94th Oscars: Will Smith Could Attain the Best Actor Crown for ‘King Richard’

Hello, fellow Oscar buffs.

Due to a myriad of reasons, it’s taken a while for me to get my updated Best Actor predictions up, but thankfully, I managed to finalize my thoughts on where the race stands as of now and who could be, shall I say, “anointed” as Best Actor royalty. Without further ado, let’s get to it:

Will Smith as Richard Williams in “King Richard.” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

The ‘King’ Takes Current Hold of the Crown

As I said in my last post on the Best Actor race, the Oscar feels like it’s Will Smith’s to lose. The esteemed movie star, and previous two-time Best Actor nominee for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness, has earned some of the best reviews of his career for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the real-life father and coach of tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams, in a film that is said to be a major crowd pleaser. Another benefit is that Smith is pretty much going to be everywhere this season between promotion of both King Richard and his memoir WILL along with the upcoming Disney+ docuseries Welcome to Earth where he’ll serve as the host.

It also helps that the Best Actor award is typically about seniority. Awarding those for the right role after decades of solid work and industry goodwill. So, with the right mix of the right Oscar bait role, visibility, and star power, Will Smith might just receive his Best Actor coronation.

Then again, we have two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington playing Macbeth in The Tragedy of Macbeth. While the reviews seem to be on the mixed-to-positive side, Washington won his usual raves and feels like a safe nomination bet based on reviews and name factor. With 2 Oscar wins and eight overall acting nominations, Washington is clearly beloved by his peers.

Rounding out the top three is Benedict Cumberbatch for his role as a sadistic rancher in The Power of the Dog. Because the film has hit every major fall festival (Telluride, NYFF, Toronto, Venice), it’s clearly been a top play for Netflix and Cumberbatch should be an easy bet to land his second Best Actor nomination.

A Battle For Fourth and Fifth of Medieval Proportions

Then here’s where things get a little crazy. As of now, the award feels like it’s Will Smith’s to lose with Washington and Cumberbatch as dark horses with about five to nine names vying for the last two slots.

Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny and Woody Norman as Jesse in “C’mon C’mon.” (A24 Films)

We have four-time Emmy winner Peter Dinklage playing the titular role of Cyrano in the upcoming musical adaptation of the famed play Cyrano de Bergerac. But with its December 31st release, will it peak too late? Meanwhile, after recently winning his overdue Oscar, Joaquin Phoenix is in line for an afterglow bid for the new Mike Mills indie C’mon C’mon. Also, could Clifton Collins Jr. earn his “Richard Jenkins in The Visitor”-type moment in the Sun for Jockey after years of scene-stealing work?

Additionally, we have names like Jude Hill in Best Picture frontrunner Belfast, Gotham Award nominee Simon Rex in Sean Baker’s Red Rocket and Nicolas Cage in Pig in the running. To go even crazier, we still have sights unseen like Andrew Garfield in Tick, Tick..Boom!, Bradley Cooper in Nightmare Alley, and Leonardo DiCaprio in Don’t Look Up.

Current Predicted Five:

1. Will Smith, King Richard
2. Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth
3. Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
4. Joaquin Phoenix, C’mon C’mon
5. Clifton Collins Jr., Jockey

Where do you think the Best Actor race stands as of now? Please share your thoughts in the comments section!