AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 14th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. I’m drawing only from films that were either released or playing at a film festival in the 2020 calendar year. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them.. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night in Miami), Sarm Heng (Buoyancy), Cooper Raiff (S#!&house)

Runners-up:
Pete Davidson (The King of Staten Island)
Eli Goree (One Night in Miami)
Jahi Di’Allo Winston (Charm City Kings)
Andy Samberg (Palm Springs)
Fionn O'Shea (Dating Amber)

The winner:
Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) tuned into the passion and ego of a man best equipped to express himself through music and equally capable of doing so through words. It’s a formidable final performance.

Other nominees:
Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal)
Clayne Crawford (The Killing of Two Lovers)
Bartosz Bielenia (Corpus Christi)
Gary Oldman (Mank)

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 13th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 233 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
Grant Rosenmeyer (Come As You Are), Jay Duplass (Pink Wall), Jimmie Fails (The Last Black Man in San Francisco), Ray Romano (Paddleton)

Runners-up:
Pete Davidson (Big Time Adolescence)
Shia LaBeouf (Honey Boy)
Nick Kroll (Olympic Dreams)
Adam Driver (Marriage Story)
Shuli Rand (The Unorthodox)

The winner:
Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell) warmly embodied a truly kind spirit, someone who wanted to be helpful just for the sake of being nice without perceiving all the malice others could concoct.

Other nominees:
Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)
Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name)
Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit)

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 12th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 200 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
Nick Offerman (Hearts Beat Loud), Sunny Siljic (Mid90s)

Runners-up:
Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting)
Robert Redford (The Old Man and the Gun)
Jeffrey Wright (O.G.)
Ben Foster (Leave No Trace)
Martin Freeman (Cargo)

The winner:
Evan Peters (American Animals) created a character whose energy was infectious and completely dominated by a wild and active imagination, all the more impressive because the real-life person he played also appeared in the film.

Other nominees:
Steve Buscemi (The Death of Stalin) used his signature affect to perfectly convey an eager heir to the throne, who didn’t miss any opportunity for comedy in his many machinations (bonus points for wearing pajamas under his suit). Viggo Mortensen (Green Book) leaned into the less sophisticated aspects of his unenlightened heavyweight, crafting an endearing and hilarious figure who felt believable. Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) didn’t need fake teeth to feel like Freddie Mercury, conveying his outlook on the world and his passion for creating cutting-edge music. Ansel Elgort (Jonathan) turned in an incredible double performance as two brothers who never actually saw each other, emoting on camera and reacting to watching that same video as if he really were two separate people.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 11th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 149 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
Adam Pally (Band Aid), Adam Sandler (The Meyerowitz Stories), Alden Ehrenreich (The Yellow Birds), Ali Fazal (Victoria and Abdul), Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver), Asa Butterfield (The Space Between Us), Ben Mendelsohn (Una), Ben Stiller (The Meyerowitz Stories), Burt Reynolds (The Last Movie Star), Christopher Plummer (The Exception), Claes Bang (The Square), Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast), Dan Stevens (Permission), Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Daniel Radcliffe (Jungle), David Oyelowo (A United Kingdom), Hugh Jackman (Logan), Igal Naor (The Women's Balcony), Jacob Tremblay (Wonder), Jon Hamm (Marjorie Prime), Joseph Cross (Tilt), Kyle Mooney (Brigsby Bear), Logan Lerman (The Vanishing of Sidney Hall), Martin Landau (Abe and Phil's Last Poker Game), Matt Bomer (Walking Out), Matt Damon (Downsizing), Nicholas Hoult (Rebel in the Rye), Peter Dinklage (Rememory), Ricky Gervais (David Brent: Life on the Road), Roland Møller (Land of Mine), Ryan Gosling (Blade Runner 2049), Shady Srour (Holy Air), Shahab Hosseini (The Salesman), Steve Carell (Battle of the Sexes), Thomas Mann (Some Freaks), Tom Hanks (The Post), Tye Sheridan (The Yellow Birds), Woody Harrelson (Wilson)

Runners-up:
Christopher Abbott (Sweet Virginia)
Menashe Lustig (Menashe)
Sam Elliott (The Hero)
Timothée Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name)
Josh Wiggins (Walking Out)

The winner:
Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) was unrecognizable, buried under so many layers of makeup, but he didn’t let any of that mute his entirely committed performance as a leader and orator hell bent on getting his way.

