Entertainment
The Greatest Movies From Every 2026 Best Actor Oscar Nominee
The 98th Academy Awards are just around the corner, and it looks like almost everyone has their own predictions for who will win the coveted awards this year. In the Best Actor category, we have a great depth of talent on display, with nominations going to Leonardo DiCaprio for his performance as Bob in One Battle After Another; Timothée Chalamet for his work in Marty Supreme; Ethan Hawke for his performance as Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart in the Richard Linklater film Blue Moon; Michael B. Jordan for his dual role in Sinners; and Wagner Moura for his performance in the Brazilian film The Secret Agent.
Each of the nominees for the Best Actor Oscar this year is a talented and celebrated icon, and no matter who wins, all of them have delivered tremendous performances in the films for which they have been nominated. However, are they also their best films so far? Not necessarily. All these actors have had stellar careers, involving numerous acclaimed masterpieces, some of which rival and even surpass their latest work. So, here’s our handpicked selections for the best movie in each 2026 Best Actor Oscar nominee’s filmography, including some prior Oscar snubs and a few of the greatest films of all time.
1
Leonardo DiCaprio for ‘One Battle After Another’
Best Movie: ‘The Departed’ (2006)
As thrilling as One Battle After Another may be, there is one film in DiCaprio’s career that still stands out as the greatest. Directed by Martin Scorsese, in his third collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed is an award-winning crime thriller that reimagines the Hong Kong film Internal Affairs, drawing inspiration from the true events involving the Boston Winter Hill Gang. The movie follows the spy-versus-spy tensions between Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a state police officer who is secretly a mole working for mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), and Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), a state trooper who is working undercover in Costello’s organization to find the mole. Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin, and Vera Farmiga star in supporting roles.
While Leonardo DiCaprio’s acting credits include a wide range of performances, each unique and praiseworthy for its own reasons, The Departed stands out as his finest, most timeless work. The movie sees DiCaprio deliver a career-defining performance as Billy Costigan, a man on the edge, which is made all the more entertaining by the hard-hitting dialogue. Intense and visceral, his performance anchors the gritty narrative of power, secrecy, and justice. An undeniable masterpiece by Scorsese, The Departed has continued to earn widespread praise for its story, acting, production, and narrative, and it’s the movie that earned the director his first-ever Oscar.
2
Timothée Chalamet for ‘Marty Supreme’
Best Movie: ‘Call Me By Your Name’ (2017)
Based on the novel by André Aciman, Call Me by Your Name is the third installment of Luca Guadagnino’s Desire trilogy, directed by Guadagnino and written by James Ivory. Starring Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet as the central characters, it follows the emotionally complex romantic journey of 17-year-old Elio Perlman (Chalamet), who falls in love with 24-year-old Oliver (Hammer), a graduate student who comes to work for his father. Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, and Victoire Du Bois appear in supporting roles.
A sweet and tender coming-of-age story with themes of self-discovery and the emotional complexities of adolescent romance, Call Me by Your Name is a critically acclaimed cult hit that established Timothée Chalamet’s reputation as an actor capable of beautifully nuanced performances. Elio’s character accentuates the film’s visual artistry and poetic narrative in Chalamet’s raw portrayal of the delicate agony of love. The performance earned him widespread acclaim, making him one of the youngest nominees for the Academy Award for Best Actor, though he lost it that time to Gary Oldman’s Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.
3
Ethan Hawke for ‘Blue Moon’
Best Movies: ‘The Before Trilogy’ (1995–2013)
Directed by Richard Linklater, The Before Trilogy is a collection of three films starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as the central characters, chronicling their romantic relationship over 18 years. Beginning with a whirlwind, dreamy romance in Vienna, the couple embarks on a long exploration of love and intimacy as their relationship begins, deepens, then strains with the harsh realities of aging and marriage. Spanning the 18-year timeline of the story, each Before film was released at nine-year intervals, beginning with Before Sunrise (1995), followed by Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013). Hawke and Delpy also co-wrote the last two films.
One of Linklater’s most important projects, The Before Trilogy is an ambitious exploration of postmodern romance through contrasting themes and varying perspectives on life, love, the concept of time, death, and self-discovery. Extraordinarily intimate, its narrative pushes the boundaries of cinematic romance, evoked ever so movingly by Hawke through his simmering on-screen chemistry with Julie Delpy. Due to the actual passage of time between films, we really get to see the actors grow with the characters, bringing the utmost authenticity to their performances. Hawke’s work on the trilogy has garnered him several accolades.
4
Michael B. Jordan for ‘Sinners’
Best Movie: ‘Fruitvale Station’ (2013)
Sinners has earned Oscar nominations for both its star and its writer-director, but this film, their first collaboration, remains the most poignant and powerful in their filmographies. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler in his feature directorial debut, Fruitvale Station chronicles the last day in the life of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old Black man killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer in Oakland, California, in 2009. Starring Michael B. Jordan in the lead role, the film explores the events leading up to Grant’s death, which started as a day of revelation for the young man but ultimately ended in his tragic death. Kevin Durand and Michael Murray play the BART officers involved in the case, with Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly, and Octavia Spencer in supporting roles.
Fruitvale Station is simultaneously an understated but impactful depiction of real events and a celebration of the intricate textures of human life. Michael B. Jordan is utterly compelling with his passionate and powerful performance as the victim of this tragedy, embodying a character who is both gentle and tough. Alongside Coogler’s storytelling and direction, Jordan’s performance in Fruitvale Station has been widely acclaimed, earning him several accolades.
5
Wagner Moura for ‘The Secret Agent’
Best Movie: ‘The Secret Agent’ (2025)
Wagner Moura’s best performance so far is arguably the movie for which he is nominated this year, the Brazilian historical political thriller The Secret Agent. Written and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, the film follows Armando (Moura), a former professor caught in the political turmoil of the Brazilian military dictatorship, who attempts to flee his past by moving from São Paulo to Recife, but finds himself in the middle of even more chaos. The film also stars Carlos Francisco, Tânia Maria, Robério Diógenes, Gabriel Leone, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Alice Carvalho, and Udo Kier in his final film role.
Visually arresting and thematically rich, The Secret Agent is a heady combination of grindhouse cinema, period thriller, and a dark social commentary, elevated by Wagner Moura’s central performance. Moura is phenomenal as the layered and vulnerable protagonist, who remains understated and restrained amidst his electrifying socio-political environment. Complemented by the vivid period aesthetics, The Secret Agent is not only one of the highest-rated films of 2025 but also an iconic landmark in Moura’s three-decade-long film career.
The Secret Agent
- Release Date
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November 26, 2025
- Runtime
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158 minutes
- Director
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Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Writers
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Kleber Mendonça Filho