Dev Patel
During this awards season the Best Actor category really has been dominated by the performance of Sean Penn in Milk but it was Mickey Rourke that scooped the Golden Globe. The Oscar now looks like a two horse race.
Bafta have brought together the performances expected to appear in the Best Actor category but have thrown in British star Dev Patel for his role in Slumdog Millionaire. FemaleFirst takes a closer look at the nominations.
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Despite the film being criticised for containing many historical inaccuracies Frank Langella's performance as Richard Nixon has been widely praised.
For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency.
Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans.
Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss' ability to hold his own. But as cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted. Would Nixon evade questions of his role in one of the nation's greatest disgraces? Or would Frost confound critics and bravely demand accountability from the man who'd built a career out of stonewalling?
Sean Penn - Milk
Sean Penn has dominated the award season for his performance in Gus Van Sant's political biopic Milk, which looks at the political career of Harvey Milk.
Penn has won a string of critics awards over recent weeks but lost out on Golden Globes evening to Mickey Rourke.
Gay Rights Activist. Friend. Lover. Unifier. Politician. Fighter. Icon. Inspiration. Hero. His life changed history, and his courage changed lives.
In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into major public office in America.
His victory was not just a victory for gay rights; he forged coalitions across the political spectrum. From senior citizens to union workers, Harvey Milk changed the very nature of what it means to be a fighter for human rights and became, before his untimely death in 1978, a hero for all Americans.
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke's performance as down and out wrestler Randy 'the Ram' Robinson in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler has been met with critical and commercial acclaim and has revitalised his career.
The film lit up the award circuit last year and Rourke has been a strong presence on the awards circuit picking up the Golden Globe for his performance.
Back in the late '80s, Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centres around New Jersey.
However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life -- trying to reconnect with his daughter, and strikes up a blossoming romance with an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei).
Yet all this cannot compare to the allure of the ring and passion for his art, which threatens to pull Randy "The Ram" back into his world of wrestling.
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is currently the darling of the Oscars with thirteen nominations.
"I was born under unusual circumstances." And so begins "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: a man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time.
We follow his story, set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918, into the 21st century, following his journey that is as unusual as any man's life can be.
Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire
Dev Patel has really become the new star of British cinema with his role in Danny Boyle's hit Slumdog Millionaire.
The actor, and the rest of the young cast, have been riding a wave of award success as the film continues to be honoured left right and centre.
The film follows Jamal Malik, an eighteen year old orphan from the slums of Mumbai who is on the verge of winning Who Wants to be A Millionaire?
But when the show breaks for the night police arrest him on suspicion of cheating: how could a street kid know so much?
Desperate to prove his innocence Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local groups and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost.
The winners will be announced 8th February
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Baftas