It is that time of year again with awards season well underway, but with the BAFTA’s and the Screen Actor’s Guild awards throwing up two separate winners for Best Actor, many film fanatics and industry observers are struggling to predict who will claim the coveted Academy Award. With that in mind, we are looking at the latest Oscars best actor odds to see who is the current favourite according to bookmakers.
Oscars Best Actor 2023 Preview
Unlike the award for Best Picture, there is no discernible pattern when it comes to BAFTA and Guild Best Actor award winners, and eventual Oscar recipients.
Despite Brendan Fraser being thought of as the clear favourite for both awards in the lead up to the Oscars, it was Austin Butler who received the BAFTA for best actor following his uncanny portrayal of the King of Rock in Elvis.
However, the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) award went the way of Brendan Fraser for a career-defining performance in The Whale, which also signals his return into the frame for awards, after years of mishandled sexual assault cases within the industry.
His gut-wrenching performance as a morbidly obese, chronically depressed English teacher has single-handedly resurrected his career, and earned him the current ‘favourite’ status across UK betting sites.
Brendan Fraser is definitely getting an oscar for this pic.twitter.com/aC98nZxUZs
— Muh. (@Muuhhz) March 1, 2023
However, it is interesting to note that the last two times the SAG and BAFTA winners have conflicted, the eventual Oscar winner has swung in the favour of the latter, which bodes well for Butler.
It is also noteworthy to look at previous Oscar winners in this category, with all but one of the previous 15 years seeing a victor who also features in a Best Picture nominee. Fraser’s The Whale was surprisingly shunned in the nominees for Best Picture, so this again may be a good omen for Austin Butler with Elvis among the 10 nominated films.
Despite this, Fraser remains the clear favourite at 5/7, and hasn’t yet had to relinquish his favourable price throughout the awards season. It is likely his fellow academy members will be captured by the surrounding ‘Brenaissance’, following a steep drop off in his career from the lofty heights of his 90’s stardom.
However, biopics have proven to be a successful avenue for actors aspiring for awards, with Rami Malek claiming the award for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody four years ago. Butler’s performance as Elvis Presley has a credible argument to be even better than Malek’s, and his surprise BAFTA win has left industry writers scratching their head with the Oscars less than a week away.
Oscars Best Actor Odds 2023
- Brendan Fraser (The Whale) – 5/7
- Austin Butler (Elvis) – 7/5
- Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Insherin) – 16/1
- Paul Mescal (Aftersun) – 50/1
- Bill Nighy (Living) – 66/1
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