Saturday, March 09, 2013

Real (Reel) People Win Oscars: 2013 Edition



When it comes to win an Academy Award, recent years have shown that not any bio-pic performance means a guaranteed nomination, but if you get nominated for your performance playing a real person, then there is a good chance you will win.

Of the past 10 years (20 Lead Actor/Actress winners), 12 of these winners have won for playing real life people. That's 60% of winners since the 2003 ceremony.

• In 2012 Daniel Day-Lewis played Abraham Lincoln and won the Best Actor award (his third Oscar win)
• In 2011 Meryl Streep played the well known British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and won the Best Actress prize (her third Oscar)
• In 2010 Colin Firth played King George VI, stuttering British royalty at the dawn of the radio era and won for Best Actor.
• In 2009 Sandra Bullock played a surprise hero as the Southern mother Leigh Ann Tuohy and won for Best Actress.
• In 2008 Sean Penn played controversial politician Harvey Milk and won the Oscar for Best Actor.
• In 2007 Marion Cotillard played French singer Ediath Piaf and won the Oscar for Best Actress.
• In 2006 Helen Mirren played Queen Elizabeth II and won the Oscar for Best Actress.
• In 2006 Forrest Whitaker played Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and won the Oscar for Best Actor
• In 2005 Reese Witherspoon played country music celeb June Carter and won the Oscar for Best Actress.
• In 2005 Philip Seymour Hoffman played author Truman Capote and won the Oscar for Best Actor.
• In 2004 Jamie Foxx played musician Ray Charles and won the Oscar for Best Actor.
• In 2003 Charlize Theron played prostitute/serial killer Aileen Wuornos and won the Best Actress Oscar.

The non-biopic winners from the past 10 years: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Lining Playbook), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), Kate Winslet (The Reader), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), Sean Penn (Mystic River).

I wouldn't expect 2013 to be different. As a result we can almost plan on either Best Actor Oscar winner or Best Actress winner going to a performer who played in a biographical film as a "Real (Reel) Person."

2013 Real (Reel) People Performances:

Reel People: Chadwick Boseman is Jackie Robinson
Reel People: Steve Carrell is John du Pont
Reel People: George Clooney is George Stout
Reel People: Benedict Cumberbatch is Julian Assange
Reel People: Matt Damon is James Rorimer
Reel People: Judi Dench is Philomena Lee
Reel People: Leonardo DiCaprio is Jordan Belfort
Reel People: Chiwetel Ejiofor is Solomon Northup
Reel People: Idris Elba is Nelson Mandela
• Reel People: Dakota Fanning is Effie Gray
Reel People: Tom Hanks is Captain Phillips
Reel People: Tom Hanks is Walt Disney
Reel People: Chris Hemsworth is James Hunt
Reel People: Felicity Jones is Nelly Ternan
Reel People: Michael B. Jordan is Oscar Grant III
Reel People: Ashton Kutcher is Steve Jobs
Reel People: Matthew McConaughey is Ron Woodroof
• Reel People: Sean Penn is Mickey Cohen
Reel People: Daniel Radcliffe is Allen Ginsberg
Reel People: Channing Tatum is Mark Schultz
Reel People: Emma Thompson is P.L. Travers

Click the following links to see the previous Real (Reel) People projects from 20122011201020092008 and 2007. Or check the reel people archive.

3 comments:

joe burns said...

And you could even go further back to 1992 and see that there has has been a winner from a real person every year since then! It's unbelievable isn't it?!!

RC said...

The 2002 ceremony (2001 films) actually didn't have a bio pic win.

Denzel Washington won for Training Day & Halle Berry for Monster's Ball.

joe burns said...

Not if you count the supporting winners, where both Broadbent and Connelly won for playing real characters.