Could Anthony Hopkins win the Oscar for Best Actor in a major upset over Chadwick Boseman?

Anthony Hopkins
(Image credit: Greg Doherty/Getty Images)

When it comes to the Best Actor race at this year's Oscars, a posthumous win for Chadwick Boseman has seemed all but guaranteed for months. But could a massive upset actually be in the cards?

Boseman has long been considered the Best Actor frontrunner for his performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, the final film he completed prior to his death, and the late actor has already won at the Golden Globe Awards, the Critics' Choice Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

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But days ahead of the big night, Variety reports that based on conversations with some Academy voters, the Best Actor race "may not be as clear as it once seemed." Indeed, the report quotes one voting member as saying that even though they believe Boseman will win, they personally voted for Hopkins. That's a sentiment that Variety's Clayton Davis writes has been expressed by "multiple voters over the past few days." Might voters perceive Boseman's win as such a slam dunk that they think backing Hopkins won't make a difference, only for this to tip the scales?

A Hopkins upset would call to mind Olivia Colman's shock Best Actress victory over frontrunner Glenn Close at the 2019 Oscars, though this situation is clearly much different given this will be the Academy's last chance to award Boseman an Oscar following his tragic death. Ultimately, Boseman's win is still quite likely, but for a race that has appeared all locked up, there might be a bit of unexpected suspense involved after all.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.