Who is favored to win Best Actor at the 2025 Oscars? Current odds list Adrien Brody of The Brutalist as the betting favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Actor at -230.
The Academy Awards are set to take place on Sunday, March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. It will get started at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and hosted by Conan O'Brien.
Here's everything you need to know about the Best Actor race at the 2025 Academy Awards.
Best Actor Odds
| Nominee | Odds | Implied Prob. |
|---|---|---|
| Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) | -250 | 71.43% |
| Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown) | +150 | 40% |
| Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) | +1800 | 5.26% |
| Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) | +3500 | 2.78% |
| Colman Domingo (Sing Sing) | +5000 | 1.96% |
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Adrien Brody of The Brutalist is the favorite to win Best Actor at the 2025 Oscars at -250 odds.
Next up on the odds board is Timothee Chalamet of A Complete Unknown at +150 odds to win Best Actor.
Other nominees for Best Actor include Ralph Fiennes for Conclave, Colman Domingo for Sing Sing, and Sebastian Stan for The Apprentice.
Fiennes is +1800 to win Best Actor, while Stan is 35-1 and Domingo is 50-1 to win Best Actor at the 2025 Oscars.
Best Actor Predictions
Chris Raybon: Adrien Brody is leading this race for his performance in The Brutalist. However, Timothee Chalamet at +150 is not far behind for A Complete Unknown.
His Screen Actors Guild win put him in the conversation to become the youngest ever winner in this category — an honor currently held by Brody.
Brody's Oscar win came in 2003 for The Pianist, which fittingly came after he lost out at the SAG. Currently, the SAG winner matching the Oscar winner is on a three-year streak, which is good news for Chalamet.
However, an actor winning only the SAG (as is the case for Chalamet) and then winning at the Oscars is tough to do. This is a tough race to call and one where it's worth betting on a surprise underdog.
It's also worth noting that the SAG Awards were held later this year (two weeks before the Oscars) and the controversy over The Brutalist using AI to modify some of the accents in the film could hurt Brody's chances.
Pick: Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)
Collin Whitchurch: For months this race has boiled down to wondering if Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown) could narrow the lead on Adrien Brody (The Brutalist).
It took until the last pre-Oscars ceremony, but it finally happened.
After Brody cleaned up everywhere the pair was nominated, Chalamet finally broke through with a surprise win at thw SAG Awards, giving us an unexpected race entering Sunday night.
The SAG win is a big deal. Since 2004, only two Best Actor winners were not awarded by the guild: Anthony Hopkins (over Chadwick Boseman) in 2021, and Casey Affleck (over Denzel Washington) in 2017.
That said, it’s virtually unheard of for an Oscar winner’s only pre-ceremony win to be at the SAG.
For what it’s worth, this played out exactly as I expected when I bought Brody at 56% at Kalshi several months ago. I thought Brody would clean up before the SAG, and planned on selling before that ceremony when he was at peak value, expecting Chalamet to have a shot there.
Instead, I got greedy and hung on to Brody entering the SAG, so I instead grabbed an immediate post-SAG position on Chalamet at less than 50%. So, I’ve got a decent chance to profit regardless of how Sunday night plays out.
From an anecdotal perspective, Chalamet just seems like the type of actor the Academy will want to reward. Almost like the male version of Emma Stone, he’s a quintessential theatre kid, someone the younger voters are intimately familiar with and someone in which the older voters see themselves.
Even with the post-SAG juice squeeze, I still think there’s value in Chalamet supplanting Brody as youngest Best Actor winner on Sunday night.
Bet: Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown) +185 at FanDuel
Predicted Winner: Chalamet
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2025 Oscars FAQ
When are the 2025 Oscars?
The 2025 Oscars (97th Academy Awards) are scheduled for this Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Where are the 2025 Oscars held?
The 2025 Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Where to watch the 2025 Oscars?
The 2025 Oscars will be broadcast on ABC.
Who is hosting the 2025 Oscars?
The 2025 Oscars will be hosted by Conan O'Brien.
Who is nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars?
The films nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars are Anora, The Brutalist, Conclave, A Complete Unknown, Emilia Perez, Wicked, The Substance, The Nickel Boys, Dune: Part Two, and I'm Still Here.
Who is favored to win at the 2025 Oscars?
Anora is the favorite for Best Picture, Sean Baker (Anora) is the favorite for Best Director, Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) is favored to win Best Actor, Demi Moore (The Substance) is favored to win Best Actress, Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) is favored to win Best Supporting Actor, and Zoe Saldana (Emilia Perez) is favored to win Best Supporting Actress.
Who won at the 2024 Oscars?
Christopher Nolan's film "Oppenheimer" was the big winner at the 2024 Oscars. The film won Best Picture and had the most nominations (13) and overall wins (7). It also won Best Director (Nolan), Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.), Best Original Score, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing. Emma Stone won Best Actress for her role in "Poor Things," while Da'Vine Joy Randolph won Best Supporting Actress for her role in "The Holdovers."
Is Wicked nominated for an Oscar?
"Wicked" is nominated for Best Picture and has +5000 odds to win. Additionally, Cynthia Erivo has been nominated for Best Actress and Ariana Grande has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
More 2025 Oscars Coverage
- Complete Academy Awards Betting Odds
- Chris Raybon's 2025 Academy Awards Betting Card
- Collin Whitchurch's 2025 Oscars Best Bets & Predictions
- Best Picture Odds, Predictions
- Best Director Odds, Predictions
- Best Actress Odds, Predictions
- Best Supporting Actor Odds, Predictions
- Best Supporting Actress Odds, Predictions
- Best Original Screenplay Odds, Predictions
- Best Adapted Screenplay Odds, Predictions
- Best Costume Design Odds, Predictions
- Best Makeup & Hairstyling Odds, Predictions
- Best Production Design Odds, Predictions
- Best Original Song Odds, Predictions
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- Best Animated Feature Odds, Predictions
- Best Cinematography Odds, Predictions
- Best International Feature Odds, Predictions
- Best Film Editing Odds, Predictions
- Best Original Score Odds, Predictions
- Best Sound Odds, Predictions
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