The 97th Oscars ceremony is approaching, and movie fans are eagerly anticipating the nominations for last year's movies. Given there were so many mesmerizing films in 2024, the competition this year should be pretty tough throughout all the categories. Among the categories that people pay the most attention to are the four for acting: Actor in a Leading Role, Actress in a Leading Role, Actor in a Supporting Role, and Actress in a Supporting Role. There are so many great actors from so many different kinds of movies that one could make the case that each category should have ten nominations each (as is done for Best Picture).

Actors like and have been nominated for their performances so many times that it's hard to keep track (21 and 12, respectively), but most others dream of being given this honor just once. Plenty of great actors have never been nominated, and some others have been nominated only once, to the surprise of many. Among these many actors are as Quint in and as Patsey in . It's difficult to choose which ones are better than others since very different and unique performances are needed for various kinds of movies—not to mention how some of these movies are better than others. and represent the wide range of genres and human experiences that can be captured in the cinema.

won Best Actor for his magnetic performance as Adi Amin in , an extraordinary film about a historical figure that depicts Amin's dictatorship in 1970s Uganda. This man has so much energy that he's able to thrill a crowd just as easily as he can charm somebody one-on-one. When a Scottish doctor () puts an injured cow out of its misery, he captures Amin's attention and becomes his physician.

That scene alone shows just how quickly the dictator can shift from dangerous to disarmingly friendly. On the contrary, Amin's paranoia is captured in a scene when he believes he's been poisoned. As audiences observe him from the doctor's point of view, it can be difficult to predict how Amin will behave. Not without humor, of a man with too much power.

Before she played Captain Marvel in the MCU, got her breakout role in one of the darkest indie films you can find: . Based on a novel inspired by a real kidnapping, Room tells the story of a woman named Joy who was abducted by a man when she was 17 years old. She has been cooped up in a shed in his backyard for seven years and now has a five-year-old son, Jack (an excellent ), who has never seen the outside world. Larson does a tremendous job of portraying Joy as someone who has tried to make the best of an unfathomable situation but can only stand it for so much longer.

Throughout the first half, the audience watches Joy go from composed enough to do yoga every morning to desperate enough to devise a plan to escape. Watching her struggle to explain to Jack that there's an outside world is as intense as it's necessary. The way she pretends that he's dead when it's time to execute her plan . Without her, this disturbing story of perseverance wouldn't have reached such great emotional heights.

is arguably 's best work to date, and Jules, played by the great , is easily one of the movie's best characters. Surprisingly, Jackson has been specifically nominated for only one role, but it is certainly the one that should be recognized above the others. , embodying the actor's charm, depth, range, and humor.

Pulp Fiction shows that no one is better at swearing than Samuel L. Jackson, but there's a lot more to Jules than just that. The way he talks to Vincent about foot massages, how he intimidates those kids while eating their food, famously recites Ezekiel 25:17, and talks to Ringo in the end—these are all very different sides of a fascinating man. Jackson received an Honorary Academy Award in 2021 (which doesn't count for this list, as it's not about any one movie), and his turn in this masterpiece is surely one of the biggest reasons why.

is not the only movie for which has deserved an Oscar nod, but it's the only one that's landed him this honor so far. One of Gyllenhaal's best movies, Brokeback Mountain tells the story of a secret romance between two men. Gyllenhaal was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and his co-star, the late , was nominated for Best Actor. They both do amazing work here, bringing this tragic relationship to life.

Throughout their nearly 20-year-long relationship, these two men get married to women and carry out their relationship every now and again on Brokeback Mountain. Gyllenhaal was only in his mid-20s here, but he's able to . 's direction furthermore showcases this performance as well as it could, and it's heartbreaking to watch every time.

Although she lost the Oscar for Best Actress to in , does a remarkable job as Amy Elliott-Dunne in the mystery-thriller . Amy goes missing, and the authorities soon accuse her husband of murdering her. Plot twist: she framed him for her murder. The montage that details her meticulously thought-out plan (narrated perfectly by Pike) is one of the highlights of the film, and it's scary to watch.

