Rami Malek is the clear favorite to win an Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury in the biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
William Hill lists Malek at -400 odds to win the Academy Award over Christian Bale, Viggo Mortensen, Bradley Cooper, and Willem Dafoe. This year’s nominees including portrayals of two musicians, a politician, a famous painter, and a tough guy from the Bronx named Tony the lip.
2019 OSCARS BETTING – BEST ACTOR ODDS
Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) 1/4
Christian Bale (Vice) 7/2
Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) 16/1
Viggo Mortensen (Green Book) 40/1
Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate) 50/1
At the recent BAFTAs, Alfonso Cuaron’s black-and-white film “Roma” cleaned up with seven awards. Malek recently took home the BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He edged out British actor Christian Bale’s portray of American Vice-President Dick Cheney.
Rami Malek = Freddie Mercury
With “Bohemian Rhapsody”, it’s hard to determine where Rami Malek begins and Freddie Mercury ends. The film covers the rise of Freddie Mercury from the earliest days of Queen up until his magical performance at Live Aid.
Brian May, guitarist from Queen and consultant on the film, raved about Malek’s ability to inhabit Mercury.
“His reading of Freddie’s personality was spot on. His instinctive ‘inhabiting’ of Freddie’s physical presence was already uncanny. We watched his demo screen tests — which were great — but really it was the feeling in the room that here was the perfect man to don Freddie like an overcoat! Of course, Rami had already mastered Freddie’s unique accent and tone of voice. But his characterization went much further than that.”
The Academy rewards actors playing real-life figures. Last year, Gary Oldman won an Oscar for “Darkest Hour” and his portrayal of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Oscars have been previously won by actors playing such notable figures as Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, King George VI, Ray Charles, Steven Hawking, Truman Capote, Idi Amin, Louis Pasteur, Harvey Milk, George Patton, Popeye Doyle, Jake LaMotta, Huey Long, Christy Brown, and Claus Von Bulow.
In this year’s race for Best Actor, we have three actors playing three diverse famous figures: Freddie Mercury, Van Gogh, and Dick Cheney.
Playing a well-known rockstar or musician is not easy. Joaquin Phoenix was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Johnny Cash in “Ring of Fire”, but he did not win it. Some other noteworthy performances include jazz figures such as Don Cheadle as Miles Davis, Forrest Whitaker as Charlie Parker, and Ethan Hawke as Chet Baker. Tom Hulce as Mozart and Michael Douglas as Liberace are a couple of examples of legendary pianists. Also rounding out the list are Chadwick Boseman as James Brown, Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, Lou Diamond-Phillips as Ritchie Valens, John Cusack as Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys, and Gary Busey as Buddy Holly.
Vice Long Shot?
Rami Malek is the obvious favorite with wins at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs, but if there’s anyone that call pull off the Oscars betting upset, it’s Christian Bale in “Vice” as former Vice-President Dick Cheney.
Bale has a long list of memorable roles. His most-known as the serial killing yuppie in the film version of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel “American Psycho”. The method actor dropped down to 120 pounds for his role in the 2004 film “The Machinist”. He also made a few paycheck movies in the lucrative franchise universe, including Batman and Terminator.
He’s also played real-life characters before such as boxer/crackhead Dicky Eklund. In his latest role, Bale packed on a few pounds (40 to be exact) to morph into Dick Cheney.
Willem Dafoe as Van Gogh could have gotten more traction if more people saw the film. That’s why he’s the biggest longshot on the board.
Viggo Mortensen always hits a home run when he has to play a thug. In this instance, Tony the Lip was a thug with a heart. His character accompanied an African-American pianist through the Jim Crow south in the early 1960s. At 40/1 odds, he’s one of the other big longshots on the board.
Bradley Cooper might be dreamy in real life, but he played a washed-up rocker addicted to painkillers and self-doubt. Cooper made his directorial debut with a remake of “A Star Is Born”. Lady Gaga blew the doors off theaters with her performance, which overshadowed Cooper. Because he was a popular pick by bettors, Cooper’s odds are in the middle of the road at 16/1. The real odds should be something similar to Mortensen or Dafoe.
Meanwhile, Alfonso Cuaron is the favorite to win an Oscar for Best Director with his film “Roma”, set in Mexico City in the early 1970s.