BEST ACTOR CONTENDER:
Denzel Washington, American Gangster

Playing the villain has done the trick for him before (Training Day). And his Gangster baddie is one for the ages.

OTHER POSSIBILITIES:
Josh Brolin, No Country for Old Men
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Tom Hanks, Charlie Wilson's War
James McAvoy, Atonement
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

LONG SHOTS
John Cusack, Grace Is Gone
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl
Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead