Who should win Best Actor: Denzel Washington or Andrew Garfield? | The Tylt

We're almost at the end of movie awards season, and 2016 was one hell of a year for motion pictures. But before the season passes us by—the Tylt is facing off four of the five praised leading performances from the acclaimed actors nominated at the Oscars! (Sorry, but Viggo Mortensen will not win over the other four actors). But which actor should the Academy honor as Best Actor on Sunday night, Feb. 26?

Take a look at the rest of our bracket:

Who should win Best Actor: Ryan Gosling or Casey Affleck?

By winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor, Washington might be the new frontrunner for the Oscar—but the nominees might want to watch out for Garfield, too. The young actor's collection of hardware is growing!

Washington plays Troy, a Black father and husband in the 1950s struggling with events from his past. The former baseball player was denied a career due to his age and skin color. 

Washington first mastered the role on stage—winning a Tony Award. Then, he directed and mastered the role on the silver screen—winning the SAG Award for Best Actor. Reprising an award-winning stage role on-screen and winning a SAG are two different roads to the Oscar, and Washington is driving on both. 

Compared to Washington, Ryan Gosling and Casey Affleck—Garfield is an underdog. But the underdog has won awards of his own, including both the Satellite Award and Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor. So it's not a good idea to count him out.

Plus, it's Garfield's first Oscar nomination, and the Academy Awards are known for honoring newbies and overdue actors. Garfield plays real-life hero and Medal of Honor recipient Desmond T. Doss, a WWII army medic who refused to carry a gun or fight in the war—but carried soldiers off the battlefield and saved their lives. His touching performance is what Oscar gold is made out of.

Washington is giving the other actors a run for the award.

But the Academy could fall in love with this young actor's charm and award him for his best performance yet.

Many film critics and moviegoers believe the SAG win means Washington has the Academy Award for Best Actor in the bag.

And so many Denzealots believe he deserves it! 

But Garfield is also very deserving.