Skip to main content
Bradley Cooper in the Royal Box during the Mens Final of the 2016 Wimbledon Championships as we make our Oscars Best Actor prediction and pick ahead of the Academy Awards.
Bradley Cooper in the Royal Box during the Mens Final of the 2016 Wimbledon Championships on July 10, 2016 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, London. Photo by Dave Shopland via AFP.

Cillian Murphy is the clear favorite with overwhelmingly high odds at our top sportsbooks for the Oscars, thanks to his numerous wins at precursor events, including a recent victory at the SAGS.

Cillian Murphy is the overwhelming favorite to win the Best Actor Oscar, with the ceremony just days away.

A few weeks ago, Paul Giamatti’s odds were at +200, but now they have lengthened to +750. Bradley Cooper is currently in third place, but it is clear that the race is already decided.

These are our top predictions for the Best Actor category at the 2026 Oscars, according to the odds from our top sports betting apps.

Enhance your viewing party by downloading our complimentary Oscars ballot PDF.

Best Lead Actor odds 2026

As of March 7th, the odds are…

Actor (Film)DraftKingsFanDuelBetMGMCaesarsbet365
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)-1200 -1600 ❄️-1200 -1000 -1000 
Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)+550 +750 +575+550 +550 
Bradley Cooper (Maestro)+1600 +2300 +1600+1800+1400 ❄️
Jeffrey Wright (American Ficition)+8000 +6500 ❄️+6600 +10000 +8000 
Colman Domingo (Rustin)+8000 +6500 ❄️+6600+10000 +8000 

Best Actor predictions 2026

Cillian Murphy (-1000 via bet365)

As predicted, Murphy is a strong favorite with odds in the four-digit range at our top sports betting sites following his victory at the SAGs. If you were willing to accept the high odds on Murphy before his win, you may have a betting ticket on him with odds around -340.

That may be too expensive for you, especially if Giamatti wins at the SAGs and messes everything up. Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. are likely to win, securing “Oppenheimer” in multiple categories like Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Picture, and Best Director.

Embed content uYPbbksJxIg image

Oscars betting odds pages

Oscars odds and predictionsBest Supporting Actor predictionsBest Original Score
Best Picture predictionsBest Supporting Actress predictionsBest Original Song
Best Director predictionsBest Original Screenplay
Best Lead Actor predictionsBest Adapted Screenplay
Best Lead Actress predictionsBest Animated Feature

Here are our best sports betting apps:

If you are 21 or older and have a gambling problem, please call 1-800-GAMBLER. Please note that bonuses are not available in Ontario.

Related pages