This is the cliffhanger in the acting categories. Cate Blanchett, also nominated as best actress for Elizabeth, took this award for playing Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator (2004), and is shortlisted for her adventurous portrayal of Bob Dylan in I'm Not There.

Of the four first-time nominees here, Amy Ryan has been racking up kudos for her gritty performance as the troubled mother of a missing girl in Gone Baby Gone. Ruby Dee, who made her film debut in 1939 and is now 83, is up for her brief appearance as the eponymous drug baron's mother in American Gangster.

Saoirse Ronan, who is just 13 and from Carlow, is nominated for her perfectly judged performance as the catalyst of Atonement. And don't discount Tilda Swinton's Bafta-winning portrayal of a glacially ruthless corporate lawyer in Michael Clayton. This is exceedingly hard to call.

THE ODDS

11/8 Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There)

9/4 Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)

5/2 Ruby Dee (American Gangster)

10/1 Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

25/1 Saoirse Ronan (Atonement)