Road to the Oscars: 2 out of 5 Best Actor nominees are from the Delaware Valley
The Oscars air at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 10 on 6abc.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The countdown to the Oscars is on, and two of the five contenders for Best Actor are from the Delaware Valley.
This is the first Oscar nomination for Overbrook's Colman Domingo, for his role in "Rustin."
In the film, the Temple University alum plays West Chester-born civil rights leader Bayard Rustin.
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Domingo is the first Afro-Latino to be nominated for Best Actor and only the second openly gay man to earn a nomination for playing a gay character.
"I'm such a proud, Black man and of so many different descents," Domingo explains. "I know I'm representing so many people and to be seen by my community this way, it means the world. It means that they really see me, especially for the role that I'm portraying, for Bayard Rustin. I think that amplifying me is also amplifying him."
Domingo is up against Jenkintown's Bradley Cooper. This is Cooper's 4th time being nominated for Best Actor, this time for his role as composer Leonard Bernstein in "Maestro."
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Cooper also directed the film, which is nominated for Best Picture, and also for Best Original Screenplay. He co-wrote the script with Josh Singer, who is from Ambler, Pennsylvania.
"I don't really see them as three separate jobs at all," Cooper says. "I think maybe that's the way. They all feel like one thing, and hopefully they're just creating a world."
Paul Giamatti is also up for Best Actor for his role in "The Holdovers." This is his second Oscar nomination.
This year also marks a first Oscar nod for Jeffrey Wright for his role in "American Fiction." It's also a first Oscar nomination for Cillian Murphy, for his title role in "Oppenheimer."
After winning both the BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild awards, experts say Murphy is the favorite to win the Oscar.
But of course - anything can happen.
The Oscars air live Sunday, March 10 at 7 p.m. on 6abc.
