Two men won Oscars for playing the same cartoon character, and that scratches the surface. Comic book movies are a nebulous concept at first, and I don’t love the awards ceremony. It’s not about technical awards; it’s about acting awards. We believe that more actors in comic books deserve accolades of love, and we don’t mean Razzies. Yes, the Oscars have got better, but something has to change.
Let’s start with the actor who received an award for his work. Yes, that’s Halle Berry, who won Best Supporting Actress in a Comic Relief Movie.
Heath Ledger
Many consider The Dark Knight the best comic book film of all time, the darkest ever, but the Academy took the film seriously and reassured critics. Ledger’s work as the Joker won the Australian award for best-supporting actor. Unfortunately, Ledger did not accept the prize because he died before the shooting, and the film was nominated for an Oscar.
Joaquin Phoenix
Ledger won the best supporting actor for the role of The Joker, while Phoenix won the best actor for the position of The Joker. It’s a lot to say you like The Joker, but Phoenix was one of the best actors of his era and should win several Oscars.
Robert Downey Jr.
He introduces the character and the world to him, simultaneously funny, captivating, and aggravating. For example, he received a nomination for Avengers: Endgame. He won for the somber, character-driven version of a comic book film. We also support his original turn in the movie that spawned the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man. Iron Man and Tony Stark play so often that you could imagine another film for him.
In comics and movies and superheroes, we try to stay within a specific range of comics, but we should not limit the offerings of Marvel and DCs. Take, for example, the Man in Black.
Vincent D’Onofrio
The film focuses on Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, but Donofrio exerts the most significant acting influence. He plays an alien stuffed in a human skin suit and does it with flying colors. It’s all based on a comic book, after all.
Chadwick Boseman
Boseman seemed destined to win an Oscar some time, but his chances of making films like Da 5 drops of blood were limited. He died of cancer in 2020, aged 43. And we haven’t even talked about his work as Batman. All well and good, but Boseman’s work as a hooded crusader was not exactly impressive. You know, the movies he made were excellent.
Michael Keaton
People were tired of the Spider-Man reboots as they rolled around, and the rousing success of Spider-Mans (and Keaton’s turns out to be the vulture that’s a significant reason) was probably behind it. Homecoming.
He is a great actor with many Oscar-nominated actors, to mention a winner for The Fighter. Also, one of those guys who has legitimized great actors to take on superhero roles. He went from superhero to menacing villain. And we rewarded him for his work as Batman.
Christian Bale
There were no comic films in the 1970s, and the only ones that existed were the comedic silliness of the Batman films of the 1960s, which were excellent but not award-winning like old-fashioned series. His performance as Superman in Clark Kent helped change that. We were initially part of his work as Batman when he brought Bruce Wayne’s journey to the big screen to become Batman.
Jeff Goldblum
Regarding the Oscar winners, let’s not forget Cate Blanchett and Anthony Hopkins in Thor: Ragnarok. The Oscars tend to diminish comedic performances. If we pretend to be award-worthy, we should be talking about the Golden Globes. Look, we want to give Goldblum all the love he can get. After all, he was delightful in Thor.
Gal Gadot
Gadot has a heavy burden on her shoulders, but she does it with gusto. People who made DC movies and Wonder Woman came first. That’s why Wonder Woman was made, and thank you, Gal Gadot, for your reliable performance.