Kenneth Branagh, Jonah Hill, Brad Pitt
Kenneth Branagh, Jonah Hill, and Brad Pitt at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon in Beverly Hills on Monday, February 6, 2012. Branagh and Hill are Best Supporting Actor contenders for, respectively, Simon Curtis‘ My Week with Marilyn (in which Branagh plays Laurence Olivier) and Bennett Miller’s Moneyball. Pitt is a Best Actor nominee for Moneyball. (Photo: Todd Wawrychuk / © A.M.P.A.S.)
Kenneth Branagh was previously nominated for Henry V (1989) as Best Actor and Best Director, for the live-action short film Swan Song (1992), and for the adapted screenplay of Hamlet (1995), which he also directed/starred in, along with Julie Christie and Kate Winslet. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Laurence Olivier was a Best Actor nominee for Henry V (1946) and Hamlet (1948), both of which Olivier also directed. Hamlet was the year’s Best Picture winner, while Olivier took home the Best Actor Oscar.
Jonah Hill is a first-time Academy Award nominee. Brad Pitt was a Best Actor nominee for David Fincher’s fantasy The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and a Best Supporting Actor nominee for Terry Gilliam’s sci-fier/psychological drama Twelve Monkeys (1995).
Branagh and Hill’s 2012 competitors are SAG Award and Golden Globe winner Christopher Plummer for Mike Mills‘ Beginners, Ingmar Bergman veteran Max von Sydow for Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and Hollywood veteran Nick Nolte for Gavin O’Connor’s Warrior.
Pitt’s Best Actor competition consists of The Artist’s Golden Globe (Comedy/Musical), BAFTA, and SAG Award winner Jean Dujardin (who has been auditioning for various villainous roles in Hollywood movies); Demián Bichir for Chris Weitz’s A Better Life; Golden Globe winner (Drama) George Clooney for Alexander Payne’s The Descendants; and Gary Oldman for Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
The 2012 Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center. In the United States, the Oscarcast will be broadcast live by the ABC Television Network.