With awards season upon us, we celebrate some of the famous faces that dominated the big screen this year. All were Golden Globe nominees (two of them won), and there are no doubt more accolades in store for them all.

(For more awards season fun, click here for a look back at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes throughout the years.)

 

THE CONTENDER: NATALIE PORTMAN

The Film: Black Swan
The Buzz: Portman, who won the Golden Globe for best actress in a drama, gave the performance of her career as a ballerina whose inner ugly duckling emerges.
In Her Own Words: “I always idealized dance as the most beautiful art, so when [director] Darren [Aronofsky] had this incredible idea that was not just relating to the dance world but also had this really complicated character, it was something completely exciting.”

  

THE CONTENDER: COLIN FIRTH

The Film: The King’s Speech
The Buzz: As the stammering British monarch finding his voice to ease his countrymen into war, Firth’s commanding performance won him the Golden Globe for best actor in a drama.
What Others Are Saying: The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper says real-life stammerers connect to Firth’s aching authenticity and “marvel at Colin’s ability to inhabit this and get it right—and he really has.”

THE CONTENDER: RYAN GOSLING

The Film: Blue Valentine
The Buzz: Expect many valentines in the form of awards nominations: Gosling bares all—primarily, his acting talent—as a husband whose marriage verges on collapse.
In His Own Words: “It was the most difficult but also the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever worked on.”

THE CONTENDER: MICHELLE WILLIAMS

The Film: Blue Valentine
The Buzz: Unflinching as a wife evolving beyond her husband, the name of the next naked man in Williams’ immediate future might just be Oscar.
What Others Are Saying: “It’s no holds barred,” says Mike Vogel, who also starred in Blue Valentine “A lot of times people don’t commit as much, but you know with her you’re getting it every time.”

THE CONTENDER: ROBERT DUVALL

The Film: Get Low (he also produced the film)
The Buzz: Duvall’s turn as a mysterious hermit finally emerging from secrets that define his retreat is yet another high point in a no-lows career.
In His Own Words: “Producing is not such a joy—it just helps you control. Acting is the beginning of the end forme, though.”

THE CONTENDER: JAMES FRANCO

The Film: 127 Hours
The Buzz: Playing a real life mountain climber caught between a rock and a hard place after an 800-pound boulder trapped his right arm, Franco’s rock-solid performance positions him to collect trophies with his free arm.
In His Own Words: “You don’t usually spend most movies with an arm pinned behind a boulder, and you also don’t spend most movies without other actors. [But] there was never a moment where it was like, ‘This just can’t be done!’”