The Oscars Best Actor Odds, Favourites & Preview – 96th Academy Awards

In this post, we take a look at the Oscars Best Actor odds and preview the chances of each of the betting favourites for the prestigious award.

The Best Actor Oscar, officially known as the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

This year the Best Actor Oscar winner will be announced at the 96th Academy Awards ceremony on March 10th.

Below you can find everything you need to know about the top contenders for this year’s award plus key information about previous Best Actor award winners.

Best Actor Oscar Odds

Best Actor Oscar Betting Favourites

Cillian Murphy

The favourite to win the Best Actor Oscar is Cillian Murphy at odds of 1/25 according to the latest Oscars odds at BoyleSports. Those odds imply that Murphy has a 96.2% chance of picking up the prestigious award this Sunday night.

The 47-year-old Cork native is bidding to win his first-ever Academy Award thanks to his portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer (2023). Murphy has received rave reviews for his performance in the Christopher Nolan-directed movie which tells the story of the life of the man who created the atomic bomb.

The Irishman, who outside of Oppenheimer is best known for his portrayal of Tommy Shelby in the hit British series Peaky Blinders , stole the show in a movie that included a star-studded cast of Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Casey Affleck, and Rami Malek.

Murphy’s case for the award was boosted after winning the Best Actor award at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards and BAFTA Awards. Fellow Irish film stars Andrew Scott ( All of Us Strangers ), and Barry Keoghan ( Saltburn ) also earned nominations in the same category at the Golden Globes. That meant half of the Best Actor Golden Globe nominations (3 out of 6) went to Irish actors.

Paul Giamatti

The 2nd favourite to receive the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role is Paul Giamatti at odds of 10/1. Those odds suggest that Giamatti has a 9.1% chance of winning the award.

The 56-year-old, who hails from Connecticut, secured his second Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Paul Hunham in The Holdovers . His 1st nomination came back in 2006 when he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Joe Gould in Cinderella Man (2005).

While he might not have the star power of other nominees such as Cillian Murphy and Bradley Cooper, he has been hailed for his performance in The Holdovers with many film critics making him their top pick for the award. This was evidenced when he picked up the Best Actor award at the Critics' Choice Awards.

If you fancy a bet in this category then Giamatti is probably the way to go at odds of 10/1. Is he likely to win? No, but at 1/25 it's hard to back Cillian Murphy plus Giamatti has already picked up an award in this category as mentioned.

Bradley Cooper

The 3rd favourite for the Best Actor Oscar is Bradley Cooper at 25/1 per the latest Oscars betting at BoyleSports. Those odds imply that Cooper has a 3.8% chance of being crowned the winner in this category.

The 49-year-old had been at much shorter odds of 13/8 at the beginning of awards season but since then has drifted out significantly to his current odds. The US film star earned himself a nomination for the award following his portrayal of Leonard Bernstein in Maestro (2023), a movie which Cooper also directed and co-wrote.

There is a similarity between both Murphy and Cooper here in that they both had the role of depicting the life of a famous historical figure. Despite nine nominations, including Best Actor for Silver Linings Playbook (2013) American Sniper (2015), and A Star Is Born (2019), Cooper is yet to win an Academy Award.

Recent Best Actor Oscar Winners

*Prices are subject to fluctuation.

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