Celebrating an Extraordinary Year for Actors

As I mentioned in my review of the top twelve films of 2013, I cannot recall a year with so many male acting performances that deserve an Academy Award. I therefore thought it was worth giving them special note on our blog. So here, in alphabetical order, are seventeen actors who delivered outstanding performances in 2013 (as to which official nominees I think should win, I would go for Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, both for Dallas Buyers Club; note that my favourite female performances were all nominated and there I would vote for Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine and Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle):

Christian Bale (American Hustle)

Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)

Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street & The Great Gatsby)

Chiwotel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)

Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)

Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)

Ryan Gosling (The Place Beyond the Pines)

Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners)

Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips & Saving Mr. Banks)

Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis)

Hugh Jackman (Prisoners)

Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club & Mud & The Wolf of Wall Street)

Joaquin Phoenix (Her)

Robert Redford (All is Lost & The Company You Keep)

Ali Suliman (The Attack)