Entertainment

Olivia Colman and Christian Bale among Britons vying for Oscar nods

They are expected to pick up nominations in the leading categories.
They are expected to pick up nominations in the leading categories. They are expected to pick up nominations in the leading categories.

British stars Olivia Colman, Christian Bale, Richard E Grant and Rachel Weisz are among those hoping to hear their names called when the Oscar nominations are announced on Tuesday.

Colman is widely considered to be among the frontrunners for the best actress prize at the ceremony for her role as Queen Anne in the black period comedy The Favourite, but is likely to face stiff competition from Glenn Close for The Wife and Lady Gaga for A Star Is Born.

It remains to be seen if Emily Blunt will make the cut for Mary Poppins Returns, after taking over the role of the nanny from Julie Andrews, who won an Oscar for the original film in 1965.

Likely rivals include Melissa McCarthy for Can You Ever Forgive Me? and Yalitza Aparicio for Roma.

Welsh-born Bale, who won an Oscar in 2011 for The Fighter, is heavily tipped to pick up a nomination for playing former vice president Dick Cheney in Vice and is likely to be joined in the best actor category by Bradley Cooper for A Star Is Born and Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody.

Other potential contenders include Viggo Mortensen for Green Book and Ethan Hawke for First Reformed, as well as John David Washington for BlacKkKlansman.

The Favourite’s Rachel Weisz and First Man’s Claire Foy are both likely to score nominations in the best supporting actress category, while Weisz’s co-star Emma Stone is also tipped for a nod, alongside If Beale Street Could Talk’s Regina King and Vice’s Amy Adams.

Withnail & I star Grant could land his first nomination for his role opposite Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me?, a film about biographer-turned-forger Lee Israel.

He is likely to face the stiffest competition from Green Book’s Mahershala Ali, while Timothee Chalamet is also expected to land a nod for Beautiful Boy, as well as Adam Driver for BlacKkKlansman. Also jostling for a spot in the category are Sam Rockwell for Vice and Sam Elliott for A Star Is Born.

Cooper is likely to make an appearance in the best director category, as well as the best actor list, after making his directorial debut with the re-telling of the classic story, starring Lady Gaga as an aspiring singer.

His biggest competition is likely to come from Alfonso Cuaron for his black-and-white, Spanish-language passion project Roma, based on his own childhood in Mexico City.

If Spike Lee lands a nomination for BlacKkKlansman it will be his first directing nod from the Academy.

He has previously scored nods for his screenplay for Do The Right Thing and his documentary 4 Little Girls.

Elsewhere, if Marvel movie Black Panther lands a best picture nomination it would be the first superhero film ever nominated in the category, while a nod for Roma in the category would be a first for Netflix.

The Oscar nominations will be announced by Tracee Ellis Ross and Kumail Nanjiani in Los Angeles at 1pm.