The 90th Academy Awards are this Sunday. If you’ve paid any attention to the film circuit this year then you probably know that the competition for Best Picture will be fierce with Three Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri; Phantom Thread; The Post; The Shape of Water; Call Me By Your Name; Dunkirk; and Lady Bird all posing as formidable threats to take home the golden statuette. Less undetermined, however, is the race for Best Actor in a Leading Role. While Daniel Kaluuya, Timothée Chalamet, and Denzel Washington are all accomplished actors worthy of the career-affirming trophy, this year’s ceremony seems like a two-man competition between Daniel Day-Lewis and Gary Oldman.
Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill
In any other year, Daniel Day-Lewis, 60, would be considered a shoo-in. As one of the most admired and awarded actors in history, it would be fitting to end his career (he has said that Phantom Thread will be his last role) with a record fourth Best Actor award. However, the praise for Oldman’s turn as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour has been nothing short of stupendous and he has already bested Day-Lewis at the Golden Globes this awards season.  Winston Churchill portrait by Yousuf Karsh
Long considered a chameleon of the film industry, Oldman, 59, is known for blending into his roles in such a seamless manner that he becomes unrecognizable. One of the reasons he was able to transform himself into the former British Prime Minister so effectively ...