Oscar Buzz: Best Actor Category May Be Too Steep Already With Michael Keaton, Al Pacino, Eddie Redmayne, Steve Carell, And Benedict Cumberbatch All Expected To Excel

After the Best Picture category was increased to ten available slots, it would appear that decisions may be more fair, but also harder to make. This will definitely be the case with Best Actor as plenty of huge names are already garnering buzz from critics and fans alike. The internet might joke however that at least we know that no matter what he does Leonardo DiCaprio won't win.

It may be still too soon to tell with any degree of certainty who will go home with the Best Actor Oscar in February, but some critics think that competition is already too tough for the award and may need to include more nominees for a fair decision. Aside from the still yet to be seen performances, Michael Keaton, Al Pacino, Eddie Redmayne, Steve Carell, and Benedict Cumberbatch are already making waves as contenders for the top acting award.

In an interview with Ellen (via The Daily Mail), Meryl Streep explained how she found out about her latest acting nomination for "August Osage County": "No. I was dead asleep. Late. Because I didn't think I had a chance you know?"

While Meryl Streep is still surprised to get a nomination even after breaking her own record last year with 18 in total, some actors in this years Oscar race may get cut out before their film gets a chance to be released. Deadline recently reported on the possible amount of candidates, and they believe the category will need more slots to possibly be fair.

As for which actors are already in contention, veterans Michael Keaton and Al Pacino are proving themselves quite the oscar bait. "Birdman" which stars Keaton, and "The Hunger" which stars Pacino, are both about failing actors and contemplation of their craft and career. Both films center around things that plenty of the voting Academy will identify with and want to vote for.

Apart from the veterans there's three actors who are all looking to secure their first Oscar nomination and subsequent first Academy Award ever. Eddie Redmayne is getting rave reviews for his performance as the ALS stricken Stephen Hawking. Additionally, Steve Carell is giving critics chills for his dark performance in "The Foxcatcher." Then finally there's Benedict Cumberbatch, fresh off his Emmy win, who is looking for another acting award with his performance as enigma codebreaker Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game." All of the men hit the film festival circuit this year and have subsequently became nominee possibles.

It's not likely that the Academy Governors will decide to increase the acting nominees at the last minute, but with this many names (and many more according to Indiewire's predictions) it's sure to be a year of upsets when the nominees are finally settled on for this year's Best Actor category.