The top Oscars front-runners and dark horses of 2018 so far

TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 08: Timothee Chalamet attends The Hollywood Foreign Press Association and InStyle Party during 2018 Toronto International Film Festival at Four Seasons Hotel on September 8, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images,)

Best Supporting Actor

It’s almost funny how starkly different the two current Best Supporting Actor front-runners are. One is a Hollywood vet, the other is a young newcomer with some Academy love already under his belt.

Sam Elliott has been nominated for two Golden Globes and two Emmys, but has never quite made it to the Academy Awards. But his role as Bobby, the manager and older brother of Bradley Cooper’s Jackson, in A Star Is Born, may finally nab him some serious Academy props. The entire supporting cast of the film is getting rave reviews, but Elliott’s emotional performance as Cooper’s conflicted brother could be the breakout. A hard-working, longtime actor finally winning big after his years in the industry could be a great narrative for the Academy Awards, too.

On the other end of the spectrum, there is Timothée Chalamet. The 22-year-old won rave reviews for his emotionally charged performance in last year’s Call Me By Your Name, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, making him the third-youngest nominee ever in that category, the youngest in almost 80 years.

Chalamet’s performance as a meth-addicted teen in Beautiful Boy alongside Steve Carell might be his chance to bring home that trophy this season. Early sneak peaks of the film left audiences in tears, and we already know Chalamet is capable of emotional vulnerability years beyond his young age. Even if the young star doesn’t win, it’ll definitely be another critically lauded performance to add to his resume which will inevitably boast an Oscar at some point in the near future.

Dark Horse(s): The film Boy Erased is gaining some serious traction for award season. The film tells the story of a young boy, the son of a Baptist pastor in small-town America, who gets outed to his family and he’s pressured into attending a gay conversion therapy program. Russell Crowe plays his father and Joel Edgerton plays the head therapist. But it’s the film’s star Lucas Hedges (already an Oscar nominee for Manchester by the Sea) will likely get the push for Best Actor, leaving the other two men to duke it out for Best Supporting.