OUTSTANDING MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Tom Courtenay as Geoff Mercer in “45 YEARS”

Michael Fassbender as Macbeth in “MACBETH”

Tom Hanks as James B. Donovan in “BRIDGE OF SPIES”

Michael B. Jordan as Adonis “Donnie” Johnson Creed in “CREED“

Ian McKellen as Sherlock Holmes in “MR. HOLMES”

AND THE WINNER IS:

TOM COURTENAY AS GEOFF MERCER IN “45 YEARS”

This is the first win and nomination for Tom Courtenay for his performance as Geoff Mercer in 45 Years.

The list of leading male performances in 2015 wasn’t long for me but when it came to choosing 5 these men stood above the rest and when it came to picking a winner Courtenay was my clear choice. Rampling is the star of 45 Years but her performance isn’t have as compelling without her equally great co-star Courtenay. He comes in and out of the film for long enough that I consider him a co-lead and when he comes on screen there’s just something about Courtenay’s performance that brings me into him. A moment that stands out for me with Courtenay is his word in the final scene of the film where just singing this song to his wife and the way he moves in this sign just is so captivating because even when this scene pushes him into a very unlikeable role Courtenay just is so charismatic that I appreciate the performance in an entirely different way then I had the entire film.