Best Leading Actor 2003

5. Jude Law - Cold Mountain
Law is not actually bad in Cold Mountain. His performance is very good, but too drab, I could maybe say that dull. He gets very overshadowed by Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger and even by the film itself. He has some better scenes mostly in the beginning and at the end, but the middle he's just too normal to be Oscar-nominated. Law is very good actor and when he tries he can be wonderful. And even though this is one of his better performances, but he had just too many rivals...

4. Ben Kingsley - House of Sand and Fog
The same case as Law was. He was too drab and dull. Actually I have seen Kingsley playing greatly only once (Shutter Island) and his other performances (I've seen) were just good. I really want to see Gandhi to persuade myself that he can play wonderfully (he won an Oscar for it). His character here is not very affirmative and maybe he wanted to play it as he did, but I didn't really like it very much...

3. Sean Penn - Mystic River
Very good performance. Maybe sometimes overacting, but most of the time very effective and convincing. His character is an experienced man with memories and experiences full of sadness. It's a typical Oscar role and the Academy love it, so no wonders that he won. But I like more untypical and not clishe performances. Penn is a wonderful actor and it was reflexed in his performances...

2. Bill Murray - Lost in translation
Very surprising performance. Murray is a comedian and I would never thought that he would play as greatly, as he played. Wonderfully played and showed character. This is a kind of performance which should be shown to the actors-beginners to know how to play...

1. Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean:The Curse of the Black Pearl
An iconic legendary performance of a great actor. His Jack Sparrow is one of the best characters ever played and written and his creation of it is just unforgettable and impossible to repeat. He is funny and entertaining and he even makes Pirates of the Caribbean something more, than just a summer blockbuster. Every film fan should see this fabulous performance...

My Nominees:
1. Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2. Ewan McGregor - Big fish
3. Russell Crowe - Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World
4. Bill Murray - Lost in translation
5. Sean Penn - 21 grams