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![](\"http://media.entertainment.sky.com/image/unscaled/2009/1/9/moet-chandon-2.jpg\")
<\/p>","url":"2008/7/18/the-dark-knight-15-3.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"The Dark Knight"},{"captionHeading":"Josh Brolin - Milk","caption":"It's no joke that Ledger's career ended tragically early but holy nemeses, did he ever go out with a bang! It takes a special talent to make a comic-book villain convincing let alone terrifying, and Ledger's Joker was both. Should he win the first posthumous Oscar in over 30 years, sentiment would have nothing to do with it.\r\n
\r\n<\/p>","url":"2008/7/18/the-dark-knight-15-3.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"The Dark Knight"},{"captionHeading":"Josh Brolin - Milk","caption":"
He's been around for a while but Barbra Streisand's son-in-law caps a two-year hot streak (No Country For Old Men, Planet Terror, American Gangster, W) with an excellently edgy performance as Dan White, the San Francisco politician who made a gay martyr of Harvey Milk (played by Best Actor nominee Sean Penn).\r\n
<\/p>","url":"2008/12/4/Milk-02-4.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Milk 02"},{"captionHeading":"Robert Downey Jr - Tropic Thunder","caption":"
If they're handing out awards for political incorrectness, RDJ has it nailed as the Method actor who takes his role as a black soldier in a Vietnam war epic a bit too seriously. Wonder if Russell Crowe will feature in his acceptance speech?<\/p>","url":"2008/9/11/Tropic-Thunder-04-1.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Tropic Thunder 04"},{"captionHeading":"Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt","caption":"
Anointed Best Actor for Capote and nominated in this category for Charlie Wilson's War, only a fool would bet against Hoffman making it two wins in three years for his role as a Catholic priest accused of child molestation by Meryl Streep's nun. He's certainly not in this job to be liked.<\/p>","url":"2008/12/5/Doubt-21-4.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Doubt 21"},{"captionHeading":"Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road","caption":"
Many were surprised when Shannon emerged as the only acting nominee from Sam Mendes' much-lauded drama. But they shouldn't be, because he stealing every scene he's in. You may recognise the face from World Trade Center and Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, but remember the name. Oscar or no Oscar, you'll be hearing a lot more of it.<\/p>","url":"2009/1/22/Revolutionary-Road-18-4.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Revolutionary Road 18"},{"captionHeading":"WINNER - Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona","caption":"
Cruz was first Oscar nominated as Best Actress for Volver, and wholly deserves the nod here for a firecracker performance that injects a zing of adrenalin into Woody Allen's cosy Spanish romcom.<\/p>","url":"2008/12/4/Vicky-Christina-Barcelona-3.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Vicky Christina Barcelona"},{"captionHeading":"Amy Adams - Doubt","caption":"
Amy Adams' second Best Supporting Actress nomination, following 2005's Junebug, is for her portrayal of a conflicted nun whose faith in human nature is rocked to its foundations. All of which is a long way from her star making role in Enchanted...<\/p>","url":"2008/12/5/Doubt-10-4.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Doubt 10"},{"captionHeading":"Viola Davis - Doubt","caption":"
After working consistently in TV and films for over a decade, Viola Davis' time has come. Her performance in Doubt is a case of \"forget the length, feel the width\". She may only occupy a short amount of screen time, but the stoicism and controlled grief with which she imbues her performance more than earns her a place on this list.<\/p>","url":"2008/12/5/Doubt-18-4.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"Doubt 18"},{"captionHeading":"Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button","caption":"
As the kind-hearted woman who takes in the abandoned baby Button, accepting his reverse aging as one of life's wonderful mysteries, Henson is in many ways the movie's big heart.<\/p>","url":"2009/1/13/The-Curious-Case-of-Benjamin-Button-5.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"},{"captionHeading":"Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler","caption":"
Marisa Tomei won her first Best Supporting Actress Oscar back in 1993 for My Cousin Vinny, and has since endured rumours that her name was announced incorrectly. Not as well remembered is her second Best Supporting Actress nomination in 2002's In the Bedroom, which should have revitalised her career. But, as an over-the-hill stripper in The Wrestler she gives her finest performance to date and a win would layeth the smacketh down on all those rumours.<\/p>","url":"2008/12/9/The-Wrestler-07-4.jpg","width":570,"height":364,"alt":"The Wrestler 07"}];