OSCARS : Best Actor

In a change of pace role, Banderas plays a cosmetic surgeon who wreaks revenge on the man responsible for the death of his daughter. While writer-director Pedro Almodovar has a rich history withe Oscars, only one of his performers -- Penelope Cruz ("Volver, 2006) -- has ever contended for an acting award. 

Baseball movies don't have the strongest history at the Oscars, but in recent years Brad Pitt has become a greater force at the Oscars. He was nominated for "Twelve Monkeys" in 1995 and in the last five years he has been nominated for Best Actor ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") and starred in three Best Picture nominees ("Benjamin Button," "Babel," and "Inglourious Basterds"). "Moneyball" was released in September to some of the year's strongest reviews, with many critics singling out the excellence of Pitt's performance as a baseball manager struggling to keep his cash-strapped team afloat.

Craig has been acting in film for almost fifteen years, though the only major Oscar contenders he's appeared in have been "Elizabeth" (1998) and "Munich" (2005). He appeared in the acclaimed dramas "Enduring Love" and "Infamous," but he's best known for his work as the current James Bond, a role that earned him a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor for "Casino Royale." This year he plays the lead in Fincher's "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," but most of the attention for the film has gone to Rooney Mara for playing the title character.

Bechir, a well-known actor in his native Mexico, is showcased in this small film from Chris Weitz. Critics lauded his performance as a gardener in L.A. trying to protect his son from gangs and immigration agents.

While most of the attention has been on Michelle Williams and her vivid portrayal of Marilyn Monroe, Redmayne delivers a low-key performance as the young production assistant who accompanies the AAmerican movie star during her first days in London for filming of "The Prince and the Showgirl." Redmayne won the Featured Actor Tony in 2010 for a similar type of role -- the assistant to abstract painter Mark Rothko in "Red." 

Oldman is a veteran British actor who has given acclaimed performances in films like "Sid and Nancy" (1986), "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead" (1990), and "The Contender" (2000), as well as the blockbuster "Batman" and "Harry Potter" franchises. He also wrote and directed "Nil By Mouth" (1997), but despite his impressive credits, he has never been nominated for an Oscar, and many consider him due. His film, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," is based on a novel by John le Carre and directed by Tomas Alfredson ("Let the Right One In").

"The Descendants" was popular among critics on the film festival circuit, including the Toronto Film Festival, where George Clooney earned raves for his performance. "Descendants" director Alexander Payne has previously directed four actors to Oscar nominations: Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates ("About Schmidt"), and Thomas Haden Church and Virginia Madsen ("Sideways"). This would be Clooney's fourth acting bid, after lead acting nominations for "Michael Clayton" and "Up in the Air" and a Best Supporting Actor win for "Syriana."

Dujardin is a relative unknown to American audiences, but his performance as a fading star at the end of Hollywood's silent era earned rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival, where the actor was rewarded with the Best Actor prize. The film was acquired by the Weinstein Company, which just last year earned Best Picture and Best Actor honors for "The King's Speech." The film will be released in the US in November.

The film is leading the Best Picture race and helmer Steven Spielberg is a favorite for Best Director. This newcomer, who edged out Eddie Redmayne for the role of the teenage boy who enlists in the British cavalry to find his beloved steed who has been shipped to wartorn France, could contend.  

Gordon-Levitt got his start on the NBC sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun," and since then he has earned raves for his performances in independent films including "Mysterious Skin," "Brick," "The Lookout," and "(500) Days of Summer." Broad comedy doesn't usually succeed at the Oscars, but actors playing disease-sufferers often do, and "50/50's" emotional gravitas (Gordon-Levitt's character doesn't know if he'll live or die) combined with the actor's rising profile in Hollywood could help him break through.

"J. Edgar" was withheld from critics and audiences before its release, and now having widely screened the film received fairly mixed reviews. Nevertheless Clint Eastwood has an excellent Oscar track record. He won two Oscars apiece for "Unforgiven" (Picture and Director) and "Million Dollar Baby" (Picture and Director) and has directed five actors to Oscar wins: Gene Hackman ("Unforgiven"), Sean Penn and Tim Robbins ("Mystic River"), and Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman ("Million Dollar Baby"). Historical biopics are often well-received by Oscar voters; Eastwood's last foray into the genre, "Invictus," earned acting nominations for Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. This would be DiCaprio's fourth acting nomination, following "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," "The Aviator," and "Blood Diamond."

