Our winner for Best Character and ninth place entrant for Breakthrough performance wrap up our top five selections this year. Ralph Fiennes will always be known as Voldemort first and Amon Goeth second, but his delightful portrayal of Monsieur Gustave H., the elderly-loving concierge at The Grand Budapest Hotel, is one of the best in his storied career.

Miles Teller, on the other hand, is just getting started in Hollywood, yet he has already wowed us multiple times. As the lead in Whiplash, Teller literally played the drums until his fingers bled. His demonstration of what a musician needs to do to stand out from one’s peers is yet another sublime rendition from this rising superstar. If we could bet on the future of one under-30 actor in Hollywood, it’s probably Teller.

Damaged British icons comprise our sixth and seventh place entries. Eddie Redmayne already won Breakthrough Performance for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. He also finished in sixth place for Best Actor in demonstrating how force of will can overcome the limitations of bodily fragility. Benedict Cumberbatch’s work in The Imitation Game nakedly demonstrated the challenges socially awkward Alan Turing faced while trying to aid the Allied efforts in World War II. The film doubles on a treatise on the madness of judging people based upon their sexual preferences. Cumberbatch deftly demonstrated heartbreak without bitterness through his reactions to how harshly a war hero was treated by complete strangers who owed him their very lives.

Three industry heavyweights complete our list. Bradley Cooper’s work in American Sniper has been championed at the box office as well as in the media. Our staff was equally transfixed, shaky southern accent notwithstanding. There was theoretically nowhere for Matthew McConaughey to go but down after The Wolf of Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club and True Detective. He somehow avoided that fate with a terrific turn as the potential hero of mankind in Interstellar. Finally, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s last appearance will technically be in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, but BOP will remember him for his gritty turn as German master spy Günther Bachmann in A Most Wanted Man. Hoffman rarely accepted lead roles in films, which is a further tragedy on top of his shocking death.

Narrowly missing selection this year were Steve Carell in Foxcatcher, Andy Serkis in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (despite a devoted campaign from BOP’s funniest staff member), John Lithgow in Love is Strange, Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy, Ben Affleck in Gone Girl, Tom Hardy in Locke, Bill Hader in The Skeleton Twins, Chadwick Boseman in Get on Up, and Tom Cruise for Edge of Tomorrow.

2015 Calvin Awards
Calvins Intro
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Album
Best Cast
Best Character
Best Director
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture

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