Best Actor: 1996

5. Woody Harrelson in The People vs Larry Flynt- Harrelson is absolutely nothing special, and very standard for the first half of his performance but then the second half when he starts trying to imitated Flynt he is terrible.

4. Billy Bob Thorton in Sling Blade- I understand the point and the use of the character but this type of performance does not usually equal great acting to me. Also I never fully believed his character either which does not help a performance like this.

3. Geoffrey Rush in Shine- Rush I think does his mannerisms just fine and are close enough to the real deal, but still his performance never can really be amazing. He does succeed a little when he has the chance to show more but he also fails in his last scene.

2. Ralph Fiennes in The English Patient- I think there is something lacking in his character that holds him back, and I feel he was possibly trying too much at the beginning. Still though he succeeds well with the various aspects of the character. He shows the Count's romance, his struggles, and his end very well.

1. Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire- I was tempted to go with Fiennes but I felt Cruise's performance was technically a little better despite his lighter material. First he uses his star quality and charisma perfectly well in his performance here, but at the same time he still develops his character along with his usual charm. The changes of the character which are abrupt are handled well, and the notable scene of the film I feel are really notable because Cruise handles them as well as he does.

Deserving Performances:Noah Taylor in Shine

Best Actor 1996: Billy Bob Thorton in Sling Blade

Billy Bob Thorton received his first acting Oscar nomination for portraying Karl Childers in Sling Blade.

Sling Blade is a fine southern drama, although probably a bit long.

Thorton's performance he is incredibly similar to Geoffrey Rush's in Shine. There performance basically is finding the right note, and mannerisms and then keeping with them throughout the film. Thorton like Rush sets his mannerisms up for the first moment than continues with them for the rest of the film, his character never changes his mannerisms or the way he acts and reacts, even if the character does change throughout the film. I never fully believed his mannerisms to tell you the truth, I always thought that I really saw him acting. Not that he is terrible but I just felt that his performance felt a little forced at times. I just simply never fully believed him as this man.

I would say though that he is still okay, and tries to do his best to add meaning to his own script with his performance. But I think a flaw was that Childers keeps his mannerisms, and very simple way of reacting to everything was a bit of a problem. I mean that is the point of the character, but it does not give Thorton much movement. He just keeps with his mannerisms and sticks with them. I simply I never even impressed overly much with performance like these even when they are not flawed. But this one never seemed really truly authentic. Also Thorton's whole performance is more of something well thought out as a device for the film. Childers simplistic actions and reactions at times, were purposely written that way by Thorton, and he understood how to use his own performance. Even though if he been just a little more believable for me personally he still would not have given an amazing performance but rather a suitable one. 

Best Actor 1996

And The Nominees Were:

Ralph Fiennes in The English Patient

Geoffrey Rush in Shine

Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire

Billy Bob Thorton in Sling Blade

Woody Harrelson  in The People VS Larry Flynt

Who do you pick? Who do you predict?