VIGGO MORTENSEN
Past Gem: The Indian Runner (1991)

Mortensen raised eyebrows with his full-frontal fight scene during his nominated performance in Eastern Promises, but he's bared all before. He had a similarly brave moment in Sean Penn's directorial debut, a film inspired by Bruce Springsteen's song ''Highway Patrolman.'' David Morse stars as a cop named Joe Roberts, but Mortensen, in his first major starring role, has the showier part (in every sense) as Frank, Joe's trouble-prone brother.