Other nominees:
James Franco (The Disaster Artist) constructed a magnificent portrait of the enigmatic Tommy Wiseau, mimicking his mannerisms but also getting at who he truly is. Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) played himself in a story all about him, bridging his comedy past with moving, heartwarming drama. Jake Gyllenhaal (Stronger) embodied a survivor who had to both recover and contend with the unwanted status of being a hero. Jon Bernthal (Sweet Virginia) took a break from punishing others to be the good guy for once in a typically dark and violent film.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 10th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 117 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
Alex Hibbert (Moonlight), Alon Aboutboul (Is That You?), Alon Pdut (Beyond the Mountains and the Hills), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Ashton Sanders (Moonlight), Barkhad Abdirahman (A Stray), Chris Klein (Game of Aces), Colin Farrell (The Lobster), Dan Stevens (The Ticket), Dave Johns (I, Daniel Blake), Dominic Rains (The Fixer), Éric Bruneau (An Eye for Beauty), Ethan Hawke (In a Valley of Violence), Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (Sing Street), Gael Garcia Bernal (Neruda), Jake Gyllenhaal (Demolition), Jason Bateman (The Family Fang), John Krasinski (The Hollars), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Snowden), Jude Law (Genius), Kevin Spacey (Elvis and Nixon), Mads Mikkelsen (Men and Chicken), Mathieu Amalric (My Golden Days), Michael Fassbender (The Light Between Oceans), Michael Shannon (Complete Unknown), Michael Shannon (Elvis and Nixon), Nate Parker (The Birth of a Nation), Neel Sethi (The Jungle Book), Nelsan Ellis (Little Boxes), Nicholas Hoult (Equals), Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Tom Hiddleston (High-Rise), Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic), Vincent London (The Measure of a Man)

Runners-up:
Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople)
Michael Shannon (Wolves)
Jonathan Pryce (Dough)
Demetri Martin (Dean)

The winner:
Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea) delivered an incredible, emotionally raw turn as a man unable to even imagine what his life used to be like after devastating loss.

Other nominees:
Chris Pine (Hell or High Water) received little praise for his nuanced starring role as a conflicted criminal dealing with a highly unpredictable partner. Tom Hanks (Sully) delivered classic reliability as a pilot impossibly cool under pressure and determined to prove the correctness of his actions. Sunny Pawar (Lion) was a wonderfully endearing part of a soaring story, with just the right amount of boundless energy and youthful determination for the part. Denzel Washington (Fences) directed himself in a tour de force performance as a father intent on making his mark as a patriarch.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 9th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 122 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation), Adam Scott (The Overnight), Alex Jennings (The Lady in the Van), Asa Butterfield (Ten Thousand Saints), Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Z for Zachariah), Christopher Abbott (James White), Domnhall Gleeson (Ex Machina), Geza Rohrig (Son of Saul), Jack O'Connell ('71), Jason Segel (The End of the Tour), Jason Sudeikis (Sleeping with Other People), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Walk), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Slow West), Lembit Ulfsak (Tangerines), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), Märt Avandi (The Fencer), Martin Dubreil (Felix and Meira), Michael B. Jordan (Creed), Michael Keaton (Spotlight), Rafael Spregelburd (The Film Critic), Ryan Reynolds (Woman in Gold), Simon Abkarian (Gett: The Trial of Vivianne Amsalem), Thomas Mann (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), Will Smith (Concussion)

Runners-up:
Jemaine Clement (People, Places, Things)
Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
Andrew Garfield (99 Homes)
Ryan Reynolds (Mississippi Grind)
Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

The winner:
Jacob Tremblay (Room), at just nine years old, offered a fascinating perspective on the world through Jack’s eyes, so filled with wonder and an intense, naive maturity.

