Male Actor In a Leading Role

11. Matthias Schoenaerts, “Rust and Bone”

Co-star Marion Cotillard has rightly garnered her share of awards buzz for her role, but when it comes to passionate love stories, actors are only as good as their scene partners. As Ali, a bare-knuckle fighter who has drifted through life before meeting Cotillard’s Stephanie, Schoenaerts makes up one-half of one of the most romantic couples of the year. A classic antihero full of need and rage, Ali feels like a throwback to a character from a bygone film era—or a Hemingway novel. Schoenaerts embodies the soul of this animal in a way that deserves acclaim of its own.

Photo Source: Roger Arpajou