Let’s face it, the guy who’s far and away the most likely to win this one is Brendan Gleeson, right? He’s a massively capable and decorated actor whom the Oscars have somehow managed to elude so far despite his lifetime of amazing roles. In sheer spite of his glorious turns in movies like “In Bruges,” “The Guard,” and “Calvary,” the shiniest Stateside thing he has in his awards cabinet at the moment is an Emmy for 2009’s “Into the Storm,” which almost seems like cheating because pretty much every talented actor playing Winston Churchill is destined to haul honors by the fistful.
Gleeson has already won a few awards for his turn as Colm Doherty, and being an un-Oscar’d, 67-year-old actor of great stature and esteem, he should have an edge over the competition at the Academy Awards, as well. Of course, Judd Hirsch is on his second supporting actor Oscar nom, having been nominated for “Ordinary People” all the way back in 1980. He’s also 87 years old, so if the Academy does opt to take the elder statesman route, he might potentially edge a win over Gleeson. Even so, considering how hard “The Banshees of Inisherin” has been riding the cultural zeitgeist, it just seems deeply unwise to bet against Gleeson at this point.
