I don’t typically look ahead to future Oscars in this series, as I am more concerned with the history, but I feel it to be necessary in this instance. When we get to March 10, 2024, for the 96th Academy Awards, I have a fear that we may run into a biopic buzzsaw in Best Actor again, and that depresses me. Without most of these movies being released yet, I can already foresee a Best Actor category that is mostly — if not entirely — comprised of actors portraying real people. We have already seen one major contender who will most certainly be nominated this year already in Cillian Murphy for “Oppenheimer.” Alongside him, it would not shock me in the slightest to see any of the following: Leonardo DiCaprio in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Adam Driver in “Ferrari,” Joaquin Phoenix in “Napoleon,” Bradley Cooper in “Maestro,” Colman Domingo in “Rustin,” Paul Dano in “Dumb Money,” or even Matt Damon in “Air,” depending on how the strikes affect the fall release schedule. That’s already more names than the category can fill, and those were just the ones off the top of my head.

Even at this point in the year, you could make a fascinating slate of Best Actor nominees with Joaquin Phoenix in “Beau Is Afraid,” Jason Schwartzman in “Asteroid City,” Teo Yoo in “Past Lives,” Franz Rogowski in “Passages,” and Cillian Murphy as the sole biopic representative. You could even make a strong case that Ryan Gosling belongs in this category for “Barbie.” It’s high time for the actors branch of the Academy to reevaluate what makes a great and awards-worthy performance. Great acting should never come down to a list of easily identifiable attributes, but the 2019 Oscars sure make it seem that way.