Sean Penn

Sean Penn as Matthew Poncelet. Dead Man Walking. 1995.

This year, 2009, Sean Penn is nominated again with a Best Actor Academy Award for Milk.

His first Oscar was given for his performance in the 2003 film Mystic River. But everyone keeps saying that he should've gotten an Oscar two years earlier for I Am Sam (but as Robert Downey, Jr. said in Tropic Thunder, Sean Penn went full retard for the role, and came home empty-handed).

But the truth is, he should've gotten an Oscar way back in 1995, for this role:

That's Matthew Poncelet, convicted killer on death row, in the Tim Robbins picture Dead Man Walking. Penn's portrayal of Harvey Milk, like his portrayal in I Am Sam, still contains traces of the real Sean Penn, like his distinct voice. But in Dead Man Walking, there is no trace of Sean Penn. Matthew Poncelet may look like Sean Penn, but the similarity ends there. Once he opens his mouth, he becomes the character altogether.

Penn's portrayal as a death row convict is so convincing that I was actually both afraid and awestruck at the same time. Afraid because I realized that somewhere in the far reaches of the United States, there still exist humans like Poncelet, cold-blooded evil racists who could kill someone without even batting an eyelash. And awestruck because even stone-cold killers can break down in tears when faced with death.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is not an infallible institution. Their choices are not divine in nature. They are merely opinions of the majority of them. Watch the Oscar nominees for Best Actor in 1995 again, and I guarantee you'll be shaking your head and wondering how in the world Nicolas Cage went home with the Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas when Sean Penn was clearly the best actor for that year.

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. 1998.

Who can deny the acting prowess of John Christopher Depp II?

The original eighties fans will know him forever as the poster boy who made panties drop in 21 Jump Street. All the fans who came after will know him as that guy who likes to take on weird roles. And when I say weird, I mean weird.

His weirdest role to date would probably be that infamous pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow, immortalized by Depp with the pirate accent and the drunk swagger. But Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas came much, much earlier, and if you want to see an offbeat, eccentric Johnny Depp, it's Raoul Duke, not Jack Sparrow, that you should watch.

Here Depp plays the sportswriter Raoul Duke, who is actually notorious writer Hunter S. Thompson's alter-ego. Now I personally know nothing of Johnny Depp's drug use, but as a musician, I'm pretty sure he's done pot a couple of times. But in this movie, Duke is actually someone who ingests drugs in huge quantities, and the effects of each and every drug he consumes, spanning the whole gamut of the uppers-downers spectrum, is portrayed accurately by Depp. The opening scene itself is like an anti-drug video clip showing the harmful effects of LSD, and yet the thing is, it's all acting. It's all brilliant acting.

One doesn't have to be a method actor to prepare for a role. Every actor has their own style. What Depp did for this role was to visit the real Hunter S. Thompson, and ended up living in Hunter's basement for four months. This was where Depp fleshed out the role, paying attention to Hunter's mannerisms and habits. He also went through the original manuscript of Fear and Loathing, as well as the notebooks Hunter kept during the original trip. He even traded cars with Hunter, shaved his head, and changed his wardrobe to match Hunter's.

Now, Hunter S. Thompson is a huge man, and one of the first actors considered to play him was Jack Nicholson, who was more or less the same size as the real Hunter S. Thompson. But due to some studio mishaps, the project never got off the ground. When Hunter first met Johnny Depp, his first thought was that, "This actor couldn't possibly play me. He's too small." But once Depp got inside his head and dissected his psyche, transforming it into his very own, Hunter became convinced that nobody else could play him the way Johnny Depp did. And for Depp's performance alone, this film is worth watching.

Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis as William "Bill" a.k.a. "The Butcher" Cutting. Gangs of New York. 2002.

Okay, anybody who says that Daniel Day-Lewis's performance was not that good, please stand up. Bill the Butcher'll plunge a knife through your heart.

To qualify into the Acting Hall of Fame, three conditions must be satisfied. First, the actor should become the character. And in this film, did the actor become the character? In this case, why the answer is yes. As with any Daniel Day-Lewis film, he totally becomes the character, on and off camera. Daniel Day-Lewis is in fact well-known for his acting eccentricities, staying in character as long as production is in progress, even if the cameras have stopped rolling. It was reported that he even had a bout of pneumonia during filming, and he stubbornly refused to be treated, saying it wasn't staying true to the period. I think he was finally persuaded when someone pointed out that during the period, people actually died of pneumonia.

The second condition that must be satisfied is that you must believe that the actor is really the character. With Day-Lewis in front of the camera, it's hard not to believe he isn't actually from nineteenth-century New York, what with his flawless accent and handlebar mustache. Daniel Day-Lewis's face totally disappears, as even the Butcher's facial expressions, gestures, and mannerisms totally become his own. Even his character's slight limp, as well as the dirty fingernails and greasy hair, all contribute to sustain the illusion that Bill the Butcher has indeed walked the earth and graced us with his presence. His knife-throwing lessons and his butcher apprenticeship definitely paid off.

And finally, the third condition that must be satisfied is that no other actor should be able to play the part better. The role must be tailor-made for that specific actor. This doesn't mean that only Daniel Day-Lewis can play Bill the Butcher. That would be an insult to all the other brilliant actors in the Hall of Fame. Perhaps the correct way to say it would be that only Daniel Day-Lewis can play Bill the Butcher the way he did. The level of artistry and devotion to the craft is unparalleled with this actor, which is why Daniel Day-Lewis, despite his considerably shorter filmography compared to other actors, still remains one of the most respected thespians of his generation.