Other nominees:
Johnny Depp (Black Mass) disappeared physically and emotionally into the body of a mobster with his most memorable performance in a long time. Michael Shannon (99 Homes) eviscerated those around him with Rick’s cutthroat drive to succeed and crush all who weren’t willing to meet him at the same level. Ben Mendelsohn (Mississippi Grind) offered a complex, endearing portrait of a gambler who can’t possibly hope to stop himself when the time is right. Matt Damon (The Martian) dominated an entire planet with his sense of humor and film-carrying energy.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 8th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 156 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
Ben Schnetzer (Pride), Ben Wishaw (Lilting), Bill Murray (St. Vincent), Billy Crudup (Rudderless), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Brendan Gleeson (The Grand Seduction), Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher), Daniel Fraser (Frequencies), David Oyelowo (Selma), Domnhall Gleeson (Frank), Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood), Gael Garcia Bernal (Rosewater), Ghilherme Lobo (The Way He Looks), Jack O'Connell (Starred Up), Jack O'Connell (Unbroken), Jake Gyllenhaal (Enemy), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Jake Macapagal (Metro Manila), James Corden (One Chance), James McAvoy (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby), Jan Cornet (Tasting Menu), Jeremy Renner (Kill the Messenger), Jesse Eisenberg (The Double), Jim Broadbent (Le Week-End), Josh Wiggins (Hellion), Jude Law (Dom Hemingway), Logan Lerman (Fury), Mark Ruffalo (Begin Again), Mark Ruffalo (Infinitely Polar Bear), Matt Mider (Forev), Matt Walsh (Hits), Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar), Michael C. Hall (Cold in July), Michael Shannon (Young Ones), Michel Bouqet (The Little Bedroom), Miles Teller (Two Night Stand), Miles Teller (Whiplash), Paul Eenhoorn (Land Ho), Peyman Moaadi (Camp X-Ray), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Romain Duris (Chinese Puzzle), Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge), Taylor Kitsch (The Grand Seduction), Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner), Tom O'Brien (Manhattan Romance), Tom Schilling (A Coffee in Berlin)

Runners-up:
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Tom Hardy (Locke)
Toni Servilla (Viva la Liberta)
Michael Fassbender (Frank)
Michael Keaton (Birdman)

The winner:
Earl Lynn Nelson (Land Ho) was consistently hilarious and at ease playing an older man on vacation with no inhibitions, an impressive feat for the non-actor doctor from Kentucky.

Other nominees:
Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year) inhabited his role with an intensity that demonstrated his sincere conviction and sense that what he was doing was right, coupled with an unbreakable determination, an unusual departure for a talented actor used to playing less confident parts. Nicolas Cage (Joe) got serious for his first solid performance in years, one filled with rage and a gritty acceptance of the way the world works. Jason Schwartzman (Listen Up Philip) was just the right person to play a self-involved writer who couldn’t be bothered with the unimportance of those around him and not entirely relevant to his priorities. Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) was simply superb as a brilliant mathematician well aware of his own abilities and constantly striving to complete his defining achievement.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 7th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 100 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Nicolas Maury (Let My People Go!), Adam Scott (A.C.O.D.), Maciej Stuhr (Aftermath), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Don Jon), Alexander Skarsgard (The East), James Gandolfini (Enough Said), George Clooney (Gravity), Gabriel Byrne (Just a Sigh), Daniel Radcliffe (Kill Your Darlings), Gael Garcia Bernal (No), Vincent Cassel (Our Day Will Come), Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now), Paul Eenhoorn (This is Martin Bonner), Patrick Bruel (What's in a Name?), Charles Berling (What's in a Name?), Joel Edgerton (Wish You Were Here), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)

Runners-up:
Tye Sheridan (Mud)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Daniel Bruhl (Rush)
Joaquin Phoenix (Her)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

The winner:
Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) delivered a heartbreaking, intimate, and extremely endearing performance as a young man unknowingly living out the last 24 hours of his life.

