DSMA preview: Best Actor

A suicide bomber, dream invader, POW, trailer park kid, cougar hunter, druggie cop, Blockhead leader and Arterton abductor comprise the roles taken on by the eight contenders for the 'Best Actor' crown at the Digital Spy Movie Awards. Here is more about the nominees and their outstanding turns...

> Click here to cast your vote at the DS Movie Awards

---

Thomas Turgoose (The Scouting Book For Boys)

Plucked from obscurity by auteur Shane Meadows for the lead in This Is England, Turgoose underlined his raw, naturalistic acting skills in the sublime The Scouting Book For Boys. As the infatuated teen lad David, he guided the audience through an absorbing emotional journey that culminated in utter heartbreak.

> Review: 'The Scouting Book For Boys'

---

Eddie Marsan (The Disappearance Of Alice Creed))

It's little surprise that acclaimed directors like Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick and Mike Leigh have snapped up Eddie Marsan recently, given the sheer presence and emotional credibility he can effortlessly muster. As Alice Creed’s ambiguous abductor Victor, Marsan has little to say but is absolutely mesmerising throughout. He also makes some far-fetched twists appear fairly credible.

> Review: 'The Disappearance Of Alice Creed'

---

Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception)

Without such an engaging and committed lead actor at its core, Christopher Nolan’s Inception could easily have crumbled under the weight of its mindbending concepts and complicated narrative. Fortunately, DiCaprio delivered a blinding performance that was both physically dynamic and emotionally resonant.

> Review: 'Inception'

---

Ashton Kutcher (Spread)

From the opening voiceover, Ashton Kutcher is a revelation as the manipulative aspiring model Nikki. Forced to seduce middle-aged women to fund his hedonistic lifestyle (hmmm...), Kutcher performs his greatest punking of all - proving that he is a very accomplished actor indeed in this underrated gem that probes the underbelly of LA's vacuous environment.

> Review: 'Spread'

---

Nicolas Cage (Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call - New Orleans)

Nicolas Cage doing his highly stylised bonkers routine, perfected by Gary Oldman, can be an acquired taste at times. Yet in Werner Herzog’s latest movie he found a director fit to match his maniacal machinations, with Cage doing a superb job as the corrupt and crippled cop pursuing a drugs baron while feeding his own narcotic addictions.

> Review: 'Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call - New Orleans'

---

Tobey Maguire (Brothers)

The physical extremes Maguire endured to convincingly portray an American soldier captured and tortured in Afghanistan recalled Michael Fassbender’s bravura Hunger performance. The former Spidey also conveyed the psychological trauma endured by the POW, culminating in some staggeringly raw and brutal domestic scenes that live on in the memories of those who saw Brothers.

> Review: 'Brothers'

---

Riz Ahmed (Four Lions)

A fine performance that veered between comedy and poignancy enabled Riz Ahmed’s wannabe suicide bomber to be much more than a vessel for Chris Morris’s cutting humour in Four Lions. Surely spending a chunk of the film dressed in a Honey Monster suit is award-worthy in itself?

> Review: 'Four Lions'

---

Andy Serkis (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll)

When figuratively unzipped from his King Kong and Gollum costumes, Andy Serkis has frequently proven that he is damn fine at playing humans. His unflinching portrayal of the philandering protopunk musician gives this biopic of Ian Dury much energy, authenticity and resonance. The actor even eschews lip-synching to sing alongside the real Blockheads.

> Review: 'Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll'