2023 London Film Festival: Top 10 Oscar contending performances

The London Film Festival is kicking off on Wednesday, October 4, and with it comes some of the year’s biggest and most anticipated films finally screening on UK shores. “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” and “May December” are just three huge films that will undoubtedly become awards players over the next few months. But let’s take a closer look at some of the performances in these movies. Here are 10 performances from films playing at LFF that audiences should watch out for — they could be frontrunners for Academy Awards or they could be dark horses looking to sneak in.

Robert De Niro — “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Martin Scorsese‘s epic picture depicts the true-life murders of multiple Osage tribe members and the subsequent investigation into the death, which reached all the way up to J. Edgar Hoover. Robert De Niro teams up once again with Scorsese to play the murderous William Hale, one of the orchestrators of the horrific crimes. We expect Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone to land nominations for their lead performances, but it is perhaps De Niro’s supporting turn that is most intriguing. Robert Downey Jr. (“Oppenheimer”) and Ryan Gosling (“Barbie”) are the presumed frontrunners for Best Supporting Actor the legendary De Niro could really shake things up. This looks like it could be a meaty, villainous role for De Niro, who is on the hunt for his ninth Oscar nomination. He’s been nominated for Best Actor five times — in 1977 for “Taxi Driver,” in 1979 for “The Deer Hunter,” in 1981 for “Raging Bull,” in 1991 for “Awakenings,” and in 1992 for “Cape Fear.” He also picked up Best Supporting Actor bids in 1975 for “The Godfather Part II” and in 2013 for “Silver Linings Playbook.” He was also nominated for Best Picture for “The Irishman.” He won for “Raging Bull” and “The Godfather Part II.”

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We know that voters like villains in this category — Sam Rockwell won in 2018 for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Tom Hardy was nominated in 2016 for “The Revenant,” and J.K. Simmons won in 2015 for “Whiplash.” Plus, voters like rewarding veterans and legends in this category — Judd Hirsch was nominated earlier this year for “The Fabelmans,” Simmons was nominated in 2021 for “Being the Ricardos,” and Ciarán Hinds was nominated in the same year for “Belfast.” We are predicting that De Niro will be nominated alongside Downey Jr, Gosling, and “Poor Things” duo Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe.

Lily Gladstone — “Killers of the Flower Moon”
De Niro’s co-star, Gladstone, made quite the stir when it was announced that she would officially be campaigning in lead actress and not supporting actress. Many of us had already labelled Gladstone the absolute frontrunner and favorite to win Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mollie Burkhart, the Osage wife of DiCaprio’s Ernest Burkhart. Instead, Gladstone has been bumped up to lead. Her screentime warrants such a decision but there are some who would say that leaving her in supporting would have been smarter as she could have swept that category with ease. As such, she is now going to have to compete against some heavy hitters in Best Actress: Emma Stone (“Poor Things”), Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”), Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”), and Fantasia Barrino (“The Color Purple”). It is testament to Gladstone’s performance, however, that she is already in second place in Oscars odds charts. This would be her first ever nomination.

Carey Mulligan — “Maestro”
Speaking of Best Actress contenders, watch out for Mulligan’s performance as Felicia Montealegre in Bradley Cooper‘s biopic of the renowned composer Leonard Bernstein. Cooper is the star of the show, really, as he not only stars as Bernstein himself, but he directs, produces, and co-writes, too. However, Mulligan could quietly steal all of the plaudits for her heartbreaking and measured performance as Felicia, the wife of Bernstein in what was an incredibly complex marriage. Mulligan has been nominated twice before for Best Actress — for “An Education” in 2010 and “Promising Young Woman” in 2021. We are predicting that Mulligan will pick up her third bid in this category, alongside Stone, Gladstone, Hüller, and Barrino. But while Stone and Gladstone are the presumed frontrunners for their respective movies, Mulligan could be a real dark horse here. She could potentially go on to win if voters really take to this film.

Barry Keoghan — “Saltburn”
Mulligan starred in “Promising Young Woman,” which was directed by Emerald Fennell. Now, Barry Keoghan stars in Fennell’s new film “Saltburn,” which follows an Oxford University student who becomes obsessed with a wealthy classmate and his extravagant, rich family. Keoghan plays the lead role in this film that seems to evoke memories of the brilliant “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” Keoghan is currently outside of our predicted nominees for Best Actor: Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”), DiCaprio (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Cooper (“Maestro”), Colman Domingo (“Rustin”), and Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”). However, he is one of those on the precipice here and he is very popular at the moment, so things could change. Keoghan earned his first Oscar nomination earlier this year for Best Supporting Actor for “The Banshees of Inisherin.”

