Six out of the last ten best actor winners at the Oscars received recognition for performances based on real people. So did half of the last ten best actress winners. Why?
The most obvious explanation would be that the performance is measurable against a very visible model, namely the person in real life. The costume and makeup departments also play significant roles here — much more than usual, I would argue — because their work is judged long before the release of the film, in the press photos.
Then, when the trailer is released, a wide audience can assess the accuracy of the accent. Often, an actor or actress of the same nationality will be chosen, though Meryl Streep will appear as the veddy British Margaret Thatcher in the upcoming The Iron Lady, and there is next to no doubt she will receive the Oscar for her performance from last year’s best actor winner, Colin Firth, at the annual ceremony in Los Angeles Feb. 26.
Besides the accent, there are many other aspects that can make an interpretation of a real-life individual truly great in the eyes of the viewer, such as the correct gestures (think Sean Penn as Harvey Milk in Milk), the forcefulness of the performance as playing against type (Charlize Theron as a lesbian and a serial killer in Monster), or the sturdiness of the screenplay (Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland).
I predict Meryl Streep will finally win her third Oscar — the first in thirty years.
Oscars 2001–2010
Best Actor
2002: Adrien Brody in The Pianist
2004: Jamie Foxx as Ray
2005: Philip Seymour Hoffman as Capote
2006: Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland
2008: Sean Penn in Milk
2010: Colin Firth in The King’s Speech
Best Actress
2003: Charlize Theron in Monster
2005: Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line
2006: Helen Mirren as The Queen
2007: Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose
2009: Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
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