Actors not getting due Oscar 'love' this year

At this point, Daniel-Day Lewis, George Clooney and Denzel Washington look like sure shots. And so do Julie Christie, Keira Knightley and Angelina Jolie.

All six are expected to be Academy Award nominees come mid-January for their lead performances in the movies "There Will Be Blood," "Michael Clayton," "American Gangster," "Away From Her," "Atonement" and "A Mighty Heart," respectively.

• Amy Adams, "Enchanted" ;Oscar seems to have a bias against comic performances, but Adams (a 2006 nominee for "Junebug") was a revelation as a cartoon princess trapped in the real world.

• Nikki Blonsky, "Hairspray"; Marketa Irglova, "Once"; Like Adams, these two newcomers gave impressive performances in movie musicals. And that's amazing when you consider that both of them were teenagers when their respective films were shot.

• Don Cheadle, "Talk to Me" ; Cheadle is one of those actors who automatically makes a movie worth watching. And playing real-life deejay Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene allowed him to be lighter and looser — as compared to the usually intense characters he plays. (The "Ocean's" movies notwithstanding.)

• Chris Cooper, "Breach" ; Ever since the film was released in February, everyone seems to have forgotten about the underappreciated Cooper, whose turn as a corrupt FBI agent should have been unforgettable.

• Ryan Gosling, "Lars and the Real Girl"; Gosling continues to prove he's the best young actor working in film today. And his sweetly believable turn as a social misfit in love with a sex doll only served as further proof of that.

• Emile Hirsch, "Into the Wild" ; If Gosling is tops on the young-actors list, then Hirsch isn't too far behind. His work as a societal outcast getting in touch with nature is his career best.

• Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" ; The always-terrific Hoffman is expected to get a Best Supporting Actor nomination for "Charlie Wilson's War." But he's even better here, as a self-destructive, would-be criminal mastermind.

• Laura Linney, "The Savages"; Linney actually outshined Hoffman in this darkly comic-drama about squabbling siblings forced to confront lingering family issues. (The film is opening locally Feb. 1.)

• Keri Russell, "Waitress"; Former television star Russell has turned into a credible film actress. She was terrific as a pregnant pie-restaurant waitress carrying on an affair with her physician.

E-mail: jeff@desnews.com