Feb 28, 2006, 19:10 GMT
Los Angeles - Top nominees for Hollywood's best-actor Oscar and their films:
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
A far cry from the typical Hollywood leading man, Hoffman, 38, is a pudgy 38 year old who made his name as a supreme character actor in independent films in the 1990's and has in recent years increased his profile in big budget movies.
The breakthrough role for the New York-born actor was in the porn comedy Boogie Nights, followed by parts in movies like The Big Lebowski and Patch Adams. Other memorable roles came in Magnolia, The Talented Mr. Ripley and as legendary rock critic Lester Bangs in Almost Famous.
More recently he enjoyed prominent parts in Red Dragon, Cold Mountain and Punch Drunk Love, and is next slated to appear opposite Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 3.
In a recent interview Hoffman said his luckiest break was not becoming a star until his mid 30's. He was an alcoholic as a young man and revealed that the fame and fortune would probably have killed him.
He is nominated for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in the movie Capote.
Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow
Chicago-born Howard, 36, paid his Hollywood dues for more than a decade with bit parts in TV series. But even before his breakout role in the gritty musical drama Hustle & Flow, it was clear that he was becoming one of the hottest actors in Hollywood.
His first big role came in the hit comedy Big Momma's House in 2000. He was also acclaimed for his portrayal as a black officer captured by the Nazis in Hart's War and was a key actor in the ensemble drama Crash, where he played a film director forced to acquiesce when a racist police officer molests his wife.
He earned raves in Hustle & Flow, where he played a poverty- stricken DJ determined to become a star.
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Australian-born Ledger, 35, has long been a favourite of casting directors and the paparazzi despite a spotty career that has seen its fair share of flops - most recently when he starred as the title character in Casanova.
His hit include A Knight's Tale, Patriot and Monster's Ball, which have showed his range of characters.
But his defining moment was what one critic described as his 'haunting convincingly tortured performance' in Brokeback Mountain as a cowboy who struggles with a relationship with another man. He and co-star Michelle Williams, who played his wife, became romantically linked and recently had a child together.
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk The Line
Born in Puerto Rico in 1974 to missionary parents, Joaquin Phoenix became a successful child actor after the family moved back to the US. His four siblings also enjoyed successful acting careers, especially his older brother River, who died of a drug overdose in 1993.
Phoenix's first big movie role was in 1986's Spacecamp, but he only fulfilled his potential in 1990 when he played the paranoid narcissistic son of the emperor in The Gladiator, which got him nominated for a supporting actor Oscar.
He's had memorable roles in Signs, The Village and Ladder 49. But it was his spot-on portrayal of country legend Johnny Cash in Walk the Line that really made him a superstar.
David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck
A veteran actor's actor, Strathairn has appeared in more than 80 movies and TV shows. But it was his inspired and uncanny portrayal as US broadcasting great Edward G. Murrow in George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck that first brought his to wide attention.
Born in San Francisco in 1949 to parents of Scottish and Hawaiian descent, Strathairn's has garnered a wealth of supporting parts, notably in movies by his old friend, director John Sayles, and in Silkwood and L.A. Confidential. He is married with two children and lives in upstate New York, far from Hollywood's glamour.
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Hugh Wayneright.Feb 23rd, 2009 - 19:07:29
yeah..we knew that would happen. Sean Penn? Harvey Milk ? Gay vote? need I say more? Hollywood is full of queers.
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