Other nominees:
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) proved that he’s still going strong with this focused, intense turn as a courageous captain dealing with an unthinkable situation. Steve Coogan (The Look of Love) was smarmy and bubbling with sexual energy as a magnate surrounded by people but incredibly lonely. Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies) was hilarious with an American accent as a different, more sophisticated kind of zombie. Michael Shannon (The Iceman) was chilling and believable as the appropriately-named assassin.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 6th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 95 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
Jorge Drexler (All In), Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man), Jack Black (Bernie), Ryan O'Nan (The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best), Michael Weston (The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best), Scott Speedman (Citizen Gangster), Adrien Brody (Detachment), Julian Villagran (Extraterrestrial), Jason Segel (The Five-Year Engagement), Lior Ashkenazi (Footnote), Shlomo Bar-Aba (Footnote), Chris Messina (The Giant Mechanical Man), Jason Biggs (Grassroots), Aksel Hennie (Headhunters), Bill Murray (Hyde Park on Hudson), Chris Pine (People Like Us), Ewan McGregor (Perfect Sense), Tom Courtenay (Quartet), Paul Dano (Ruby Sparks), Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Daniel Craig (Skyfall), Daniel Auteil (The Well-Digger’s Daughter), Michel Piccoli (We Have a Pope)

Runners-up:
Mark Duplass (Your Sister’s Sister)
Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)
Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Tom Courtenay (Quartet)
Chris Messina (The Giant Mechanical Man)

The winner:
John Hawkes (The Sessions) was so incredibly natural and charming as paraplegic poet Mark O’Brien that it was easy to root for him as he tackled one of the greatest obstacles in his life.

Other nominees:
Richard Gere (Arbitrage) handed in a career-best dramatic turn as a businessman whose life was spinning out of control, marvelously focused on staying alert and ahead of the game. Jean-Louis Trignitant (Amour) received far less praise than his female costar, but it’s his nuanced, heartfelt, sober performance that truly makes the film. Denzel Washington (Flight) was so cool and in command as an alcoholic pilot that it made watching him fall apart all the more absolutely mesmerizing. Jared Gilman (Moonrise Kingdom) gave Wes Anderson’s delightful comedy a human appeal, making his prepubescent character a marvelously mature and compelling protagonist.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 5th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 138 Films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order):
Matt Damon (The Adjustment Bureau), Ewan McGregor (Beginners), Chris Evans (Captain America: The First Avenger), Ed Helms (Cedar Rapids), William Shimell (Certfiied Copy), Steve Carell (Crazy Stupid Love), George Clooney (The Descendants), Will Ferrell (Everything Must Go), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50), Ryan Kwanten (Griff the Invisible), Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses), Charlie Day (Horrible Basses), Jason Sudeikis (Horrible Bosses), Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March), Goran Kostic (In the Land of Blood and Honey), Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar), Colin Farell (London Boulevard), Jim Sturgess (One Day), Michael C. Hall (Peep World), Benoît Poelvoorde (Romantics Anonymous), Antonio Banderas (The Skin I Live In), Bouli Lanners (Special Treatment), Craig Roberts (Submarine), John C. Reilly (Terri), Tyler Labine (Tucker and Dale vs. Evil), Alan Tudyk (Tucker and Dale vs. Evil), Joel Edgerton (Warrior), Tom Hardy (Warrior), Paul Giamatti (Win Win)

Runners-up:
Peyman Moadi (A Separation)
Ryan Gosling (Drive)
Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)
Michael Fassbender (Shame)

The winner:
Jean Dujardin (The Artist) was the ultimate showman as the charming, self-possessed silent film star George Valentin. His facial expressions are worth a thousand words.

