Best Actor was a runaway this year, with David Strathairn taking another top spot at the Calvins for Good Night, and Good Luck. He had a difficult task as he was required to portray a real-life historical figure in a weighty film that has topical significance with today's current events. Additionally, he somehow had to be the film's centerpiece despite the presence of some big names in the cast, including George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr. and Patricia Clarkson. He does so in understated, subtle fashion, playing Edward R. Murrow with a dignity and keenness that would surely have escaped most other actors.

Some of Strathairn's most striking scenes in the film are carried off with no dialogue whatsoever. In particular, the moments after he finishes some seminal broadcasts allow the viewer to reflect with him as he appears to ruminate over the import of what has just taken place. We're thrilled to see Strathairn finally getting some legitimate recognition, as he has been under-appreciated throughout his career.

Second place goes to Strathairn's director and co-star George Clooney, who actually scores here for his performance in Syriana. Clooney plays the cynical, manipulative Bob Barnes. He delves deeply into the character, and he even gained some weight and grew an unsightly beard to more appropriately fit the part. His character is a man who does the difficult jobs for his government, and though they demand his loyalty, he receives nothing back in return. Clooney's is not an easy performance to watch, as there is very little to like about Barnes, making it hard to root for him. Although the movie is truly an ensemble piece, Clooney provides the moral center and is by far the most compelling and complicated creature to inhabit Syriana's convoluted story.

Speaking of despicable characters, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote takes third place. He has received rave reviews for his performance in Capote, and indeed he fully inhabits the persona. It's a revelation into the creative process, from spark of an idea all the way up to the writer's block that can occur as he struggles for completion and closure. Along the way, he does horrible things that he is forced to reconcile within himself somehow, and Hoffman is emotional and dark with his treatment. As the movie progresses, it becomes easy to understand why Capote was thoroughly disliked amongst his peers even as he was one of the most popular party guests available.

Joaquin Phoenix takes fourth place for his work as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. The film focuses on a very specific time in the life of The Man in Black, taking audiences back to the earliest days of rock 'n' roll and a moment in music history that was full of energy and life. Of course, like most artists, Cash found himself confronted by a number of demons, including the death of his brother at a young age and a variety of addictions. Walk the Line approaches those problems honestly and directly, and also presents Cash as a man whose behavior with his first wife was loathsome at times. By the same token, the good side of Johnny is developed equally well, with his creativity and thought processes shining through nicely. Additionally, the love story between Johnny and his eventual second wife June Carter is at turns sweet and painful. Joaquin Phoenix took on the difficult task of playing and singing all his own music in the film and made the role singularly his.

Our winner for Breakthrough Performance, Terrence Howard also gets his due here in the Best Actor category. Hustle & Flow has had a remarkable showing at the Calvins this year, and much of that is based on the strength of Howard's career-building performance. He plays DJay, a Memphis pimp with aspirations of becoming a big-time hip hop star. Trouble is, he has to find a way to get his words out to the world so that people can discover his talent. What really makes Howard stand out amongst other actors in 2005 is that his film is not so easy to pack into one genre. It has humor, it has a bit of tragedy, and it is never predictable. So goes the life of DJay. The character is so fascinating that you find yourself wrapped up in his story and waiting to see what happens next.

It was long past time for Heath Ledger to begin fulfilling some of the promise he had shown in early films such as 10 Things I Hate About You and even A Knight's Tale. In choosing to play the role of emotionally tortured cowboy Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, he was taking a big chance. The subject matter was such that the movie was bound to be controversial in Red States, and the fear could have been that making such a bold move would mark him as only an indie type of performer in the future. He dashed those preconceived notions as his work in Brokeback Mountain was a revelation. Ledger plays the character with refreshing honesty and believability. When he suffers because of his ambivalence over his feelings for Jack Twist, the audience feels it right along with Ledger.

Don Cheadle duplicates his 2005 performance in Hotel Rwanda by again finishing seventh in the Best Actor category. Of course, there is a stark contrast in the two roles. In Hotel Rwanda, Cheadle was the focus of the feature with only a few scenes occurring without him. Crash is an ensemble piece in the Robert Altman mold with several seemingly random story arcs intersecting over time. Cheadle is masterful as Graham, the de facto lead. He is faced with ethical ambiguity both at home and at work.

In one phase of his life, Graham is forced to hide a relationship from his mother. Simultaneously, he must mollify the woman who bore him as she constantly begs him to locate his missing brother. In the other phase of his life, Graham is offered the option of selling out in order to protect his career and his family. Crash is one of the most accredited hits of the year and while it features innumerable standout
performances, Cheadle is the defining presence.

For some reason which passes understanding to our staff, comedic performances always get the shaft during awards season. In reality, any actor who has tried the medium will attest to its difficulty. A thespian who has mastered comedy is night and day easier to train in drama than the reverse scenario. A perfect example of this is our eighth place, Steve Carell. The actor was trained in quickly changing, broad comedy on The Daily Show. From there, he received tutelage from Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell on how to handle the conversion to cinema in Bruce Almighty and Anchorman.

With the 40 Year-Old-Virgin, Carell establishes himself as exactly the type of everyman whom audiences instinctively root for. The move into a lead acting role is a natural progression though he is savvy enough to rely upon his improvisational skills in our pick for Best Scene of the year, the manscaping sequence. Even without that hearkening back to his roots, Carell would still succeed as a star because of his familiar presence. He feels like the current movie generation's answer to Dick Van Dyke and Ted Knight. He is the friend everyone has who happens to be slightly funnier and more charismatic. With a starring role in The Office and financial success in The 40 Year-Old-Virgin, he is already more established than most, yet Carell has only scratched the surface of
his upside as a lead actor.

Rounding out the top ten are Bruno Ganz, who took on the thankless job of playing Adolf Hitler in Downfall, and Ralph Fiennes for his role in The Constant Gardener. Ganz has already won several European awards for his work in Downfall, and we were thoroughly impressed with his work as well. It's no easy task to play a real-life historical villain, but we found his performance memorable. As for Fiennes, his character was complex. In the early part of the film, Justin Quayle is timid, even uneasy when it comes to asserting himself among others. By the end of the film, his determination to uncover the truth has become the movie's driving force.

Just missing this year's top ten were Johnny Depp (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Michael Pitt (Last Days) and Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence). (Kim Hollis/BOP)

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