Personally, I thought his performance was extremely mediocre. His accent alone should disqualify him.
All he really did was gasp occasionally and do the googly-eye thing into the camera when he was flipping out.
I thought Sean Astin did a better job, but still, it wasn’t that finely crafted a performance – but still not award worthy.
I will concede the accent, and agree that there were lapses of fantastic acting. However, the sweeping emotions from weariness to distrust to rage to succumbing to temptation were, IMHO and MHO only, quite well done. The batting away at nothing through Mordor and the despair at forgetting the taste of food were two examples of bringing the character to life for me.
I will agree to disgree, however, and admit that I am probably biased both by the actor and my intense current connection to the literature.
I apologize for any hostility I may have exuded unknowingly.
Nasty, fat hobbitses. They stole it from us.
Stole it they did.
But, we WILL have our precious* again.
WHEN THEY’RE DEAD!
*Oscar nomination 
Well, your call – I tend to think you’re a little blinded by your fandom. “You have my bow” – the sig line – the address.
I’m just sayin’ …
But the thing is, I did not see the “sweeping emotions” from him. In fact at one point I was saying to myself, “The dude was just being carried because he was starving and exhausted, and now he’s jogging up Mt. Doom like he’s in a sneaker commercial.” I didn’t get the pathos from him.
But the role itself is just not designed for it. The movie itself, I’m afraid to say, is not an “actor’s film.” It is an epic, with extremely impressive scope and effect, I concede. And I would put it in the running for Best Film … but it’s not the performances that make it so.
[Sam]He means to murder us![/Sam]
Terribly sorry. Couldn’t resist.
In all seriousness, it would be nice to see Pirates get some acting nomination, as the actors were quite good, considering the levity of the film. Some would play it off, but these folks put their hearts into it.
That’d be Skeet Ulrich.
Yeah, I think Wood’s a good actor, but I highly doubt he even gets nominated for ROTK. And I think his Frodo was good; however, the problem here is that PJ’s Frodo isn’t that sympathetic a character. Yeah, you pull for him, but do you like him? Do you really feel anything much about him? Other than sometimes he’s a bit of a whiner? Not really - you like Sam, you admire Merry and Pippen, but Frodo’s a “meh.” Thing is, I don’t think the character’s interesting enough for Wood to get a nod, regardless of how well he acted in the roll.
But Depp - wow. I’d sell my fingers to give the award to Depp. He was amazing. And I’d hate for the Academy to overlook that performance because it was “a genre movie.” But then, I’ve long stopped looking to the Academy for any sort of definition on good movies or good acting. It’d still be a shame if they don’t recognize it, anyway.
Snicks
I agree that genre pics such as PotC are usually overlooked when it comes to Oscar nominations, which is when Hollywood takes itself seriously. Comedies do especially badly, as a result. (Yeah, I know about Tootsie, but it was really a serious drama with a message, that happened to have a good share of funny moments too.)
But for some undefinable reason, I think Depp has a good shot at a nomination here. If the nomination is for Supporting Actor, he’s got a plausible shot at the Oscar. If it’s for Best Actor, no way.
Aside: anyone seen Chocolat? I saw it on video, right after seeing PotC in the theatre.
Well, according to Chris Rock, Depp is the rich man’s Skeet Ulrich.
I would love for Depp to receive a nomination in recognition of his fabulous Jack Sparrow. He had the look, the talk, the mannerisms - he was Captain Jack! 
As far as Wood goes, I would be surprised to see him nominated and flabbergasted to see him win. There just wasn’t enough Frodo-ness in ROTK. I think you need to speak more in a film than that to win an Oscar. I felt he just stumbled around a lot doing his googly-eye thing.
In fact, I felt there was an odd absence of speaking in ROTK. Anybody else? Did Legolas only have 3 lines? <horses getting agitated and snorting a lot> Legolas: “The horses are restless.” That’s the only line of his (after one viewing) that I can remember! 
Depp’s Sparrow was just Hunter Thompson with eye makeup, and half of his screen time was spent mugging an embarrassed grimace–perhaps realizing that his role was more of a monkey than the CGI character named after him.
