Updated 2014 Oscar Predictions: Best Actor and Actress

We continue today’s updated 2014 Oscar predictions with Best Actor and Best Actress, one of which is entirely up for grabs where the other was long thought to be in the bag, but such is never the case in the Oscar race (rhyming!).

I’ve gone into more detail below, but in the actor race I’m sticking with Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) all while Bruce Dern (Nebraska) and Robert Redford (All is Lost) continue to bounce all around my rankings.

On the Best Actress side, what was long thought to be an open and shut case for Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) may soon become quite the race as Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks) will soon apply some pressure.

I’ll be updating all the major categories today as I’ve already posted my Best Picture and Director predictions and continue with my leading actor categories, which are detailed below along with links to browse my complete, ranked field of contenders.

Also, be sure to stay up-to-date with my Awards Calendar as the Los Angeles Film Critics will hand out their awards this Sunday, December 8 and next week on December 11 and 12 we’ll have the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations.

Best Actor

Sometimes it pays to live in New York and Los Angeles where you can have your ear closer to the ground with these things. Considering I live in Seattle I am going to have to depend on what the so-called “buzz” is telling me and with this category it tells me Bruce Dern (Nebraska) wants the win far more than Robert Redford (All is Lost) and with Nebraska performing well in early precursors Dern gets a bump.

For now I’m sticking with Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) in the top spot while the only name sliding out of my top five is Forest Whitaker (Lee Daniels’ The Butler).

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Robert Redford (All is Lost)
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

Find my complete, ranked list of 19 contenders right here.

Best Actress

Here we have what will surely be one of the most hotly contested categories on the board, both at the top and at the bottom as it’s going to be a race to see who not only wins, but who gets nominated.

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) has long been the frontrunner and remains so today following her Best Actress win with the New York critics, but don’t overlook the National Board of Review awarding Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks) with their Best Actress award. Thompson is excellent in Saving Mr. Banks with a final act that blows the doors off and she very well could overtake Blanchett’s long-assumed lead.

Then we have the bottom of the board where Brie Larson (Short Term 12) could possibly find herself with a nomination as she must face powerhouses in Meryl Streep (August: Osage County) and Amy Adams (American Hustle), two actors with 21 nominations between them along with Streep’s three wins.