Oscars 2024: What to know about the 5 best actor nominees
A deep dive into the five nominees for best actor at the 2024 Oscars.
The 2024 Oscars are almost here, and we're taking a deeper look at the nominees ahead of Hollywood's biggest night.
Bradley Cooper, Colman Domingo, Paul Giamatti, Cillian Murphy and Jeffrey Wright are battling it out for best actor at the 96th Academy Awards, all vying for their first win in the category.
Domingo, Murphy and Wright are first-time Oscar nominees, while Cooper and Giamatti have received past Oscar nominations.
The distinguished group of nominees portrayed a breadth of diverse characters for their nominated performances, from real-life figures who changed the course of history to fictional characters who won our hearts.
Read more about each best actor nominee below before the 2024 Oscars on March 10.
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper is nominated for three Oscars this year for "Maestro," including his best actor nomination for his portrayal of Leonard Bernstein in the biopic.
Cooper, who directed, co-wrote and co-produced the film, is also up for best original screenplay and best picture.
"We are all so grateful to be recognized alongside all of these incredible works of art this year. And the performances from every actor who I so admire," Cooper said in a statement when the nomination was announced.
Speaking to "Good Morning America" at the 2024 Oscars luncheon on Feb. 12, Cooper shared more about his experience acting alongside Carey Mulligan, who played Bernstein's wife Felicia Montealegre in the film.
"Working with her impacted me as an actor because she's incredible … that impacted me in every single way to where you just realize, yeah don't do anything, just listen," he said.
Cooper was already nominated this awards season for best director and best actor at the 2024 Golden Globes, as well as leading actor, original screenplay and director at the 2024 BAFTAs.
Along with his Oscar nominations, Cooper is also up for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role at 2024 SAG Awards.
In his review of the film, critic Peter Travers called Cooper's portrayal of Bernstein a "heart-full-to-bursting tour de force" performance that "will be talked about for years."
Cooper has received a total of 12 Oscar nominations throughout his career, including three previous nominations for best actor. He earned his first best actor nomination for 2012's "Silver Linings Playbook," his second for 2014's "American Sniper" and his third for 2018's "A Star is Born."
Colman Domingo
Colman Domingo scored his first Oscar nomination this year for his portrayal of gay Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin in George C. Wolfe's "Rustin."
When Oscar nominations were announced in January, Domingo reacted to landing his first nod in an interview with ABC News, sharing, "I'm overwhelmed in the most extraordinary way."
Oscars 2024: Colman Domingo reacts to 1st Oscar nomination
He has already received several other nominations for his performance, including leading actor at the 2024 BAFTAs and best performance by a male actor in a motion picture (drama) at the 2024 Golden Globes.
He is nominated for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role at the 2024 SAG Awards and is up for several awards at the 2024 NAACP Image Awards, including entertainer of the year, outstanding actor in a motion picture for "Rustin" and outstanding supporting actor in a motion picture for "The Color Purple."
Travers praised Domingo's performance in "Rustin" as one showcasing "enthralling empathy" and bringing the real-life historical icon's "unquenchable fire to life for a new generation" in his review.
Domingo has also earned praise this awards season for his aforementioned role as Mister in the movie musical adaptation of "The Color Purple."
Paul Giamatti
Paul Giamatti is nominated for his role in Alexander Payne's "The Holdovers" as Paul Hunham, a grumpy professor at a boarding school he attended as a boy.
He is a previous Oscar nominee, having received a best supporting actor nod for 2005's "Cinderella Man."
This awards season, Giamatti has won a Golden Globe for best performance by a male actor in a motion picture (musical or comedy) and National Board of Review Award for best actor for "The Holdovers." He was nominated in the best actor in a leading role category at the 2024 BAFTAs and is also nominated for a SAG Award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role.
In his review for "The Holdovers," Travers credited Giamatti for playing his part "to absolute perfection" and called the role a "career-crowning performance" for the actor.
Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy snagged his first Oscar nomination this year for portraying J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, in Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer."
The film was one-half of the box office juggernaut known as "Barbenheimer," combining the titles "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," as the films shared the same release date.
Speaking with ABC Audio ahead of the film's premiere, Murphy said "Oppenheimer" is "not your conventional biopic."
"It does make you think," he said. "And people can choose to think about the nuclear age that we live in, or they could choose not to. And I think this film might affect that choice."
So far this awards season, Murphy has won a Golden Globe for best performance by a male actor in a motion picture (drama) and the best actor in a leading role trophy the 2024 BAFTAs.
He is also nominated for a SAG Award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role.
Travers, in his review of "Oppenheimer," called Murphy's performance "flawless in every detail."
Jeffrey Wright
Jeffrey Wright is nominated for his first Oscar for playing Thelonious "Monk" Ellison in "American Fiction," a fed-up author who finds success by leaning into Black stereotypes in his new book, all while dealing with family issues at home.
This awards season, Wright has been nominated for a Golden Globe for best performance by a male actor in a motion picture (musical or comedy) and is nominated for a SAG Award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role, as well as an NAACP Image Award for outstanding actor in a motion picture.
Wright told "Good Morning America" he was "hooked" on the film, which was written and directed by Cord Jefferson, from the very first scene, and shared his thoughts on why the film resonated with audiences.
"We're having these conversations which may be difficult at times, but we're doing it with a good deal of fun," he explained, adding that "we're throwing darts at everyone -- including ourselves."
Jeffrey Wright talks new film, 'American Fiction'
"I think it's bringing people into the film and into these conversations, but doing it with humor and also doing it through a story about a family that puts the 'fun' in 'dysfunction,'" Wright continued. "That family looks like anybody's family, so it's welcoming in that way for audiences. You come in and you can find yourself somewhere in this film in a way that, in a pretty divisive time, is bringing people together -- at least in the theater."
Read Travers' review of "American Fiction" -- in which he gives Wright kudos for his work -- here.
The 2024 Oscars will take place at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) on March 10, airing live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
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