The Oscars Best Actor - Two Horse Race between Rourke and Penn

In the Best Actor category there are two icons who are fast becoming legends, as well as two veteran character actors looking for their day in the sun, and finally, occupying the favorite's role, a comeback story that might have its triumphant culmination when the envelope is opened.

Let's take a look at the odds, as they are posted at BetUS Sportsbook:

To Win Best Actor

Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler -120

Sean Penn - Milk +130

Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon +650

Brad Pitt - The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button +1500

Richard Jenkins - The Reader +2500

MICKEY ROURKE (-120 at BetUS) had what Roger Ebert called "the role of his lifetime" in "The Wrestler" and indeed it is a role unlike anything he's done to date. I was not blown away by the story told in this film, although I must say that Rourke, who won the Golden Globe, really stood out. And I never doubted that he was capable of a comeback like this. He has acknowledged that this role mirrors the arc his career had taken, prior to the point where Darren Aronofsky approached him with the "Wrestler" script. This would be the best "comeback" story at this year's Oscars, and he has been campaigning for it, in a way that distinguishes him from the "old" Rourke. Some voters probably still have something against him, and that is the thing that might put him in second place in the end. Sean Penn is a director. Directors can hire actors. Actors vote. See what I mean?

A quick bit of trivia, in the way of disclosure: in 1991, when I was doing some television and Rourke had adopted professional boxing as a sort of hobby, I was actually negotiating with his manager to fight him. How's THAT for some name-dropping? The story made it to the local papers and onto the wire service. Here's how I was quoted in the South Florida Sun Sentinel: "I'd probably have to rate Mickey as a 2-to-1 favorite, based on his edge in experience. But that's OK. I like being the underdog." Hahahaha! They also reported that I had quit smoking as part of my training (true, at the time). Even if the bout had come off, I doubt I could have busted Mickey's face up enough to make it look like it did in "The Wrestler," though.

SEAN PENN (+130 at BetUS) played a role in "Milk" that was more substantial than the one he won the Oscar for in "Mystic River." The film was virtually ignored by the Golden Globes, but the Academy has given it eight nominations. Somewhere along the line it has to get honored. Obviously this is a group of voters who appreciated the movie a lot more. Penn is the only previous winner in this category, and it should be neck-and-neck between him and his old friend Rourke for this award.

FRANK LANGELLA (+650 at BetUS) plays Richard Nixon, who along with Harvey Milk, are the only real-life characters portrayed by Best Actor nominees. The long-time stage and screen actor, who gained plaudits for his lead role in "Starting Out in the Evening" last year, won a Tony award for this same role on Broadway. And to think he almost didn't get the role in the film. At 71, he is the oldest nominee in the category and someone who has an outside chance at best.