POLLS: Who Really Deserves the 2016 Academy Award for Best Actor?

Finally, its Oscar weekend.

Dominating entertainment headlines since December, and dare we say, eating our Gilbert Grapes, is the question, will Leonardo DiCaprio finally win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as American frontiersman Hugh Glass in The Revenant?

Most of the world seems to think so. Having been snubbed thrice before (The Wolf of Wall Street, Blood Diamond and The Aviator), this year seems like Leo’s year, not just because his portrayal of a fur trader on the hunt for his son’s murderer was so undeniably good, but this year’s competition is also not as strong as his previous run.

Back in 2014, DiCaprio and his character Jordan Belfort were up against Christian Bale of American Hustle, Chiwetel Ejiofor of 12 Years a Slave, and Nebraska‘s Bruce Dern, all of whom lost to Matthew McConaughey for his role as the drug smuggling AIDS patient Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyer’s Club. That’s some stiff competition, and truly could’ve went either way, but McConaughey’s first Oscar for Best Actor was well deserved.

This time around, Leo goes up against last year’s winner Eddie Redmayne of The Danish Girl (winning for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything). Winning best actor two years in a row has happened twice before, first Spencer Tracy in the ’30s and most recently Tom Hanks for Philadelphia and Forest Gump. Philadelphia was a fantastic movie, and no one was taking the award over Forest, but it’s doubtful that we’ll see Redmayne become the third actor to do so.

Michael Fassbender is also in the running for his portrayal of the late, great innovator, Steve Jobs. The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews for its unique character study of a very complex man and his relationship with his daughter Lisa, however it did come with some controversy, mostly from people who knew Jobs.

Rounding out the selection is Bryan Cranston of Trumbo and The Martian‘s Matt Damon. It’s not often that someone wins the best actor award for a movie about Hollywood, although Jean Dujardin did win it in 2011 for the silent film The Artist, especially if the Academy is very much “the establishment.” So it seems unlikely Cranston will receive the nod for examining some of the industry’s darker moments. On the other hand, there’s Damon and his exhilarating performance as an astronaut stranded on Mars. While he was very compelling — especially when you consider there’s no manuscript for what it’s like to be alone on another planet — the sci-fi thriller was more about life on Mars than it was about the battle within Damon’s character.

Even with all that said, Leo isn’t necessarily a sure-bet for the award. Sure his role in The Revenant was just as captivating (if not more) than any of his past nominations, but for many, it was Tom Hardy that made the movie, as the character you loved to hate.

Cast your vote for the best actor below, but also take to the comments to tell us who you think will win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor between Tom Hardy (The Revenant), Christian Bale (The Big Short), Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight), Slyvester Stallone (Creed) and Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies).