Andrew Scott Surges Into the Best Actor Oscar Race for ‘Elsinore’ After Telluride Premiere

It’s quite amazing what just a few buzzy articles, curiously sourced, all coming at the same time, can do to catapult an actor to the top of the Best Actor race, sight unseen.

It all began two months ago when The Playlist’s Gregory Ellwood reported that Simon Stone’s “Elsinore” was generating exceptional buzz, with the film reportedly accepted into every festival it had been submitted to and several executives calling Scott the current Best Actor Oscar frontrunner. A week later, Variety echoed the reports, saying programmers at Venice, Telluride, Toronto, and New York were circling the film, with Scott again emerging as the frontrunner—sorry, Tom Cruise.

I can tell you, New York wasn’t interested, and as I had reported a few weeks ago, Venice had offered “out of competition” for Stone’s film, which Focus refused. It’s all about the optics, and if you want people to believe this is a grade-A-level movie, then not making Venice competition can slightly soften the buzz.

All this to say that it does look like “Elsinore” might not necessarily be a Best Picture contender, but it seemingly does have a grade-A performance. The film had its world premiere at Telluride last night, and reviews for the film are … fine. No, it’s more Andrew Scott who’s getting the best ink, and he will certainly be contending not just for a Best Actor Oscar nomination, but to win it all.

IndieWire (C) wasn’t too pleased — actually, both of that outlet’s critics, Ryan Lattanzio and David Ehrlich, have expressed discontent towards this film, with Lattanzio describing it as the worst type of Oscar bait, but most of the other reviews are kinder, mostly emphasizing how Scott raises the quality of the film. THR calls it a “performance for the ages.” Furthermore, Variety praises that “Scott makes [the film] an indelible journey.   

At the Telluride premiere, Scott’s performance—depicting late “Chariots of Fire” actor Ian Charleson, who continued to play Hamlet at London’s National Theatre after being diagnosed with terminal AIDS—is being described as “extraordinary,” “sensitive” and “shattering.” According to THR, the enthusiastic reaction to Scott’s name in the credits reinforced the sense that he had delivered a potential Oscar-winning performance.

And just like that, after just a few days of screenings at Venice and Telluride, the Best Actor race is starting to take shape. It’s now looking like Andrew Scott (“Elsinore”), John Malkovich (“Wild Horse Nine”), and Matt Damon (“The Odyssey”) are the frontrunners, with Tom Cruise (“Digger”) still to come. Not to be discounted: Ryan Gosling (“Project Hail Mary”), Pedro Pascal (“Behemoth!”), and John Turturro (“The Only Living Pickpocket in New York”).

Malkovich may still have advantages in the Oscar race, particularly because of his age, career stature, and the strength of “Wild Horse Nine” as an overall contender, but Scott’s performance is clearly going to contend. THR notes that no openly gay actor or actress has ever won an acting Oscar, meaning Scott could potentially make history as the first. If that isn’t the type of narrative the Academy loves, then I don’t know what is.