Awards season is in full swing and with the
Oscar Nominations now out, the speculations
have begun!
Before you start making your predictions and
fighting with your friends about which actor
was better, let’s take a minute to get to
know some of the nominees a little better!
For this video we are taking a look at some
of the unknown facts about this seasons potential
award winners for our list of 10 Shocking
Secrets Of The Oscar Nominees!
Enjoy this video and be sure to subscribe
to Screen Rant for more great content, every
single day of the week!
Ryan Gosling – La La Land
Ryan Gosling seems to be on somewhat of a
hot streak after delivering back to back brilliant
performances in 2016’s The Nice Guys and
2016’s critical hit La La Land.
Gosling is nominated for the latter film and
it makes sense, as his portrayal of the jazz
musician was truly moving.
People already knew that the actor could sing
and dance from his childhood as a Mickey Mouse
club star but fans may not know about the
new skill Gosling picked up for the movie.
Instead of using CGI or a hand double, Ryan
Gosling actually trained himself to become
a very accomplished jazz pianist for the role.
Apparently, he became so good that co-star
John Legend was actually jealous of his natural
talent.
Comedy, music, drama, it really seems like
there is nothing that Ryan Gosling cannot
do!
Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea
For most of his career, Casey Affleck has
primarily been known as the younger brother
of A-list star Ben Affleck.
All of that changed in 2016 when Casey Affleck
delivered an absolutely incredible performance
in the heart wrenching drama Manchester By
The Sea.
His emotional role, opposite Michelle Williams,
has earned him the Oscar nomination for Best
Actor, which has thrust Casey into the public
spotlight more than ever before.
People know a lot about his Bostonian past
and his work with his wife’s family but
something people may not know about Casey
is that he is actually an enormous activist
for animal rights.
For years, the actor has been involved with
PETA and other organizations fighting the
good fight for animal rights.
Just like Leonardo Di Caprio, Casey Affleck’s
great work reaches far beyond the big screen.
Denzel Washington – Fences
Having already taken home two acting Academy
Awards, it is no surprise to see Denzel Washington
nominated yet again for his outstanding performance
in the 2016 drama, Fences.
The movie is great but if there is one knock
against it, it is that it seems almost too
theatrical.
It makes sense, then, to find out that this
film was actually originally a Broadway play
from 1987.
The play was then revived in 2010 and can
you guess who played the leading roles on
stage?
That’s right, Denzel Washington and Viola
Davis played the leading roles in the theatrical
version of Fences so it makes sense that after
seven years, and they’ve gotten pretty great
in the role.
Although Denzel failed to take home the Golden
Globe, we think that he could be a sneaky
pick to snag the Best Actor honors at the
Academy Awards.
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
2016’s Hacksaw Ridge puts Mel Gibson back
behind the camera and stars Andrew Garfield
as American army Medic Desmond T. Doss, a
real man who served during the Battle of Okinawa,
refuses to kill people, and became the first
American to receive the Medal Of Honor without
firing a single shot.
Any time an actor has to portray a real person,
it’s tough, but Garfield delivered a shockingly
deep and complete performance.
When the movie was premiering, the real life
son of Demond T. Doss was in the audience
and he has told reporters that he was moved
to tears by Garfield’s portrayal of his
heroic father.
If that’s not a measure of success, we don’t
know what is and we understand why Garfield
has received such high praise for his performance.
Natalie Portman – Jackie
Natalie Portman has been treating the world
to compelling performances for over two decades
now.
Her career took off when she starred in Leon:
The Professional as a twelve year old and
her latest role as the titular character in
the Jackie Kennedy Bio-pic proves just how
well rounded the Academy Award winning actress
really is.
As if all of this success isn’t enough,
fans should know that Natalie Portman is also
a graduate of Harvard University.
It’s pretty incredible to think that at
the same time she was starring the Star Wars
prequels, she was also working on a Psychology
degree from one of the most respect universities
in the world.
Portman never ceases to impress us and we
are excited to see what the actor from Jerusalem
will do next!
Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Damien Chazelle has become one of the most
promising young directors in Hollywood and
it is no surprise that he is nominated for
his amazing work on 2016’s La La Land.
Unsurprisingly, Chazelle has actually been
working on the film for over six years as
he first came up with the idea when he was
at Harvard in 2010.
The film is loosely based on his own struggles
to make it as an artist and when he first
tried to get the movie made, he was met with
serious restrictions and requests.
Chazelle decided to drop the project, as he
did not want to change it in the ways the
studios wanted.
Then, once his 2014 film, Whiplash, proved
to be a major success, the studios decided
to give him the green light to make La La
Land the way he wanted.
We have to give it to him for sticking to
his guts and making such a fantastic film!
Michelle Williams – Manchester By The Sea
At the age of 36, Michelle Williams has already
racked up a pretty impressive list of great
performances.
From Shutter Island, to My Week With Marilyn
to her incredibly deep performance in 2016’s
Manchester By The Sea, it’s truly hard to
believe how young the actress is.
What may be even harder to believe, though,
is that it took until this latest movie for
her to feel like she was actually a good actress.
Williams has told the public that after filming
scenes opposite Casey Affleck she felt like
she had turned in the first truly great days
of acting in her career.
We hope she is just being modest as Williams
has been nominated and awarded for a variety
of roles over the years.
Regardless of her own self confidence, we
can vouch that her performance in Manchester
By The Sea is not to be missed.
Viola Davis – Fences
Whether it is on her hit show How To Get Away
With Murder or her moving speech honoring
Meryl Streep, Viola Davis brings quality to
everything she does.
It’s no surprise then to see her nominated
for her amazing performance opposite Denzel
Washington in Fences.
What is surprising to some people, however,
is that her role is nominated for Best Supporting
Actress and not Best Actress.
Apparently, director and co-star Denzel Washington
disagrees with this placement but it turns
out that it was actually Viola’s decision
as she felt that it would give her a better
chance of winning if she campaigned her performance
in the supporting category.
Jeff Bridges – Hell Or High Water
Hell Or High Water is one of the most criminally
underappreciated films of 2016 as it is stuffed
full of great performances, storytelling and
cinematography.
The films stars Ben Foster and Chris Pine,
but the real stand out performance came from
Academy Award winning actors Jeff Bridges.
Bridges brings a certain mix of fun and gravitas
to every role he has ever done and that’s
definitely one of the reasons he has become
a bankable fan favorite.
But fans may not know just how talented Bridges
really is as the actor also has a pretty prominent
singing career as well and his songs could
easily pop up on any country music channel!
Emma Stone – La La Land
Emma Stone has really come a long way from
playing the quirky hot chick in movies like
Superbad and Easy A, to garnering multiple
Oscar nominations for her roles in Birdman
and La La Land.
Emma Stone is fantastic in 2016’s musical
hit La La Land and she does a great job of
keeping up with the extremely talented Ryan
Gosling.
While many of the big numbers were recorded
in post, Emma Stone has let it be known that
her more intimate numbers, Like “Audition”
and “City Of Stars”, were actually recorded
live as to preserve a feeling of raw authenticity.
It definitely worked out well as those songs
are some of the best moments in the film.
We like Emma Stone’s chances to take home
the Oscar and we are wondering if Emma Watson
is regretting passing on the role, as she
was offered it first.
So there you have it, there is our list of
10 shocking secrets from this years Oscar
Nominees.
Who do you think will win each category?
What do you think were the biggest snubs of
the season?
Let us know what you think in the comments
section down below and be sure to subscribe
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