Oscar Predictions: Best Actress
Danielle Deadwyler, Michelle Yeoh and Viola Davis - Earl Gibson III/Jon Kopaloff /Paul Morigi /Stringer
A recently released discussion on September 15, 2022, over who could be an Oscar contender in the Best Actresses category. Some of the top contenders of color include well-known names such as Michelle Yeoh and Viola Davis and relative newcomer Danielle Deadwyler. Plus, other potential contenders such as Zahra Amir Ebrahimi, Taylor Russell, Anna Diop, Thandiwe Newton, Tang Wei, Naomi Ackie, Zoe Saldaña, Keke Palmer, Letitia Wright, Charibi Dean, Regina Hall, Tessa Thompson, Amandla Stenberg, Aubrey Plaza, and Janelle Monáe are worthy of notice. The actresses are ranked by their chances of making the final nominations and were based on a combination of insider information and research on the various projects that have them in contention.
Currently, the one most favored to take home the Oscar for Best Actress win is an award-winning actress and cultural icon Michelle Yeoh for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once. In addition to the film receiving an overall 95% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes, Everything Everywhere All at Once is walking tall after taking home the most awards from the 5th Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards, winning seven out of eight of its nominations, and winning every category it was eligible for, including Best Picture. The film has even been nominated for seven categories in the upcoming Saturn Awards.
The success of the film has not overshadowed the talent of Michelle Yeoh. If anything, it has only magnified her success in 2022. Yeoh has been recognized for her skill and contribution to the cinema on two occasions this year, the first being the Kirk Douglas Award presented to her during the 2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The second was being honored with the Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award during the Toronto International Film Festival Tribute Awards. Her acting skills and recent thrust into the limelight make her a prominent contender for the Oscars’ Best Actress Award. If nominated, Yeoh would be the second Asian lead nominee in 95 years, and if she won, Yeoh would also be the first actress of Asian descent to win Best Actress in the history of the Academy Awards.
Another strong contender for the Best Actress Award is African American actress, producer, and advocate of human rights and equal rights for women and women of color, Viola Davis. Her latest lead role in The Woman King had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2022, and Sony Pictures released the film in theaters in the United States on September 16, 2022. Following the festival screening, the film received positive reviews, with critics praising its cast, particularly Viola, and the action choreography. Many critics have claimed that Viola's performance is a career-best, crediting her extraordinary ability to dig into her character’s psyche to express an impressive level of emotional depth and nuance as Nanisca in The Woman King. Viola’s dedication to getting into character is shown in the raw intensity of her action scenes and the muscular physique she put on for her role as a warrior heroine.
African American actress Danielle Deadwyler also seems to be a likely nominee for Best Actress for her role as Cuffee in The Harder They Fall. Her character was inspired by Cathay Williams, an African American soldier known to be the only woman known to have served in the American Indian Wars and the first Black woman to enlist in the Army. Despite performing alongside a talented ensemble cast featuring Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, and Regina King, Danielle Deadwyler is not overshadowed in her portrayal of Cuffee. The film and her performance received positive reviews, with Deadwyler even receiving the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her performance. In interviews, she frequently references the efforts she made to get into a character which included taking horseback-riding lessons, digging into Black trans history texts, and conducting research on Cathay Williams; all for Deadwyler to manifest herself into the character.
Michelle Yeoh, Viola Davis, and Danielle Deadwyler are the actresses most likely to receive 3 of the 5 available nominations for the Best Actress Oscar category. Australian actor and producer Kate Blanchett is also likely to receive the fourth nomination for her lead role as Lydia Tár in the psychological drama TÁR for which she won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the 2022 Venice Film Festival. Many entertainment news organizations infer that the last nominee will be Olivia Colman for her performance in Empire of Light, but mixed ratings and polarized opinions on its screenplay cast doubt on those rumors. Instead, the more likely choice for the last nominee position will go to Iranian actress Zahra Amir Ebrahimi for her performance in the thriller Holy Spider which won her the Best Actress award at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
The predictions are based on the current standings of the featured films being considered for nominations for the 2022 Academy Awards. They do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance, and each individual category is fluid and subject to change.