The 2013 RyMickey Awards - Best Actor

While I wasn't all that impressed by the Supporting Actor crop of 2013, the leading actor category fared a little better.  In fact, I think my #1 choice is the best performance by either gender in 2013.  While four out of the five Academy Award-nominated performances land in my Top Eight, you'll notice that the winner of that award is actually ranked lowest in my opinion.

Best Actor of 2013

Also in the running...

(in alphabetical order)

Paul Bettany - Blood

Domnhall Gleeson - About Time

Peter Sarsgaard - Lovelace

Miles Teller - The Spectacular Now

Honorable Mentions

#8 - Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

"Rather nicely, the film slowly allows Woodruff to come to the realization that his predisposed ideas about the gay community in Texas were perhaps wrongly skewed and I enjoyed McConaughey's quiet transformation he has Woodruff undergo as the film progresses."

#7 - James Gandolfini - Enough Said

"Gandolfini is the complete opposite of Tony Soprano here, abandoning any sense of that "tough guy" persona for which he's so well known and fully embodying the softy that is Albert."

#6 - Bruce Dern - Nebraska

"Yet despite the slow-paced gait and the mumbled words, Woody's certainly "all there" -- yes, he may not be thinking quite as clearly as in his youth, but Dern shows us Woody hasn't forgotten the pain of his past and the hope for his future (however false that hope may be). "

And the Top Five...

#5 - Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave

Behind the eyes of Chiwetel Ejiofor's portrayal of Solomon Northrup, you can see the pain of his present situation mixed with the undying hope that he will return to his freedom.  Despite Northrup's repression, Ejiofor injects a commanding strength that we can't help but rally behind.

#4 - Brady Corbet - Simon Killer

While he starts out seemingly like a depressed twenty-something, Brady Corbet's Simon becomes fascinatingly creepy as the film progresses as he slowly peels back the layers of his character.  He's really quite menacing by the film's end.

#3 - Matthew Goode - Stoker

Matthew Goode in Stoker seems like he was plucked right out of a Hitchcock film -- suave, debonair, yet frighteningly sly.  His creepy performance is a near perfect union of character and actor.

#2 - Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips

While I wasn't a huge fan of the film, Tom Hanks's portrayal of the title character was worth the price of admission.  Phillips is a quiet hero and Hanks's ability to show what it takes to make this normal man whip up the courage to survive and save his crew is the best part of the flick.  The film's final scene -- simply a fantastic piece of acting by Mr. Hanks.

#1 - Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street

I've never seen Leonardo DiCaprio take on a role with such vigor and joie de vivre as he does with Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street.  Slick, sly, charming, self-absorbed, overly confident, with sex appeal, DiCaprio's performance is loose, hilarious, and captivating.  Quite frankly, to take such a slimy guy and hold my interest for nearly three hours is an undertaking, but DiCaprio succeeds and gives what I think if the best performance of 2013 across both genders.

Previous RyMickey Award Winners

2012

2011

2010

2009