2021 Oscar Predictions - Actress: Leading and Supporting

The acting categories are the most versatile of all the Oscars in terms of predicting the winners. Sometimes there are upsets or it comes down to a race between two people. This year I think the male categories are pretty locked up. It's the female categories where there doesn't seem to be a clear winner in neither the leading nor supporting category.

Here are the nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

Maria Bakalova - "Borat: Subsequent Movie Film," Glenn Close - "Hillbilly Elegy," Olivia Coleman - "The Father," Amanda Seyfried - "Mank," Yuh-Jung Youn - "Minari"

This one is a little open. I personally think the four latter women have a good shot at winning, with the front runner being Yuh-Jung Youn as she's been picking up all of the awards this season. She certainly has the momentum and is my pick if I were giving the award so I'll be satisfied if she wins. Heck, I'll like it if any of these women win as they are all deserving.

I would not be surprised, though to see Olivia Coleman swoop in and take this one. She's been on fire the last three years and is really loved by everyone in Hollywood right now. If the Academy enjoyed "The Father" as much as it seems they did, she very well could upset here.

Then there's poor Glenn Close who has been nominated now eight times and never won. The Academy has a history of feeling bad for not having awarded high-caliber actors and giving one to them for something that is unexpected as they did with Paul Newman, so she may sneak up and steal this one away too. The Academy is also a sucker for transformative performances, which Close definitely gave in "Hillbilly Elegy."

Leading Nominations:

Viola Davis - "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," Andra Day - "The United States v.s. Billie Holiday," Vanessa Kirby - "Pieces of a Woman," Frances McDormand - "Nomadland," Carey Mulligan - "Promising Young Woman

This is probably the most wide open category of the ceremony as I truly do not know who will win. The front runners seem to be Viola Davis, Frances McDormand and Carey Mulligan.

Frances McDormand's beautiful performance as the momentum of "Nomadland" behind her, but only a handful of actors have ever won three awards. So, it will just be up to the Academy of whether they want to put her into that elite group.

Viola Davis gave a loud, transformative performance, which the Academy usually loves and she is a phenomenal actress in her own right. However, I think I am going to give the edge to Mulligan.

Carey Mulligan has been picking up the awards McDormand and Davis have not been winning and I think it has been more. She is also an actresss where her time as been coming as she has never won, unlike Davis and McDormand.

"Promising Young Woman" seemed to blow the Academy away as it garnered up some major nominations and a large part of that was due to Mulligan's performance. I think she'll be taking home the award Sunday night.

Stay tuned for actors, next!