The Oscars may be two months away, but pundits are already labeling a few actors "favorites." You've got to feel for the talented actors giving their all yet getting no attention. We're hoping that when the 74th Academy Award nominations are announced Feb. 12, at least a few laudable long shots will make the cut. To fashion a list of suggestions, we consulted with film critics, USA TODAY writers and editors, and movie fans. The actors who made it were often in first-rate but little-seen films. Others are less showy players in dazzling ensemble casts.
"We heard a lot of harrumphs from critics at the end of 2001 about what a lousy year it was for movies, but we're seeing in the awards season that the front-runners, such as A Beautiful Mind and In the Bedroom, are performance-driven," says Tom O'Neil, author of Movie Awards. "We'll see a lot of tragic shutouts."
We don't want to shut out any of them — even if Oscar does.
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