Keisha Castle-Hughes for “Whale Rider”
First nomination
– Role details: Paikea, a young Maori girl, must overcome her beloved grandfather’s prejudices in her efforts to aid her people.
– Critic quote: “Castle-Hughes seems a born actress, so effectively does she convey her pained confusion through subtle vocal cues, tentative stance and expressive dark eyes.”–CLAUDIA PUIG, USA TODAY
– Hidden gem: She is the youngest actress ever to be nominated in the lead actress category.
– Not her best work: Considering “Whale Rider” was her first film role, this 13-year-old actress is off to a pretty unbeatable start.
– In the works: “Star Wars: Episode III” (2005)
– Extra nugget: She didn’t even know how to swim when she was cast in “Whale Rider.”
Diane Keaton for “Something’s Gotta Give”
Best actress for “Annie Hall” (1977); two additional nominations
– Role details: Erica Barry is a successful playwright who embarks on an unlikely romance with her daughter’s much older lover.
– Critic quote: “[Keaton] is sublime. So much so that she makes everyone else, besides [co-star Jack] Nicholson, seem merely adequate.”–WESLEY MORRIS, BOSTON GLOBE
– Hidden gem: Writer/director Nancy Meyers wrote the role of Erica Barry specifically for Keaton.
– Not her best work: The 2001 film “Plan B,” in which Keaton played a bookkeeper-turned-hitman stands out as a rare miss in a career filled with hits.
– In the works: None
– Extra nugget: Diane Keaton (birth name Diane Hall) changed her last name to her mother’s maiden name as a result of a Diane Hall already being in the actors guild. Michael Keaton had a similar problem with his natural name when entering the guild, though he picked “Keaton” because he liked Diane’s name.
Samantha Morton for “In America”
One previous nomination
– Role details: Sarah, a young Irish wife and mother, struggles to hold her family together as they fight to make a life for themselves in America.
– Critic quote: “Morton’s performance proves that the critical attention [and Oscar nomination] she won in 2000 for Woody Allen’s ‘Sweet and Lowdown’ was no one-off.”–WALTER ADDIEGO, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
– Hidden gem: She made a TV appearance in “Absolutely Fabulous” in 1992.
– Not her best work: She co-starred in a film about a wannabe Bonnie and Clyde couple called “The Future Lasts a Long Time” (1996), but the insightful title says it all.
– In the works: “The Libertine” (2004), “Enduring Love” (2004)
– Extra nugget: Born in England, Morton is one of nine children.
Charlize Theron for “Monster”
First nomination
– Role details: Based on the real-life story of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute who embarks on a murder spree along the Florida highways.
– Critic quote: “The movie is a modest, low-budget work that creates a harrowing effect, thanks to Charlize Theron’s astounding performance, a display of intensity and rage like few I have ever seen.” –MARGARET A. MCGURK, THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER
– Hidden gem: Theron, who started out as a ballet dancer, began modeling at age 14 and appeared in Playboy in May 1999.
– Not her best work: Her first part in a feature film was an uncredited role in “Children of the Corn III” (1995).
– In the works: “Head in the Clouds” (2004)
– Extra nugget: When Theron was 15, her mother shot and killed her father in self-defense while he was attacking her. Her mother was not charged in the incident.
Naomi Watts for “21 Grams”
First nomination
– Role details: A grief-stricken woman begins a complicated relationship with the man who has received her late husband’s heart.
– Critic quote: “Watts is miraculous in an all-stops-out performance that bleeds with anger, guilt, sexual hunger and incalculable loss.”–PETER TRAVERS, ROLLING STONE
– Hidden gem: “Mulholland Drive,” which gave Watts her breakout role, was originally intended as a TV pilot on ABC.
It was transformed into a feature film after the TV network pulled the plug on it.
– Not her best work: Like fellow nominee Charlize Theron, Watts had a role in a “Children of the Corn” movie–the 1996 fourth installment.
– In the works: “The Ring 2” (2004), “The Assassination of Richard Nixon” (2004), “I Heart Huckabee’s” (2004), “Stay” (2004)
– Extra nugget: Watts has been best friends with fellow Aussie Nicole Kidman since they met at a casting call for a commercial when they were girls.
