In the 21st century it feels terribly wrong to highlight a category of actors and actresses for the colour of their skin. However, in recent years, a feature of the Oscar experience has been the self-congratulation of the Academy when African-Americans are awarded (or nominated for) Oscars.
In 2006, Forest Whitaker won Best Actor for “The Last King of Scotland”, and other black nominees were Eddie Murphy, Djimon Hounsou, and Will Smith. In 2005, Terrence Howard and Sophie Okonedo made it into the acting categories, while in 2004 the Best Actor and Supporting Actor Oscars went to Jamie Foxx (“Ray”) and Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) respectively. In 2001, both top awards went to Denzel Washington (“Training Day”) and Halle Berry (“Monster’s Ball”).
It’s no longer an anomaly when the acting nominees aren’t 100% white, but I feel the mainstream media may still flag such nominations as being noteworthy in the future. For what it’s worth, I think there are a number of quality actors and actresses who have a great chance at getting Oscar nominations, and therefore destined to be immediately compared with their illustrious predecessors.
1. Zoe Saldana – perhaps not a household name as yet, but that may change with the new “Star Trek” movie, and James Cameron’s forthcoming “Avatar”. She was in Spielberg’s “The Terminal”, played Ashton Kutcher’s girlfriend in “Guess Who”, as well as the Dennis Quaid / Forest Whitaker film “Vantage Point”.
2. Jeffrey Wright – I first noticed Wright as the artist “Basquiat”, and he’s moved between a variety of roles since: Woody Allen’s “Celebrity”, “Ride With the Devil”, “Ali”, “The Manchurian Candidate”, “Syriana”, and most recognisably as American CIA agent Felix Leiter in both Daniel Craig Bond outings. Look out for him as General Colin Powell in Oliver Stone’s forthcoming Bush drama “W.”
3. Thandie Newton – beautiful, British, and talented! Thandie has flirted with the Oscars in both “The Pursuit of Happyness” and “Crash”, although other performers received nominations. She was stunning in Bertolucci’s film “Besieged”, and since going down the comedy route with “Run Fat Boy Run” and “Norbit”, will playing Condoleeza Rice in Oliver Stone’s “W.” put her on the awards track?
4. Chiwetel Ejiofor – he could be a great bet for Hollywood superstardom, having played second fiddle to Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s “Inside Man” and Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster”. He’s had good roles in “Dirty Pretty Things” and “Children of Men”, so will David Mamet’s “Redbelt” or Roland Emmerich’s big budget “2012” get him noticed?
5. Beyonce Knowles – she’s already a singing superstar, and it seems Hollywood wants to build her up too. “Dreamgirls” showcased her acting alongside her singing, and playing Etta James in “Cadillac Records” will likely do the same. Following that is the thriller “Obsessed”.
6. Naomie Harris – British actress known for roles in two of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, as well as “28 Days Later”, “A Cock and Bull Story”, and “Miami Vice” alongside Farrell and Foxx.
7. Dennis Haysbert – arguably should have been nominated at the same time as Julianne Moore for “Far From Heaven” in 2002. He played Nelson Mandela in “Goodbye Bafana”, is well-known for the TV series “24”, starred opposite Michelle Pfeiffer in “Love Field”, and was terrific in two baseball movies “Major League” and “Mr. Baseball”!
8. Danny Glover – he’s one of those likeable and recognisable actors who you know from being Mel Gibson’s buddy in the “Lethal Weapon” films, but has starred in a number of Oscar-calibre movies too. They include “Witness”, “The Color Purple”, “Beloved”, “Grand Canyon”, and “The Royal Tenenbaums”.
9. Omar Metwally – he was superb as the husband of Reese Witherspoon in “Rendition”, and should get attention for co-starring with Anthony Hopkins in James Ivory’s “The City of Your Final Destination”. An American actor with Dutch / Egyptian parentage.
10. Shaun Toub – British actor with Persian roots, he was in “Crash”, the big budget “Iron Man”, and most notably “The Kite Runner”.
Honourable Mention:
Blair Underwood
Naveen Andrews
Ving Rhames
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