# SDMB Oscar Voting: Best Actor **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 25, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-oscar-voting-best-actor/682257 "2014-02-25T21:44:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-oscar-voting-best-actor/682257/1 "2014-02-25T21:44:59Z")
If you were an Academy member, who would get your vote? ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-oscar-voting-best-actor/682257/2 "2014-02-25T22:30:40Z")
McConaughey was outstanding. What a role, and what a performance. Unfortunately, all I have to compare it to is Dern and Bale, since I haven’t seen _12 Years a Slave_ or _Wolf of Wall Street_. I wanted to, I meant to try, but I have rehearsals going on and my nights aren’t free and so on and so forth … I thought Dern was great in _Nebraska_ (and I also think Will Forte deserves more recognition than he’s getting). I didn’t really care for Bale much in _American Hustle_, although I appreciate the work he did and the character he created, it didn’t really knock me out. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-oscar-voting-best-actor/682257/3 "2014-02-25T22:39:48Z")
Caveat: I did not see _Wolf of Wall Street_. Up until this weekend I would have given my vote to Dern, most likely. I thought Ejiofor was fairly inaccessible in his role. Bale was good - as always - but Dern’s performance had real pathos. It was a very moving and convincing performance. I’m still a little surprised when I see Dern in interviews and he’s not as clouded as his character in _Nebraska_. But then this weekend I saw _Dallas Buyers Club_ - which I wasn’t sure I would like - and I was really impressed with McConaughey. He killed it in that role, really transformed himself. So he gets my vote. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-oscar-voting-best-actor/682257/4 "2014-03-02T20:50:14Z")
Oscar Day bump ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-oscar-voting-best-actor/682257/5 "2014-03-03T00:27:46Z")
I almost hate to say McConaughey because on the surface it sounds like such an Oscar-baiting role. Fatal disease? Check. Physical transformation for the role? Check. Feels like my eyes should have been rolling. But they _weren’t_. Somehow he took a cliched sounding, awards-season type role and really killed in it. He’s who I’d vote for. I was actually disappointed by Bruce Dern’s performance, which struck me as too one-note and slightly off-key from the movie it was in.