Behind the scenes with the best actor Oscar nominees ahead of the 2024 Academy Awards ceremony

Watch scenes from the performances nominated in the category of best actor at the 96th annual Academy Awards, as well as interviews with the Oscar nominees below. The 2024 Oscars will be presented on Sunday, March 10.

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Bradley Cooper, "Maestro"

Bradley Cooper not only starred in this biography of the conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein; he also directed, co-produced, and co-wrote the screenplay. He immersed himself in the life of Bernstein, who from the age of 25 was a boldfaced name in American culture — longtime conductor of the New York Philharmonic, TV personality, and creator of symphonies and landmark musicals, including "West Side Story" and "Candide."

His physical transformation is startling (the makeup and hair is Oscar-nominated as well), but Bernstein's children said Cooper went far in capturing their father's mannerisms and behavior:

In this scene Bernstein is being interviewed by CBS News' Edward R. Murrow about his life as a noted conductor and composer:

"Maestro" explores the decades-long relationship between Bernstein and his wife, actress Felicia Montealegre (played by Oscar-nominee Carey Mulligan). Their love story was complicated by the fact that Bernstein also had affairs with men. "That's the reason why I wanted to make the movie … I believe that they found each other's soulmates," Cooper told "CBS Mornings," adding that he believes their relationship was both "complicated" and "universal." 

In this scene, Bernstein tries to put his daughter Jamie (played by Maya Hawke) at ease over rumors about his extramarital affairs:

As much as "Maestro" is a love story about a marriage, it is also a story about Bernstein's love of music. Cooper was actually conducting the musicians during filming of Mahler's Second Symphony at Ely Cathedral in England, recreating Bernstein's towering 1973 concert there. "It took me six-and-a-half years of working on it for six minutes and 25 seconds of music," he told "Sunday Morning." "I've never experienced anything like it in my life, and I may never again."

This is Cooper's fifth acting Oscar nomination. (He has seven others, for producing and writing.)

"Maestro" is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Colman Domingo, "Rustin"

"Angelic troublemakers" is how civil rights advocate and master strategist Bayard Rustin referred to those fighting for social justice through non-violent means. Raised by his Quaker grandmother, Rustin was a pacifist who still got arrested more than 20 times and jailed during the long fight against Jim Crow.

Upon the release of "Rustin," "Sunday Morning" produced this in-depth profile of Bayard (who died in 1987, and who was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom), which includes an interview with one of the film's producers, former President Barack Obama. "What I hope 'Rustin' achieves is to remind this new, young generation of activists how much they can accomplish," Obama told "Sunday Morning." 

Working out of a Harlem brownstone called the Utopia Neighborhood Club House, Rustin (played by Colman Domingo) and a small staff would pull together the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in less than two months. "You needed an organizer, but you needed somebody with charisma to make you want to follow him; that was his gift," said Eleanor Holmes Norton, then a Yale Law student who was tasked with finding buses to bring people to the march.

In this scene, Rustin strikes the match that will ignite what will become, at that time, the largest peaceful assembly of protesters in the nation's history — a quarter of a million people who would witness Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s monumental "I have a dream" speech.

The civil rights movement that would be electrified that day in Washington would also cast Rustin to the side, over concerns that publicity over Rustin's homosexuality would scuttle the movement's progress.

To prepare for the role of Bayard Rustin, Domingo told "CBS Mornings" he spent about five months delving into the organizer's writings, and watching documentary footage to study his mannerisms and vocal patterns. "You take all that in, but then you need to fuel that," he said. "I was trying to get the spirit of this guy, because he was always very charismatic. It's important not to mimic someone, but try to get a sense of their whole spirit and how they could inspire young people to create this movement."

In this Netflix featurette, Domingo gives an in-depth analysis of the scene in which he confronts King (played by Aml Ameen) over the prospect of being forced to leave the NAACP because of Rustin's "checkered past." The scene is a powerful expression against disenfranchisement — and a plea for freedom and justice for all.

Domingo describes himself as a "journeyman" actor – he'd starred in such films as "The Butler," "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," "North Star," "The Birth of a Nation," and "Candyman"; won an Emmy for the TV series "Euphoria"; and earned two Tony Award nominations (for acting in the musical "The Scottsboro Boys" and producing the play "Fat Ham").  "Rustin" marks Domingo's first Oscar nomination.

"Rustin" is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Paul Giamatti, "The Holdovers"

Paul Giamatti, who'd starred in "Sideways," teamed up with director Alexander Payne once more in "The Holdovers," playing classics professor Paul Hunham, who teaches at a prep school in 1970. It might be an era of change, roiled by long hair and the war in Vietnam, but the cloistered halls of Barton Academy are a safe haven for Hunham, who tries to inflict timeless lessons upon his students, while keeping himself safe from the outside world.

