Yesterday, I talked about the women I am almost 2000% positive will win an Academy Award before their (hopefully timely) demises. Today, I’m weeding through the men I’m willing to make bets on will waltz away with that bald statue sometime in the future.

Note: Much like the ladies list, I also shied away from the men that I was ABSOLUTELY positive will win one of these things, so Liam Neeson, Robert Downey, Jr., Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, I salute you; but you guys are not on this list.

Christian Bale: Of the men on my list, I feel like Bale is the absolute lock. Why? Considering his Method-style acting and extreme measures taken for a role (hello, can of tuna and apple diet for Machinist) a la Daniel Day-Lewis, Bale is a total shoo-in for an Oscar. The only thing he needs to work on is getting rid of his Russell Crowe-like antics. Once Crowe stopped throwing things and shouting at people, he finally nabbed a statue. Take note, Bale. Take note.

Leonardo DiCaprio: Leo is probably almost a shoo-in as well, considering his collaborations with both Scorsese and Christopher Nolan. But homeboy wasn’t even nominated for Titanic when he was thought of nothing more than a pretty boy, so perhaps that stigma could hurt him. I’m thinking one day when he plays a super whacked out role he’ll snag an award.

Ryan Gosling: For me Ryan Gosling is the Laura Linney of men in that he tends towards the awesome roles in the small, indie movies. If he should ever branch out and star in something a little more grandiose—like a biopic—he’ll definitely up his chances for grabbing a statue. But Gosling definitely has the range to win one day.

Peter Sarsgaard: Out of all the men on this list, Sarsgaard is perhaps the biggest toss-up, but I’m gonna step out on a limb here. With his knack of playing odd, quirky characters, I’m not sure Sarsgaard has much of a chance to walk away with a Best Actor Academy Award. Instead I think his greatest chances lie within the Supporting Actor category, and he should definitely keep pushing for intense smaller roles. Look at Christoph Waltz, Peter. That could have been you!

Jude Law: Okay, so Law has been nominated twice before, so that wouldn’t make him much of a surprise if he actually one of these damned things. But considering his recent decline of truly exceptional roles—umm, remember The Holiday?—it’s no wonder he hasn’t cinched an Oscar yet. He needs to die more in his films or have a dying kid. I bet that would do it.

What about you, folks? Which actors/actresses do you think WILL DEFINITELY win an Academy Award before they die? Also, make sure to tune in Monday when we report this year’s Oscar winners!

--Darcie Duttweiler

With the Oscars literally right around the corner, I got to thinking about all the amazing actresses of our day who are incredibly talented but have never won a golden statue. Below is a list of the ladies who WILL win an Oscar before their demise—or hey, even Heath Ledger won one after his death, so we can extend the deadlines just a little.

Note: I tried to steer clear of the super obvious ladies. Come back tomorrow for the fellas who will nab an Academy Award before their deaths!

Laura Linney: Laura Linney’s problem is probably the fact that she picks movies that are so small and independent that the voting Academy has never heard of the film, let alone seen the damned thing. If she eventually wants to win a statue, she might want to go for something a little bit showier. The Oscars are not about subtlety (cough cough if Sandra Bullock wins cough).

Naomi Watts: Naomi Watts seems to only pick Oscar bait movies, but homegirl can’t seem to win one of those things. It’s seriously not for lack of trying on her part. Perhaps being BFFs with Nicole Kidman is missing one perk.

Julianne Moore: Having been nominated a gazillion times, Julianne Moore has left the ceremony empty-handed every time. She just has some shitty luck. She lost to Kim Basinger for L.A. Confidential, Hilary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry, and even losing twice in one night to Nicole Kidman and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Maggie Gyllenhaal: This may be the first year Gyllenahaal has been nominated for an Oscar, but she has been nominated for a slew of other awards for years. I even thought she had an Oscar nom already before I realized this was her first—that’s how talented she is. Plus she picks lead roles that are gritty and raw, which the Academy loves. And she doesn’t shy away from nudity either.

Scarlett Johansson: I’m going out on a limb with this one considering that the typical bombshell beauty doesn’t tend to win Oscars (see Marilyn Monroe), and because Johansson has steered towards some poopy movies as of late. But Johansson definitely has the acting chops to procure herself a trophy one day. Perhaps she can pull a Charlize and uglify herself a bit.

--Darcie Duttweiler

Yes, folks, with the completion of the British Academy of Film and Telelvision Arts this weekend we are another step closer to the pinnacle of of award season: the Oscars. So, who one? Well, Kathryn Bigelow's war drama picked up 6 trophies, including Best Film, Director AND Screenplay, while Bigelow's ex, James Cameron, only picked up a pair for technical awards. 

Most awards were fairly straightforward with the Best Acting categories being the only exceptions. With home turf advantage, two Brits, Colin Firth and Carey Mulligan, took home the trophies over their Yank front-runners. 

Check out the full list after the jump!

--Darcie Duttweiler