Other nominees:
Mikael Persbrandt (In a Better World) captured heartbreak and melancholy in his searing blue eyes in one of the year’s most affecting performances. Michael Shannon (Take Shelter) embodied a frightening struggle with reality with an immensely focused and gripping turn. Brendan Gleeson (The Guard) was hilariously offensive and aloof as a sarcastic Irish cop. Thomas Horn (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) acted older than his age as a believably eccentric child trying to fill an immense void.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 4th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 177 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order):
Casey Affleck (The Killer Inside Me), Riz Ahmed (Four Lions), Dany Boon (Micmacs), Michael Caine (The American), Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Michael Cera (Youth in Revolt), George Clooney (The American), Paddy Considine (Red Riding: 1980), Brian Cox (The Good Heart), Tom Cruise (Knight and Day), Shane Curry (Kisses), Ricardo Darin (The Secret in their Eyes), Stephen Dorff (Somewhere), Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man 2), David Duchovny (The Joneses) Steve Evets (Looking for Eric), Colin Farell (Ondine), James Frecheville (Animal Kingdom), Andrew Garfield (Red Riding: 1974), Keir Gilchrist (It’s Kind of a Funny Story), Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), Jake Gyllenhaal (Love and Other Drugs), Robert Hill (Down Terrace), Robin Hill (Down Terrace), Shair Kabaha (Ajami)Louis-Do de Lencquesaing (The Father of My Children), Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Tahar Rahim (A Prophet), John C. Reilly (Cyrus), Dax Shepard (The Freebie), Jamey Sheridan (Handsome Harry), Kevin Spacey (Casino Jack), Ben Stiller (Greenberg), Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter)

Runners-up:
COLIN FIRTH (The King’s Speech)
AARON ECKHART (Rabbit Hole)
CIARIN HINDS (The Eclipse)
DOMINIC CHIANESE (The Last New Yorker)
ROMAIN DURIS (Heartbreaker)

The winner:
Edward Norton (Leaves of Grass) played identical twins so different from one another that it was hard to see a resemblance, energetically embodying a Southern drug dealer and his more subdued, philosophical professor brother.

Other nominees:
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) dominated a film full of strong actors with his distinct, committed, and complex portrait of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. James Franco (127 Hours) carried an entire film with his youthful energy and free spirit in the midst of an impossible situation. Javier Bardem (Biutiful) compellingly portrayed a good man trying to reconcile the state of his life and the terrible nature of his actions. Lambert Wilson (Of Gods and Men) was remarkably subtle in his realization of a forward-thinking monk determined not to let himself or his community be influenced by violence.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 3rd Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them and drawn from a pool of approximately 92 films. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order):
Sharlto Copley (District 9), Matt Damon (The Informant!), Daniel Day-Lewis (Nine), Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer), Tom Hardy (Bronson), Tom Hollander (In the Loop), Woody Harrelson (Zombieland), Viggo Mortensen (The Road), Clive Owen (Duplicity), Chris Pine (Star Trek), Brad Pitt (Inglorious Basterds), Sam Worthington (Avatar)

Runners-up:
JEFF BRIDGES (Crazy Heart)
LLUIS HOMAR (Broken Embraces)
MICHAEL STUHLBARG (A Serious Man)
JOHN KRASINSKI (Away We Go)
BEN FOSTER (The Messenger)

The winner:
Colin Firth (A Single Man) delivered a performance unlike anything he has ever done before – a tragic, heart-wrenching portrait of a man torn apart and struggling to piece himself back together.

