● Male
Leading Role
FYC: Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture
Riz Ahmed
“Encounter” Malik Kahn is a Marine Corps veteran on a mission to protect his sons from an alien invasion…or is he? Michael Pearce’s sci-fi thriller
BACKSTAGE 12.13.21
relies on its leading actor to convince the audience of the film’s reality while inching the rug out from under us. Without Ahmed’s committed intensity—those eyes!—the story’s twists might not
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work. It’s further confirmation that Ahmed is one of our most riveting performers.
ranks of brilliant actors co-starring opposite themselves, he plays your heartstrings like a cello.
Mahershala Ali
Javier Bardem
“Swan Song” Ali can mold himself to the confines of any role, and Benjamin Cleary’s futuristic drama is no exception. His melancholy interior life sets the tone for a story about an ailing family man faced with the possibility of uploading his memories into a carbon copy of himself. In addition to joining the
“Being the Ricardos” As the right-hand man to Nicole Kidman’s Lucille Ball, Bardem’s Desi Arnaz is as charismatic and suave as you’d expect; here, the Oscar winner is in his most charming role since “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” He also taps into his character’s trademark lightness and showmanship, backstage.com
COURTESY AMAZON STUDIOS
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CREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS FILM NOMINATORS have the honor every year of selecting the best of the best leading performances. But in a season that featured more impressive, intimate fare than usual, narrowing down the contenders to only a few nominees is downright daunting. We’ve rounded up the men who most dazzled us on the big screen in 2021; read on for your SAG Awards contenders in a leading role.
“JOCKEY”: ADOLPHO VELOSO/COURTESY SONY PICTURES CLASSICS; “BLUE BAYOU”: FOCUS FEATURES
LUCIAN-RIVER CHAUHAN, RIZ AHMED, AND ADITYA GEDDADA IN “ENCOUNTER”
