Courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures
Today was a big day in Hollywood as the nominations for 94th Academy Awards were announced. There were no real surprised in this year's nominations except for Denis Villeneuve not getting dominated for Best Director for Dune. The category that caught my eye in this year's nominations was the Best Actor category. One name and performance stood out from the rest and that is Will Smith's portrayal of Richard Williams in King Richard. King Richard was a surprise hit in 2021 with critics praising the film. It even pulled in a Best Picture nomination. Will Smith made the film as great as it was playing the colorful Richard Williams and should be awarded for his efforts.
Will Smith has been nominated twice previously for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness. Ironically both nominations were for portrayals of real people. In Ali, he played the greatest boxer of all time Muhammad Ali. In The Pursuit of Happyness, he played Chris Gardner, a struggling man trying to provide for his son. Both performances were fantastic, but Smith's portrayal of Richard Williams takes the cake. Smith has never been better in a film. It didn't feel like I was watching Will Smith on the big screen, I felt like I was watching old footage of Richard Williams. Another thing that helps Smith is he was playing an inspiring character. Sure he had his faults, but he did all he could to make Venus and Serena the greatest tennis players in the world and that is exactly what he did. The Academy loves these stories. It's not just The Academy that loves these films, the movie audience loves them too. Smith has never tasted Oscar gold but 2022 will be his year.
There's threats to claiming his Best Actor award. Two of his biggest threats are Andrew Garfield (tick, tick...BOOM!) and Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth). Both of these actors starred in films that the Academy loves: music biopics and Shakespeare. Both actors turned in great performances but this is Will Smith's year. I don't see Benedict Cumberbatch or Javier Bardem being a threat to Smith. No actor put in a better performance and deserves it more than Smith.
Do you think Will Smith should win the Oscar for Best Actor? Leave it in the comments below.
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