum for that elusive
00:31nomination.
00:33But don't count out the fresh faces just yet.
00:36Breakout stars like Mikey Madison and Danielle Deadwheeler are generating major buzz with
00:40their inspiring performances, and they might just steal the spotlight.
00:45In this video, we'll explore the early contenders and potential game-changers who could be in
00:50the running for that iconic golden statue.
00:52Stay tuned to find out which stars are rising and who could be on the path to Oscar glory.
00:58THE WOMEN OF EMILIA PEREZ Zoe Saldana, Carla Sofia Gascon, Selena Gomez,
01:05and Adriana Paz kicked off early Oscar buzz with a historic win at May's Cannes Film
01:10Festival.
01:11The four Emilia Perez stars collectively received the jury prize for Best Actress, making the
01:17Spanish-born Gascon the first transgender performer to win a major award at the French
01:22Fest.
01:24The bold, Mexico-set musical from French writer-director Jacques Audiard then titillated Toronto Festival
01:30audiences who voted the film the runner-up for their People's Choice Award.
01:35Academy prognosticators often look to that prize for clues of the race to come previous
01:40winners from last year's American Fiction to Nomadland and La La Land have gone on to
01:45earn nominations in top Oscar categories, including Best Picture.
01:51EMILIA PEREZ, which co-stars Edgar Ramirez and Marc Ivernier, will screen in U.S. theaters
01:56on NAVVY, won before its streaming debut on Netflix and Off, 13, putting it in prime position
02:03for awards attention.
02:05ADRIAN BRODIE Brodie, 51, could make a triumphant return
02:10to the Oscars stage over 20 years after his win for 2002's The Pianist.
02:15His role in Brady Corbett's The Brutalist had Venice Film Festival audiences and critics
02:20raving despite the movie's whopping runtime of 3 hours and 35 minutes.
02:25A 24's historical drama film follows Brodie's Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian-born Jewish architect
02:31emigrating to the U.S. after the devastation of WWII.
02:36Still awaiting a release date, it co-stars Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Alessandro Nivola
02:41and Joe Alwyn.
02:43DANIEL CRAIG Fans of Craig, 56, may be surprised to learn
02:48he has never made the Academy's shortlist.
02:51Could that change thanks to his heralded work in Luca Guadagnino's Venice competitor Queer?
02:56Adapted from William S. Burroughs' 1985 novel of the same name, Queer finds the former James
03:03Bond playing an American expat in Mexico who establishes a romantic connection with a younger
03:08man played by Outer Banks star Drew Starkey, whose sex scenes with Craig are already generating
03:14buzz for the A24 film with a to be determined release.
03:19DANIELLE DEADWILER The controversy surrounding the Oscars' lack
03:23of recognition for Deadwiler, 42, for her work as Mamie Till-Mobley in 2022's Till,
03:29could propel voters to jump at the chance to honor her undeniable talent in her latest
03:34film.
03:35She's sensational once again, this time as Bernice Charles, a matriarch and pianist contending
03:40with a haunted family heirloom in Malcolm Washington's adaptation of August Wilson's
03:44The Piano Lesson in theater's Knopf, 8 and streaming on Netflix Knopf, 22.
03:52The film drew acclaim following its premieres at Telluride in Toronto.
03:56Coleman Domingo A 24's prison drama Sing Sing has technically
04:02been a 2025 awards contender since it premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival,
04:08but a rapturous reception following its July 12th theatrical release guarantees it's in
04:13the running.
04:15The meteoric career rise of Domingo, 54, means Oscar voters are surely ready to honor him
04:20for the second year in a row after his work in 2023's biopic Rustin.
04:25RALPH FIENNES After decades of memorable performances, Fiennes,
04:3161, remains Oscar-less a fact that may shock voters enough to put him atop their shortlists.
04:36They'll have two chances Edward Berger's Conclave in theater's Octi, 25, in which Fiennes
04:43plays a cardinal choosing a successor to the Pope and the British star's reunion with
04:47the English patient co-star Juliette Binochet in Uberto Pasolini's Odyssey adaptation,
04:52The Return in theater's DC, 6.
04:55For the latter, The Daily Beast critic Nick Shager called Fiennes one of cinema's most
04:59versatile and adventurous actors.
05:04TODD PHILLIPS' sequel to Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar-winning Joker in theater's Octi, 4 has
05:10been destined for awards conversation since its announcement even more so once Gaga, 38,
05:16was announced to play popular DC, comics character Harley Quinn.
05:22Following an acting nod and songwriting win for 2018's A Star is Born, it's easy to imagine
05:27the pop superstar back at the Academy Awards.
05:31That's especially true after strong reviews for the star from critics at the Venice Film
05:34Festival.
05:36The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney wrote,
05:48It wouldn't be awards season without a sports drama based on real-life athletes and this
05:53year there are two Gerald Jerome and Jennifer Lopez's Unstoppable in theater's Dec, 6 in
05:58Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry's The Fire Inside in theater's Dec, 25.
