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: Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire

Tom Cruise received his second Oscar nomination for portraying the titular character in Jerry Maguire.

I did not hate Jerry Maguire, nor did I exactly like it all that much, I guess I could say it was just okay.

Tom Cruise is an actor that I do not always like all that much, sometimes he can just plainly be annoying, or seem not to have what it takes with for a role. I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to find that I did not respond to his performance in Jerry Maguire as I thought I would. I am surprised to say that this star performance of his actually works for me fairly well.

One reason for this is because he actually uses his own charisma, but also does develop a character along with it. Not that Jerry Maguire is the most complicated character ever but Cruise still takes the time to make him one opposed to just simply being Tom Cruise. Although most of the development is in the first ten minute or so, Cruise still does a good job of it. First being the artificial and cocky jerk, but again learning his morality again. This change is fast and very hasty, but I will say Cruise handles it very well, and makes the transition an actually believable transition despite the suddenness of it. 

Also I must say his charisma is much more apparent here than I feel it is in many performances. His star quality does actually shine through in this performance, and he is always a watchable presence throughout this film. He gives simply a very strong leading performance. He is entertaining, interesting to watch and very charming in this film. Despite the sometimes hokey in the romantic scenes with Renee Zellweger, they still work very well together, and Cruise is very strong in these scenes. Although the scenes is constantly mocked now their big end scene is incredibly well played by Cruise. Not an extremely heavy performance, or complicated one but a good one from Cruise showing his true abilities as a star.

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?