Other nominees:
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) was incredibly real as he stared death in the eyes and didn’t blink fearless soldier absolutely able to come through in the most terrifying and deadly of circumstances. Hal Holbrook (That Evening Sun) didn’t let anyone push him around as an aging farmer, and proved that, at 84, he can still turn in a magnificent performance. George Clooney (Up in the Air) used his everyman charm to play someone who delivers bad news for a living, and demonstrated how a character can change through the people he meets in his life. Morgan Freeman (Invictus) channeled the spiritual of a political leader and captured his generosity and vision brilliantly.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 2nd Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them.

Runners-up:
FRANK LANGELLA, FROST/NIXON
SASSON GABAI, THE BAND’S VISIT
LEONARDO DICAPRIO, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
KARL MARKOVICS, THE COUNTERFEITERS
JASON SEGEL, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL

The winner:
Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) was the most likeable, awesome superhero in years, completely funny and legitimate at the same time, and he carried his film.

Other nominees:
Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino) was gruff and grunted at every possible turn, but it’s a deeply committed performance that is both humorous and respectable, sympathetic despite his intense racism and intolerance. Sam Rockwell (Choke) finally found a role that suits his particular talents and allows him to ooze arrogance and sleaziness while still charming every woman he meets, also keeping the film’s overly sexual nature in check. Sean Penn (Milk) was a kind-hearted unifier who helped to really capture the spirit of the movement and the time. Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) was a great comeback story, showcasing a broken character desperately seeking to return to his realm, showing off his best dramatic (fights) and comic (deli counter) skills.

AFT Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

This is the first category of the 1st Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are listed in alphabetical order by film title. Winners will be announced in late February.

Runners-up:
JAMES MCAVOY, STARTER FOR 10
EMILE HIRSCH, INTO THE WILD
VIGGO MORTENSEN, EASTERN PROMISES
CASEY AFFLECK, GONE BABY GONE
JEMAINE CLEMENT, EAGLE VS. SHARK

The nominees:
MADS MIKKELSEN, AFTER THE WEDDING
As the kind-hearted and earnest Jacob, Mikkelsen delivers a wondrously quiet performance in which he, along with the rest of the superb cast, conveys so much with just a look. There is one scene near the beginning of the film that sums up Mikkelsen’s performance superbly, but he remains consistently excellent throughout the film. Who knew that the villain from “Casino Royale” could be such a heartbreakingly nice guy?

BRAD PITT, THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
Casey Affleck has deservedly earned raves for his performance as Robert Ford in this film, but Pitt’s name has been all but absent from most awards groups. The actor usually known for his cocky and loud lead characters brings to life another quiet character with much more success than in last year’s “Babel”. Jesse James is such a classic character, and Pitt portrays him stunningly while still leaving him as such a mystery. The scene to watch him in particularly is the train robbery near the start of the film.

TOMMY LEE JONES, IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH
Jones is a seasoned actor who has more than held his own in a vast number of films over the past twenty-plus years. Yet he is sharp as ever in Paul Haggis’ underrated and completely forgotten early fall release. Anyone who sees the film will see why Jones came back with a surprise Oscar nomination for his work here. Jones does not overplay the role of the grieving yet meticulously perceptive father, and the results are wondrously effective.

ULRICH MUHE, THE LIVES OF OTHERS
It is truly sad that the terrific Muhe passed away this past summer, but it is some consolation that this role was one of his last. Muhe manages the near-impossible: his character is at the beginning so terrifying and vile yet he makes his German interrogator a sympathetic character by the middle of the film. I cannot say much more without giving the plot away, but Muhe’s performance is one that should be remembered for a long time.

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Many have written that Day-Lewis giving a great performance is no surprise. The actor has made less than twenty films in the past twenty-five years, so any time he appears on screen is bound to be fascinating. As an oil tycoon whose greed and lust for power engulfs his entire being, Day-Lewis fully inhabits the role more than I think I have ever seen an actor do (save for maybe Marion Cotillard in this year’s “La Vie en Rose”, but wait until the next category for that one. That one clip that keeps getting played over and over at the awards shows with Paul Dano’s character trying to “drive out the devil” in Daniel says it all.