Bafta win makes Chiwitel Ejiofor value bet for Oscars success
Published:
British star Chiwitel Ejiofor is the value bet for Oscars glory after being crowned Best Actor at the recent Bafta ceremony.
The star of Steve McQueen’s multi-award winning 12 Years a Slave picked up the Bafta for Best Actor at a glittering event at London’s Royal Opera House but remains a 6/1 outside bet to take the corresponding Oscar prize next month.
Matthew McConaughey is the heavy favourite at 1/4 for Academy Awards success for his role in Dallas Buyer’s Club, but recent history has proven that Bafta glory can be used as an indicator for things to come.
Eight of the last 13 Best Actor Bafta winners have also been crowned at the Oscars and Ejiofor will be quietly confident, having seen this trend improve in recent years.
Seven of the last nine Batfa winners in this category have then been recognised by the Oscars panel including the last three in a row.
The Americans have not had a home-grown winner in this category since Jeff Bridges picked up a golden statue for Crazy Heart in 2009 – with Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln) taking the last three gongs – so the panel may lean toward McConaughey to end the current drought.
However, 6/1 is too good a price to ignore given his recent success so Ejifor has to backed to make it four in a row for Bafta winners and three out of four for British actors.
Meanwhile, the Best Actress Oscar seems to be a done deal already, with Cate Blanchett now a 1/20 shot for her role in Blue Jasmine after being awarded the Bafta equivalent.
Six of the last eight Bafta best actresses have gone on to claim an Academy Award and the betting suggests that this trend will continue with the Aussie star.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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