At 1:20pm UK time, the 2019 Oscars nominations will be announced and it almost goes without saying that Bohemian Rhapsody’s Freddie Mercury star Rami Malek will be nominated alongside Vice’s Dick Cheney actor Christian Bale. Meanwhile, A Star Is Born’s Bradley Cooper and a couple of others like Willem Dafoe and Viggo Mortensen are also likely to make the category. But really film fans closely watching this awards season know it’s a two horse race between Malek and Bale. But who will win?
But when it comes to their Best Actor Oscars odds, they’re neck-and-neck.
Previously Malek was storming ahead and was odds on to win with Coral bookmakers, but now both he and Bale are 5-4 to win, while Bradley Cooper is just behind on 5-1.
Malek does have a slight advantage overall though since he won the Best Drama Actor Golden Globe and every winner of that gong since 2013 has gone on to win the Oscar.
Meanwhile, both he and Bale have the favour of having played historical figures.
The Academy has a trend of favouring actors who play real people, with Gary Oldman winning for Winston Churchill last year.
Other examples are Helen Mirren’s The Queen, Colin Firth’s King George VII, Daniel Day-Lewis’ Lincoln and Meryl Streep’s Margaret Thatcher.
When it comes down to it though, our money’s on Malek taking the Oscar as Mercury has a hero narrative behind him as Queen singer and a gay icon.
While Cheney’s depiction is that of a villain. After all, Bale controversially thanked Satan for inspiration in playing the former US Vice President in Vice.
The 2019 Academy Awards take place on February 25 in Hollywood.