Pike's turn here isn't just about a sociopath creating the perfect murder story; it's about a wife who feels wronged and underappreciated by her husband. Audiences can feel where the anger is coming from (though it obviously justifies nothing she does) and sense her intelligence throughout the movie. , and her presence .

The sorely missed was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his work as a huge but mild-mannered man on death row in one of the best-acted Stephen King adaptations, . Although he lost to in , Duncan's role is probably better remembered. Despite being convicted for the rape and murder of two little girls, many things about this man's demeanor make it seem like he would be the last guy on the planet to do something like that—for example, he's afraid of the dark.

Relatively minor at first, John Coffey gradually becomes more and more significant as this prison epic unfolds—like when he goes out of his way to heal Paul Edgecomb () of a certain ailment. Whether the movie is funny or heavily dramatic, Duncan fits in with the tone perfectly. Along with , Duncan is arguably one of the most memorable one-time Oscar nominees.

is one of the ' best black comedies, and 's turn as unsuccessful car salesman Jerry Lundegaard is a major reason why. Though he lost the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role to in , Macy could just as easily have gotten the award. The actor brings a manic energy to the role so well that he looks constantly guilty, which is all the more amusing with that Minnesota accent.

Whether trying to fool somebody over the phone about serial numbers or getting questioned by a very patient police officer (in a Best Actress-winning performance), it feels like we're watching this guy dig himself deeper and deeper into a hole he can't climb out of. As Roger Ebert wrote in his glowing review, "Macy creates the unbearable agony of a man who needs to think fast, and whose brain is scrambled with fear, guilt, and the crazy illusion that he can somehow still pull this thing off."

shows no trace of her famed comedian background in 2009's , for which she deservedly won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She plays Mary Lee Johnston, who verbally and physically abuses her daughter, Precious. Mary's hatred is partly because Precious's father has gotten their daughter pregnant twice, completely disregarding the fact that these pregnancies were obviously a result of rape.

The movie was controversial at the time for its depiction of Black stereotypes, but one thing that could be agreed upon was that Mo-Nique suddenly . Sadly, she would later get blacklisted from Hollywood for not promoting the movie as much as requested, which is truly a shame. Her character's speech at the end is delivered with especially remarkable power, cementing Mo-Nique as one of the most notable one-time (so far) Oscar nominees.

's is one of the greatest films to turn 50 this year, partly because it's filled to the brim with incredible acting. The two main characters who vy for power throughout the film are no exception: Jack Nicholson as Randall Patrick McMurphy and as Nurse Ratched. Fletcher proves Nicholson's match as she patiently and confidently dominates the hospital. Nicholson won the Oscar for Best Actor, and Fletcher likewise took home the trophy for Best Actress.

Nurse Ratched in a way that keeps them feeling small and often fighting with each other. This intimidating character offers often inappropriate sense of humor and freewheeling spirit. This dichotomy makes it all the more essential when she becomes visibly furious, helping this adaptation of the acclaimed novel reach its highest potential.

12 Years a Slave is one of director Steve McQueen's greatest accomplishments for many reasons, but the most significant might just be Chiwetel Ejiofor's central performance. Solomon Northup is a professional violinist living in antebellum New York who gets kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South. Under the new name Platt, he winds up working on two different plantations. Ejiofor fully embodies his character, who goes from insisting that he was born a free man to keeping this a secret for years at a time.

Despite all of the significant time jumps, the audience can see this character changing without losing track of how his ordeal has affected him. Whether beating a white man with his whip or gradually becoming more involved in singing a spiritual, there is an intricacy and electricity to Northup that helps bring this true story to the screen. Ejiofor lost Best Actor to Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club, but his performance is nevertheless one of the most powerful by a one-time Oscar nominee.

NEXT: Every Best Actor Oscar Winner of the 21st Century Ranked