An unexpected name could gatecrash the Oscars’ Best Actor race

We’re gearing up to hit the height of awards season, with a string of prestige dramas already beginning to roll out, with plenty more waiting on the wings. There was widespread shock and outrage last year when Anthony Hopkins was named Best Actor at the expense of the late Chadwick Boseman, but the next recipient could come from anywhere.

Most insiders and analysts have the five-man shortlist pegged to be comprised of The Tragedy of Macbeth‘s Denzel Washington, The Power of the Dog‘s Benedict Cumberbatch, Tick, Tick… Boom!‘s Andrew Garfield, Don’t Look Up‘s Leonardo DiCaprio and King Richard‘s Will Smith, all of whom are major stars and household names.

However, buzz is starting to build around a most unexpected candidate, with Simon Rex slowly beginning to enter the conversation thanks to an incredible turn in Tangerine and The Florida Project filmmaker Sean Baker’s Red Rocket. Should he land a nod at the Oscars, it would complete a shocking turnaround.

Rex’s career has been interesting to say the least, featuring pornographic films, a brief rap career, some modeling work, and a stint as an MTV VJ, as well as being offered $70,000 by a British tabloid to falsely claim that he dated Meghan Markle. Red Rocket stars Rex as Mikey Saber, a washed-up porn star who returns to his Texas hometown despite nobody wanting him there, and it would be a massive upset were he to beat some esteemed competition to an Oscar nomination.