Oscars: Which actors will win? In determining who will win in Oscar's acting categories, it is best to look at historical trends. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has remained institutionally consistent for 80 years. With all the acting categories, the main thing to remember is chameleonic performances always beat performances that I call "apotheosis-type" performances, in which the actor plays some ultimate version of himself or herself. Bradley Cooper as a mentally ill man in "Silver Linings Playbook," Day-Lewis as "Lincoln," Hugh Jackman pretending to be a man who can ... Read More