Best Actor 2021

I used to list my favorite actors of the year in the order I would place them on my Academy ballot if I were allowed to vote. But I can't do that this year because one of my favorites is ineligible and two others are campaigning in the supporting actor category even though they are leads. So... here is my top five in alphabetical order. These are the five I would nominate if I were an academy of one.

JAMIE DORNAN, Belfast

VINCENT LINDON, Titane

YAHYA MAHAYNI, The Man Who Sold His Skin (الرجل الذي باع ظهره)

SIMON REX, Red Rocket

DENZEL WASHINGTON, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Also loved:
Daniels Andersen Lie, Verdens Verste Menneske (The Worst Person in the World)
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick... Boom!
Hidetoshi Nishijima, Drive My Car (ドライブ・マイ・カー)
Joaquin Phoenix, C'mon, C'mon
Tomasz Ziętek, Hiacynt (Operation Hyacinth)

Apologies to:
Riz Ahmed (Encounter), Clifton Collins, Jr. (Jockey), Matthew Fifer (Cicada), Michael Greyeyes (Wild Indian), Oscar Isaac (The Card Counter), Amir Jadidi (A Hero), Caleb Landry-Jones (Nitram), Lee Kang-Sheng (Days), and Tim Roth (Bergman Island), whose films I have not yet seen.

Related:
My Best Actor picks from past years (2004-2020)
My Best Actress picks from 2021
My Best Supporting Actress picks from 2021
My Best Supporting Actor picks from 2021