In this scene, Hunham, passing out exam results for Ancient Civilizations, is understandably appalled by his charges' lack of academic achievement:

As Christmas break approaches, Hunham finds himself responsible for babysitting a student who is not returning home for the holidays. In this scene, Hunham has (grudgingly, of course) taken Angus (played by Dominic Sessa) to Boston, where he learns about Angus' very complicated family history, which is torturing the boy. He offers the young man a lesson in self-awareness:

"I often think that, really, I just play kind of complicated people, people with a complicated relationship to the world," Giamatti told "Sunday Morning."

The film has been called a "Scrooge-like Christmas story," with Giamatti's Hunham filling in for Scrooge. Giamatti said he thinks the description is apt. "It has a 'Christmas Carol' thing," he said. "I think all [of the characters] are Scrooge a little bit. They all need to kind of move out of a place that they're stuck in.

"Most of it was pretty familiar to me," Giamatti said of "The Holdovers." "I had teachers like this guy. I think those schools are different now, but I had teachers that were the sort of strict disciplinarians like this."

Giamatti was previously nominated for best supporting actor for "Cinderella Man." This is his first Oscar nomination for best actor. His performance in "The Holdovers" has so far won him the Critics Choice Award and the Golden Globe (musical or comedy).

"The Holdovers" is streaming on Peacock, and is available via VOD.

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Cillian Murphy, "Oppenheimer"

Christopher Nolan's biography of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who conceived and constructed the first atomic bomb, and who later was persecuted for daring to speak out against nuclear weapons, is an epic story that is both grand in its visual sweep and painfully intimate in its dissection of Oppenheimer's private life (which his political enemies use against him).

The film's arc traces Oppenheimer (played by nominee Cillian Murphy) from his early studies in quantum physics – seeing in his mind's eye the power that could be unleashed on a molecular level – to martialing the army of scientists and engineers required to build the bomb test site at Los Alamos and to construct a weapon that, according to one theory at least, had the potential to destroy all life on Earth.

Murphy is the emotional center of a drama that encompasses the historic – the Americans' race against time, with Nazi scientists researching a similar weapon – and the personal (the romantic triangle involving Oppenheimer, his wife, played by Emily Blunt, and his obsession over his former lover, played by Florence Pugh).

In this scene, Oppenheimer discusses with Gen. Leslie Groves (Matt Damon) the theories behind the impending nuclear test, which could — could? — destroy the planet:

In this scene, following the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ended the war, Oppenheimer speaks to the staff at Los Alamos about their achievement. In the midst of a seeming warping of space, in his mind's eye he sees the horror unleashed by nuclear weapons: radiation, fallout, an evaporation of human beings – the consequences of their creation. 

A veteran of stage for nearly three decades, Murphy starred for six seasons in "Peaky Blinders" as a crime boss in post-WWI England. In films he's appeared in "28 Days Later," "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," "Sunshine," Nolan's Batman trilogy (as the Scarecrow), and "Inception."

Then, the call came, to play the man whom Nolan called "the most important person who ever lived." "I remember reading at the beginning about him, that he was more riddle than answer," Murphy told "60 Minutes."

In this clip Murphy tells "60 Minutes" about his response to reading Nolan's script which, for security's sake, was printed on red paper:

Murphy studied and listened to recordings of Oppenheimer's lectures, and spending months acting out the role while taking walks on the beach. He learned to speak Dutch so he could mirror Oppenheimer's facility at lecturing in Dutch. He also lost 28 pounds to capture the physicist's physique.

But besides the preparation, Murphy relied on instinct: "I think instinct is your most powerful tool that you have as an actor," he said. "Nothing must be predetermined. So therefore, you mustn't have a plan about how you're gonna play stuff. And I love that. It's like being buffeted by the wind and being buffeted by emotion."

Watch Cillian Murphy: The "60 Minutes" interview:

"Oppenheimer," photographed and released in Imax and 70mm, became a success beyond anyone's expectations, even from the director of such blockbusters as the "Batman" trilogy, "Interstellar" and "Dunkirk." Grossing nearly $1 billion worldwide at the box office, "Oppenheimer" has earned 13 Academy Award nominations.

To Murphy, who played the epic film's steady, steely center, it boils down to the story. "When a movie can connect with someone, and they feel seen or feel heard, or a novel can change somebody's life, or a piece of music, an album, can change someone's life – and I've had all that happen to me – that's the power of good art, I think."

