Neck-and-neck finish sees Viggo triumph in our Oscar poll

22 Feb 2008

In the end, there was just a mere ten votes in it, which means Sunday night's best actor gong could be a tightly-run contest, after hellomagazine.com readers voted Viggo Mortensen the person most likely to take home the Oscar. The handsome American, who plays Russian-thug-with-a-conscience Nikolai in the thriller Eastern Promises, won with 17,567 votes to Johnny Depp's 17,557 for his turn as the demon barber Sweeney Todd.

Readers also predicted that Cate Blanchett will net her second Academy Award for her outstanding performance in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. With 1,253 votes, the Aussie was a clear winner. La Vie En Rose star Marion Cotillard came second, with 553 votes, ahead of Ellen Page for Juno.

Bookmakers' favourites Daniel Day-Lewis and Julie Christie were left in third and fourth place respectively. Daniel ranked 437 votes for his role as ruthless Californian oilman Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood. Comeback queen Julie, who stars in Away From Her, notched up an impressive 293 votes.

At the close of voting, more than 46,000 votes had been cast by hellomagazine.com readers keen to show their support for favourite movies and performers.

Taking the best film category was British hit Atonement, with just over 51 per cent of the votes, winning over 750 more nominations than second-placed Michael Clayton. Firm favourites No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood, however, trailed in fourth and fifth places in hellomagazine.com's poll, behind surprise hit Juno.

There was good news for Michael Clayton director Tony Gilroy. Readers decided he was the man to scoop the top prize in the best director category, with 554 votes, ahead of the Coen brothers and No Country For Old Men, which took a quarter of the votes.

No Country For Old Men cast member Javier Bardem scored 410 extra votes to take the best supporting actor slot. The Spanish actor garnered 45 per cent of the votes, making him the favourite to win the Oscar, ahead of The Assassination Of Jesse James… star Casey Affleck, who took a quarter of the votes. Veteran actor Hal Holbrook, best known as Deep Throat in All The President's Men, came third for his role in Sean Penn's critically acclaimed film Into The Wild.

And it seems there could be a second trip up to the podium for Cate. The 38-year-old has been chosen as best supporting actress for her part in the Bob Dylan bio-pic I'm Not There. Mum-to-be Cate received 772 votes for her portrayal of the legendary singer. Thirteen-year-old Saoirse Ronan acquired almost 30 per cent of the votes to take second place. The Irish youngster received rave reviews as the young Briony Tallis in Atonement. Taking the third spot with 313 votes was 83-year-old Ruby Dee, who plays Mama Lucas in American Gangster.