There's a whole winter between us and the 91st Academy Awards, but speculation is already building around the four acting categories.
Here are our picks for the actresses and actors who have attracted the most buzz and look the most likely contenders for the 2019 Oscars.
Related: Oscars 2019 Best Picture predictions
Best actress
Lady Gaga's A Star is Born ingénue Ally and Olivia Colman's acclaimed take on Queen Anne for The Favourite are emerging as definite frontrunners in the Best Actress race. But Melissa McCarthy's Can You Ever Forgive Me? has been hailed as her best performance in years, and newcomer Yalitza Aparicio's captivating performance in Roma (Aparicio was a teaching student who worried her casting call might be a human trafficking scam) is getting a lot of buzz.
Or could Toni Colette buck the Oscars' prejudice against genre films and be honoured for her hair-raising performance in Ari Aster's intense horror Hereditary?
- Lady Gaga – A Star is Born
- Olivia Colman – The Favourite
- Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
- Glenn Close – The Wife
- Yalitza Aparicio – Roma
- Toni Colette – Hereditary
- Viola Davis – Widows
Best actor
As a remake of a Hollywood institution about showbiz, A Star is Born seems to be the frontrunner at the moment, and it's not hard to imagine Bradley Cooper and Gaga taking the top acting awards. But he's up against Ryan Gosling, who could tap into Damien Chazelle's Oscar magic for his role as American hero Neil Armstrong in First Man.
What to Read Next
John David Washington is considered a strong contender for his nuanced BlacKkKlansman performance, while Rami Malek's Bohemian Rhapsody role has been deemed a great performance in a so so film. After all, it worked for Meryl in The Iron Lady…
- Bradley Cooper – A Star is Born
- Ryan Gosling – First Man
- Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody
- Robert Redford – The Old Man & the Gun
- John David Washington – BlacKkKlansman
- Christian Bale – Vice
- Ethan Hawke – First Reformed
Best supporting actress
Nicole Kidman just seems to get better and better every year – she essentially steals the gay-conversion-therapy drama Boy Erased with her performance as Lucas Hedges' conflicted mum. Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz have both received as much praise as Olivia Colman for their feuding cousins in The Favourite. Could Adams score a sixth nomination, and even her first win?
And did we mention that Oscar magnet Meryl Streep will be in Mary Poppins Returns later this year?
- Nicole Kidman – Boy Erased
- Emma Stone – The Favourite
- Rachel Weisz – The Favourite
- Amy Adams – Vice
- Claire Foy – First Man
- Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
- Meryl Streep – Mary Poppins Returns
Best supporting actor
There's a big question mark over whether Black Panther could be the first superhero film that might break into the top Oscar categories. Whether it gets a Best Picture nod or not, Michael B Jordan's stirring performance as misguided-but-relatable villain Killmonger is considered one of its best shots at Academy glory.
Timothée Chalamet (Beautiful Boy) and 2016 winner Mahershala Ali (Green Book) seem in line for more recognition this year, while Can You Ever Forgive Me? could be working its magic for Richard E Grant as well as McCarthy.
- Michael B Jordan – Black Panther
- Timothée Chalamet – Beautiful Boy
- Mahershala Ali – Green Book
- Sam Elliott – A Star Is Born
- Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman
- Richard E Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
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