06:06The latter film, from Oscar-winning writer Barry Jenkins and Oscar-winning cinematographer
06:10turned director Rachel Morrison, stars Destiny, 29, as Olympian boxer Clarissa Shields and
06:16Henry, 42, as her coach Jason Crutchfield.
06:20Following his supporting nod for 2022's Causeway, the charismatic Henry has Oscar momentum.
06:27Tom Hiddleston
06:30Life of Chuck has fresh swagger after taking the top prize at the Toronto International
06:35Film Festival.
06:36Does the surprise win mean the widely respected Hiddleston, 43, will get his first shot at
06:41Oscar gold?
06:43He stars and pulls off a 7-minute dance sequence in the titular role of Mike Flanagan's Toronto
06:48winner The Life of Chuck, adapted from a Stephen King novella.
06:52The movie, which does not yet have a distributor or release date co-stars the British star's
06:56Marvel castmates Chewytel Ejiofor and Karen Gillan, as well as Annalise Basso and Mark
07:02Hamill.
07:04Angelina Jolie
07:07Is Hollywood ready for the grand return of Jolie, 49, to the awards race?
07:11A strong campaign seems in the cards for the girl, interrupted Oscar winner, who's Maria
07:16Callistroma Maria to be released by Netflix earned raves in Venice and Telluride.
07:22The film is the third high-profile biopic in a row from Chilean filmmaker Pablo Lorrain,
07:27who previously directed Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart to Oscar-nominated performances
07:32as Jackie Kennedy and Princess Diana, respectively.
07:36Nicole Kidman
07:38Kidman, 57, has become one of Hollywood's most prolific and hard-working actress producers.
07:43Few others have earned an acting prize at the Venice Film Festival in the same week
07:48as the debut of a hot new streaming miniseries The Perfect Couple, now on Netflix.
07:54A 24's erotic thriller baby girl in theaters DC, 25, from director Halina Ryanjin, stars
08:01Kidman as a CEO engaging in a dangerous affair with an intern played by Harris Dickinson.
08:07Considering Kidman is a five-time nominee and one-time Academy Award winner, the 2025
08:12Oscar ceremony looks likely for the Australian star.
08:17Mikey Madison
08:19While this year's Oscar race looks to be dominated by previous winners and big-name
08:24stars, the 25-year-old Madison is making a case for fresh faces.
08:28The screen stars work in the titular role of Enora in theaters Octi.
08:3218 included learning Russian and exotic dancing, and was helmed by filmmaker Sean Baker, who
08:38after Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket is no stranger to awards season.
08:44Enora won this year's prestigious Palm D or at Cannes, minting it an automatic contender.
08:51Demi Moore
08:53Coming off her turn in Feud Capote Vs.
08:56The Swans, Moore, 61, is earning some of her best reviews ever for the substance in theaters
09:02Sept. 20, which premiered at Cannes and won writer-director Coralie Fargit a Best Screenplay
09:08honor.
09:09The story of a celebrity using a black market drug to create a younger version of herself
09:15isn't your typical academy fair, but that's exactly how the Oscar-less Moore could shake
09:19up the awards race this fall.
09:22So worse, Ronan.
09:25Ronan 30 has been an Oscar darling since becoming one of the youngest people to earn four nods
09:30in the awards history, because the Irish-American actress has inconceivably, never won, voters
09:36are likely to welcome a chance to honor her impressive body of work.
09:41While not much is yet known about her work in Steve McQueen's WWII drama Blitz, which
09:46will open the BFI London Film Festival and hit theaters, Nov. 1 and Apple TV Nov. 22,
09:55the raves are already pouring in for director Nora Fingscheidt's adaptation of Amy Liptrott's
10:00memoir The Outrun in theaters Oct. 4 from Sony Pictures Classics.
10:06Ronan's gut-wrenching performance as a recovering alcoholic in the film has been on prognosticators
10:11lists since the drama's Sundance premiere in January.
10:15Sebastian Stan Stan 42 is a tour de force in two separate
10:20films this fall, The Apprentice in theaters Oct. 11 is an already controversial Donald
10:26Trump biopic depicting the former president Stan during rise in the 1970s and 80s.
10:32Aaron Schoenberg is a different man in theaters Sept. 20 tells a far different tale, focusing
10:38on a man Stan with neurofibromatosis whose life becomes enmeshed with another man Adam
10:43Pearson with the same condition.
10:46Both challenging indie roles could potentially launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe favorite
10:50into the Oscar race.
10:53Jeremy Strong With Stan as Trump and Maria Bakalova as
10:58his wife Ivana in The Apprentice, it's Strong, 45, who some say steals the show as the real
11:03estate mogul's mentor infamous New York prosecutor Roy Cohn.
11:08Directed by Ali Abassi and written by Gabriel Sherman, the film has been making headlines
11:12since its Cannes premiere.
11:14Fresh off Emmy and Tony wins, Strong is in prime position to jump into the Oscar fray.