He only looked good because Bloom is as hopelessly wooden as Keanu Reeves, and Geoffrey Rush didn’t get to do much except say “Arr!”
Give it to Bill Murray. He wasn’t immersive, but he was subtle and perfect for the film (Lost in Translation). And he deserves credit for the valiant efforts he’s flubbed in the past.
Yeah it’s the comedy aspect that hurts Depp’s chances. You can still win for a comic book role - take Denzel Washington in Training Day, but not a comedy.
Way back when Craig Kilborn hosted The Daily Show and Skeet was just starting to get famous, Craig had a great line:
“Skeet Ulrich, Johnny Depp called. He wants his DNA back.”
Having seen the three performances thus far named (Woods, Depp, and Murray), I think that the only “great acting” job was Murray’s. The other two were studies in characterization, but the emotions and personalities were all written in. Murray created a character out of whole cloth and conveyed a subtle shifting emotional life with small gestures and moments. You felt you knew exactly who this guy was, whereas Frodo and Jack Sparrow were devices for the plot.
E.G.: “It’s time to have Frodo and Sam get separated. Elijah, look like you’re crazed with jealousy. It’s the same look as when you were crazed by fear or crazed by the Ring.”
There were all great movies, however. And Depp and Woods did very good jobs of what the movie required of them.
But Lost in Translation simply does not exist without the excellent performances of Scarlett Johansson and Murray. It was an actor’s movie in the same way that My Dinner with Andre was. (Although I should note that the Oscars completely overlooked that movie, so it has no predictive significance.)
Depp will probably get a nom. He carried PotC.
My guess is that Penn will win, though. He’s overdue for an Oscar and there’s no obvious competition for him this year.
I also think that Sean Astin deserves a Supporting Actor Oscar way before Elijah Woods does.
My thoughts: Johnny Depp did an amazing incredible acting job in POTC, no matter what kind of film it was, and he should be recognized for it!! Do I think for a minute that he will be recognized by Academy for this - no.
Also - I think Elijah did a fine job, as did all the acting ensemble of ROTK. I’m really looking forward to seeing “Lost in Translation” - my only comment now is that the role was written especially for Bill Murray and maybe that should be considered when comparing his acting with others.
I would agree with everyone who says comedies don’t win Oscars, but didn’t Kevin Kline win for A Fish Called Wanda? So it CAN happen. I hope Depp is at least nominated (for Best Actor, because if he wasn’ the lead in PotC, when who was? Orlando Bloom? Nonsense!).
I agree with those who don’t think Elijah Wood (no “S”) is not of Oscar caliber. However, I definitely think Sean Astin at least deserves a nomination.
Bill Murray most definitely deserves a nomination, if not a win. He’s overdue. I haven’t seen Mystic River yet, so I can’t speak on the relative merits of Sean Penn, but do respect him as an actor. A good field for actors this year.
Yes, as well as Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny, which is a very good, very effective comedic performance. It’s such a rare thing, though, and the other nominees were such highly regarded performers in serious roles (Vanessa Redgrave was the odds-on fave, plus Miranda Richardson, Judy Davis, and Joan Plowright), that a stupid legend has sprung up around Tomei’s win to the effect that the presenter (Jack Palance, I think) somehow announced the wrong name. Tomei, in my opinion, is an underrated talent whose career has never really recovered from the stigma of this “undeserved” win, which is completely unfair; she’s great in Vinny.
So yes, it happens, but infrequently enough that there’s sometimes fallout. (Kline already had a career, so he didn’t suffer the same ignominious fate. The same would happen to Depp in the unlikely event he wins.)
(Er, “the same” meaning “the same lack of effect as Kline,” not “the same negative impact as Tomei.”)
OT:
Is there a lot of Oscar buzz for Wood? Why no Golden Globe Nods?
There’s a part of me who thinks Depp deserves some Academy recognition.
Then there’s a part of me that likes to see guys as short as I am succeed in the bizz.