Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga Favorites to Win Best Actor/Actress at 2019 Oscars
- A Star is Born continues as a front-runner in the major categories at the 2019 Academy Awards
- Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are both favored to win for their roles
- Are they the best bets you can make?
Since its theatrical release at the beginning of October, the Bradley Cooper-Lady Gaga driven A Star is Born has enjoyed critical acclaim, box-office success, and now — as we look forward into awards season — favor at the sportsbooks.
Both Cooper and Gaga currently lead each of their respective packs (Best Actor and Best Actress) with the shortest odds available, though it’s our opinion that it is a bit too early to call either of them a shoe-in yet.
Odds to Win Best Actor at 2019 Academy Awards
| Nominee | Odds |
|---|---|
| Bradley Cooper | -160 |
| Christian Bale | +225 |
| Rami Malek | +600 |
| Viggo Mortenson | +750 |
| Ryan Gosling | +1000 |
| Willem Dafoe | +1100 |
| Robert Redford | +1600 |
Bradley Cooper is no stranger to the Oscars, with nominations for Best Actor / Best Supporting Actor three years in a row (Silver Linings Playbook in 2013; American Hustle, 2014; and American Sniper, 2015).
His first-time directorial effort in A Star is Born could very well make 2019 the year of his fourth acting nomination from the Academy — not to mention second Best Picture, and in a perfect world, first Best Director nod.
At the moment his biggest competitors are Christan Bale and Rami Malek, both of whom were tasked with transforming physically into their roles…something the Academy is well-known for loving. Compared to Bale, as Vice-President Cheney, and Malek, as the iconic Freddie Mercury, does Cooper’s tortured artist turn hold up?
Cooper is someone the Academy has favored before and he’s continually proving his industry chops.
Yes. Bradley Cooper is a lot more versatile of an actor than his rom-com good looks beg you to believe. Most of the acting attention of this film has gone to his counterpart, Gaga, but here is someone the Academy has favored before and is continually proving his industry chops.
Odds to Win Best Actress at 2019 Academy Awards
| Nominee | Odds |
|---|---|
| Lady Gaga | +110 |
| Glenn Close | +275 |
| Olivia Colman | +450 |
| Melissa McCarthy | +800 |
| Viola Davis | +900 |
| Toni Colette | +2500 |
| Nicole Kidman | +2500 |
She may have already made her transition from music to silver screen when she won a Golden Globe for her work on American Horror Story: Hotel, but Lady Gaga’s eyes are set even higher this year: the Academy.
People are loving Gaga’s performance as Ally, but you can expect to see the gap between her and her peers close in even more as we get closer to showtime.
Lady Gaga felt a safer bet just a month ago, and certainly would remain so if this were a popular opinion vote.
Glenn Close is the runner-up to Gaga, but we recommend you don’t sleep on Olivia Colman’s Queen Anne (The Favourite). The film sits at a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, in large part thanks to Colman’s telling of the grief-stricken British monarch.
Lady Gaga felt a safer bet just a month ago, and certainly would remain so if this were a popular opinion vote. But we want you to find good value, and considering the types of roles the Academy awards, there could be a lot of that in Colman this year.
An unabashed interest in the lives of other people and all things pop culture makes analyzing the world of entertainment an easy fit for Kaela. With a degree in Intercultural Communication, she has contributed to SBD since 2017.