Damon is an Oscar winner for co-writing with Ben Affleck the screenplay for "Good Will Hunting." That film earned Damon a Best Actor bid. He contended in 2009 for the supporting prize for his performance in Clint Eastwood's "Invictus." 

Fassbender has come to prominence in recent years in the acclaimed indie dramas "Hunger" and "Fish Tank," as well as supporting roles in Hollywood hits "300" and "Inglourious Basterds," but 2011 has been his breakthrough year. In addition to his roles in "Jane Eyre," "X-Men: First Class," and "Shame," he also appears in "A Dangerous Method," in which he plays famed psychologist Carl Jung. Oscar voters love actors playing real people, and the director, David Cronenberg, has recently earned acting nominations for William Hurt ("A History of Violence") and Viggo Mortensen ("Eastern Promises").

Fassbender has come to prominence in recent years in the acclaimed indie dramas "Hunger" and "Fish Tank," as well as supporting roles in Hollywood hits "300" and "Inglourious Basterds," but 2011 has been his breakthrough year. He starred in "Jane Eyre" opposite Mia Wasikowska, played a younger Magneto in "X-Men: First Class," and in "Shame" he has received rave reviews for his unflincing performance as a sex addict. The film is at risk of receiving an NC-17 rating, which could hurt it commercially and at the Oscars. Will Oscar voters be willing nominate, or even watch, such a frank, explicit film?

With one Oscar nomination under his belt already for his supporting turn in "Revolutionary Road" (2008), critics have taken note of this unforgettable lead performance. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter said, "With his sad-eyed intensity and a towering physicality almost like that of Frankenstein's monster, there's possibly no more mesmerizing American actor working in any medium today than Michael Shannon. His talents are put to exceptional use in writer-director Jeff Nichols' devastating 'Take Shelter.'" And New York Times critic A.O. Scott called Shannon "amazing" and said, "his taciturn, haunted performance manages to be both heartbreaking and terrifying."

Woody Allen has a rich history of directing performers to Oscar nominations. However, most of these tend to be in the supporting categories. With "Midnight in Paris" a strong possibility for a Best Picture nod and with Allen in contention for both directing and writing, Wilson could be carried along. 

The 2006 Supporting Actor nominee for "Cinderella Man" shines in a rare leading role as an attorney moonlighting as a high school wrestling coach who discovers and nurtures a talented newcomer. Writer/director Tom McCarthy's last film, "The Visitor," also had a low-key spring release but Richard Jenkins, a respected character actor, reaped a 2007 Best Actor bid; he lost to Sean Penn ("Milk").

Fiennes, a two-time acting nominee ("Schindler's List, 1993"; "The English Patient," 1996) makes his directorial debut with this modern day version of the Shakespearean historical drama. He also stars as the title character who seeks revenge on those who drove him out of Rome. Fiennes won a Tony in 1995 for his performance in "Hamlet." Laurence Olivier directed himself to an Oscar in 1948 for playing that same part in that year's Best Picture winner. 

For the second of his two horses in this year's derby, Gosling earned rave reviews as a man driven to desperate measures to protect the woman he loves and her son when they are threatened by gangsters. Nicolas Refn won Best Director at the Cannes film festival. 

Gosling is widely considered one of the best actors of his generation. At age 30, he already has one Oscar nomination under his belt (for "Half Nelson"), some mainstream hits (including "The Notebook" and "Crazy Stupid Love"), and several more acclaimed performances ("Lars and the Real Girl," "Blue Valentine," "The Believer"). In "The Ides of March," he's directed by George Clooney, who previously directed David Strathairn to a Best Actor nod in "Good Night and Good Luck." But Oscar voters have a history of voting against young Hollywood heartthrobs, which might work against him this year.

Stephen Daldry has directed only three films. The first, "Billy Elliot," earned Julie Walters a supporting actress nomination in 2000. The leading ladies of his second and third films -- Nicole Kidman ("The Hours," 2002) and Kate Winslet ("The Reader," 2008) -- both won Best Actress. Horn would be the youngest lead actor nominee since Jackie Cooper contended for "Skippy" in 1931 at the age of nine. 

Since his Emmy-winning work on TV's "Cheers," Harrelson has developed a career as a respected dramatic actor in film. He earned his first Oscar nomination as the title character in "The People vs. Larry Flynt" (1996) and was nominated again two years ago for Best Supporting Actor in "The Messenger." His latest film, "Rampart," reunites him with his "Messenger" director, Oren Moverman. The film was recently acquired by Millennium Entertainment after screening at the Toronto Film Festival.