Jodie Comer — “The Bikeriders”
“The Bikeriders” isn’t really on many people’s radars as an awards player at this current time, but that could change. Jeff Nichols‘ American epic follows the lives of multiple members of a US biker gang, including Austin Butler, Hardy, and Jodie Comer. While this looks like it will be dominated by strong male performances, Comer could be the standout as the main female role in a cast full of men — the same way Jennifer Jason Leigh snagged a Best Supporting Actress bid in 2016 for “The Hateful Eight.” Comer is currently being considered in the Best Actress category, although she is outside of our predicted nominees for that. Could she switch to Supporting Actress, if her screen time suggests she could? Supporting Actress is a weaker category than the other acting categories this year, particularly after Gladstone switched to lead. Comer could take advantage of that, especially as we know how much awards voters like her. She won a BAFTA for “Help,” a BAFTA and an Emmy for “Killing Eve,” and an Olivier Award and a Tony for “Prima Facie.” However, she is still searching for her first Oscar nomination.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph — “The Holdovers”
Let’s stick with Best Supporting Actress for a while. What with the chaos after Gladstone switched, someone had to take advantage. That looks to be Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who features in Alexander Payne‘s “The Holdovers.” Paul Giamatti, who should have been nominated for Best Actor for Payne’s “Sideways,” stars as a disliked teacher who must look after students who remain behind during the Christmas break at a college. Randolph, who is looking for her first Oscar bid, turns in a great performance as Mary, the school’s cook. Currently, it looks like she’ll get that bid — she is top of our Oscars odds chart for Best Supporting Actress above Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”), Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”), Taraji P. Henson (“The Color Purple”), and Julianne Moore (“May December”).

Julianne Moore — “May December”
The mighty Moore looks set to deliver another irrestible performance with her role in Todd Haynes’ melodrama “May December.” This one follows an actress (Natalie Portman) who visits an infamous couple in order to research for a film based upon their scandalous past. The scandal? The much older woman (Moore) started the sexual relationship with the now-man (Charles Melton) when the man was just a boy. Moore has snuck in to our Best Supporting Actress lineup in fifth spot, but this writer is actually predicting her to win. It looks like it will be a colorful performance, which we know voters like in this category. Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis (who won) were both nominated earlier this year for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” while Maria Bakalova was nominated in 2021 for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.” Plus, Moore is a beloved veteran — voters like those in this category, too. Curtis won earlier this year while Angela Bassett was nominated for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in the same year, Judi Dench was nominated in 2022 for “Belfast,” and Glenn Close was nominated in 2021 for “Hillbilly Elegy.” Moore, with her colorful performance, icon and veteran status, and admiration from many actors who admire and look up to her, could be a real contender in this wide open category. This would be her sixth Oscar nomination. She was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 1998 for “Boogie Nights” and in 2003 for “The Hours.” She was also nominated for Best Actress in 2000 for “The End of the Affair,” in 2003 for “Far From Heaven,” and in 2015 for “Still Alice.” She won for “Still Alice.”

Sandra Hüller — “The Zone of Interest”
Moore picked up two Oscar nominations in one year when she was nominated for “The Hours” and “Far From Heaven.” Hüller could do that this year with her two roles in “Anatomy of a Fall” and “The Zone of Interest.” She is up for lead actress for the former and supporting for the latter, and it’s the latter that is playing at LFF. “The Zone of Interest” follows the commandant of Auschwitz and his wife trying to build their dream life while living next to the concentration camp. This is a performance to watch as it could lead to Hüller becoming the 13th performer to be nominated for two acting Oscars in the same year after Fay Bainter, Teresa Wright, Barry Fitzgerald, Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, Al Pacino, Holly Hunter, Emma Thompson, Moore, Jamie Foxx, Cate Blanchett, and Scarlett Johansson all accomplished the feat. Hüller is predicted to land a Best Actress bid for “Anatomy of a Fall” but is outside of our predicted nominees for “The Zone of Interest.” However, don’t count her out just yet. As we said, Best Supporting Actress is still very much up in the air, so it’s anybody’s game at the moment. It feels like it could be Hüller’s moment and, if “The Zone of Interest” really picks up some love from voters, Hüller could be taken along for the ride. We think it will pick up that love, by the way, as we predict it to be nominated for Picture, Director for Jonathan Glazer, Adapted Screenplay, and Cinematography. This would be her first Oscar nomination.

Charles Melton — “May December”
Switching quickly back to “May December” here for Melton, who plays the young man in the relationship with Moore’s much older woman. The reception Melton has got so far has been very enthusiastic and this film could be the perfect demonstration of Melton’s talents. Melton is currently best known for his role in the teen drama “Riverdale.” But here, with “May December,” Melton shows us what a fine, intelligent actor he truly is. Voters will really appreciate that and could reward him with a nomination. Recently, voters have shown that they like nominating young male stars in supporting roles. Keoghan earned a bid earlier this year for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Kodi Smit-McPhee was nominated in 2022 for “The Power of the Dog,” and Lucas Hedges was nominated in 2017 for “Manchester by the Sea.” Melton could be the latest upcoming actor to benefit. This would be his first ever Oscar nomination.

Jacob Elordi — “Priscilla”
Similarly, Jacob Elordi could also take advantages of the same trend with his supporting role in Sofia Coppola‘s “Priscilla.” This quietly dark drama shows the more dangerous side of Elvis Presley as it depicts the marriage between the King and the much younger Priscilla, played by Cailee Spaeny. Spaeny is deserving of a nomination herself but it may be tricky for her to land that. Elordi, however, could be a realistic dark horse for a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Butler was nominated for Best Actor last year for playing Elvis in “Elvis,” so it could go one of two ways — voters may be all Elvis-ed out and ignore Elordi, or they could really appreciate Elordi’s specific, much different portrayal of the same character. The fact that Elordi manages to deliver a stand-out performance that feels singular and new for playing the same character when Butler and “Elvis” were such big players last year is very impressive. Currently, Elordi, who is looking for his first Oscar nomination, is outside of our predicted nominees for Best Actor. However, his role in “Saltburn” could give his hopes here a timely boost.

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