Best Lead Actor 2015

05. Domhnall Gleeson in Ex Machina - Far from being a showy role (in fact, the least showy of the three performances), Gleeson's turn as a computer programmer dealing with a cat and mouse game between a genius and the AI he invented is a master's class in subtlety and nuance. He demands the screen in every scene with sincerity and humanity.

04. Joel Edgerton in Black Mass - I know everyone who sees this movie leaves talking about Johnny Depp's one note villain, but it's Edgerton who is most impressive as a cop seduced by the dark side. He is charming and desperate and smarmy and manipulating, sometimes all at once.

03. Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight -  Jackson is a dependable, lovable movie star, but we don't always view him as a really great actor. But his performance as a soldier dealing with a bunch of criminals during a blizzard is easily the best thing he has done in years, right down to that chilling speech he gives near the end which will take your breath away and leave you shivering with the intensity of it all.

02. Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs - Fassbender practically came out of nowhere as a fully formed leading man, but the thing I love most about him is his eagerness to play troubled, unlikable, complicated men. He spouts Aaron Sorkin's dialogue like it's Shakespeare, and delivers a performance so moving and so strong that it is hard to stop thinking about it.

01. Leonardo DiCaprio in the Revenant - The concensus seems to be that this is the year Leo finally gets that Oscar, and when you see his fierce, brutal performance in the Revenany, you will be forced to agree. Not only does he say goodbye to his pretty boy looks, he completely carries a three hour long movie almost entirely with the power of his eyes. His character barely says a word, and half of the time when he speaks it is in another language, but the audience is never disconnected from him. This may not be my favorite Leo performance, but it probably is his best.