Murphy won the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Golden Globe (drama) for his performance in "Oppenheimer." This is his first Academy Award nomination.

"Oppenheimer" is streaming on Peacock and is available via VOD.

      
More on the making of "Oppenheimer":

• Cillian Murphy opens up about challenges of playing J. Robert Oppenheimer and potential "Peaky Blinders" film ("CBS Mornings")
• Christopher Nolan on J. Robert Oppenheimer, "the most important person who ever lived" ("Sunday Morning")
• Christopher Nolan: "Bittersweet" to have "Oppenheimer" cast leave London premiere amid SAG-AFTRA strike ("CBS Mornings")
• "Oppenheimer" 70mm film reels are 600 pounds — and reach IMAX's "outer limit" due to the movie's 3-hour runtime
• "Oppenheimer" wins best picture at the British Academy Film Awards

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Jeffrey Wright, "American Fiction"

Based on the novel "Erasure" by Percival Everett, writer-director Cord Jefferson's satire "American Fiction" is the story of Black author Thelonious "Monk" Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), a struggling author frustrated with White perceptions of Black life. His books aren't just lacking success; they've also been, he feels, mis-categorized:

And so, in a fit of pique, Monk writes the pseudo-life story of Stagg R. Leigh, an ex-con and fugitive from justice, whose book ("Ma Pafology") is a super-stereotypical rendition of the Black experience, from profanity-laden dialogue and dysfunctional families to drugs and violence. He believes it's what publishers want. As he protests to his agent, "It's got deadbeat dads, rappers, crack — and he's killed by the cops in the end. I mean, that's Black, right? … Look at what they publish. Look at what they expect us to write. I'm sick of it. And this is an expression of how sick I am."

What's meant as a protest, however, becomes a cause-célèbre. The manuscript of "Ma Pafology" is scooped up by a publishing house anticipating a bestseller (just in time for Juneteenth!). And, of course, it's a hit.

In this scene, Monk asks fellow writer Sintara (played by Issa Rae) about the popular book that he has secretly written (whose title has been changed to consist of an Anglo-Saxon term that must be blurred during television appearances). Her opinion matters: she wrote "We's Lives in Da Ghetto," a bestseller:

Part of what drives Monk's interest in fashioning a false persona creating a false narrative, and the sacrifices he makes to himself and his conscience in doing so, is the pressure placed on him by his family, from an aging mother struggling with early-stage Alzheimer's, to his terse relationships with his sister and brother. And the film matched up with where Wright was emotionally in his life – his mother has passed away shortly before he received the script. As Wright told Variety, "The social commentary and the satire is wrapping for the gift that is this story of this man who all of a sudden is left with his thumbs in the dike of this family that is coming apart. That was what drew me and what I understood emotionally and personally. Because we reach that age where all of a sudden everybody's looking at you to be the adult in the room."

"I think in some ways that it's the most subversive aspect of the film, because it runs counter to the tropes and stereotypes that we're kind of having a laugh at," Wright told Vanity Fair last year. "It's those stories that we don't see. It's those lives, those narratives, that we very often don't have access to. In fact, in my career, I don't recall another film that I've done with such a complex, nuanced portrait of a family. I've never been asked to play that. As we were doing it, I said, 'Wow, I've never gotten to play these notes before.'"

Wright, who starred in the 1996 biography "Basquiat," previously appeared in the films "Ali," "Syriana," "Casino Royale," "W.," "Cadillac Records," "The Ides of March," "Only Lovers Left Alive," "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts I & II," "Broken Flowers," "The French Dispatch," "O.G.," "The Batman," and "Asteroid City," and on TV in "Westworld," and "Boardwalk Empire." He won both a Tony Award and an Emmy for his performances in "Angels in America."

"I've found a type of strength, I think, in flexibility, which has served me," he told Vanity Fair. "Also - I like to work. I don't like to play the same type of character in the same type of story continually. I admired actors like Dustin Hoffman and Peter Sellers, who would kind of shape-shift, and enjoyed that aspect of what we do."

This is Wright's first Oscar nomination.

"American Fiction" is available to stream via VOD.

     
See also:

• The women of "American Fiction" reflect on their unique bond ("Sunday Morning")

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More on the Oscars: 

• Behind the scenes with the best supporting actor Oscar nominees
• Behind the scenes with the best actress Oscar nominees
• Behind the scenes with the best supporting actress nominees

In:
• Academy Awards

David Morgan

David Morgan is senior producer for CBSNews.com and the Emmy Award-winning "CBS News Sunday Morning." He writes about film, music and the arts. He is author of the books "Monty Python Speaks" and "Knowing the Score," and editor of "Sundancing," about the Sundance Film Festival.

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