And not only because the main character, the low-life aristocrat of drug dealing and binge drinking, Johnny "Rooster" Byron is played by MarkRylance in a performance of stomping brilliance.
The best actor race sees Curious Incident's Luke Treadaway up against Rupert Everett's Oscar Wilde in The Judas Kiss, MarkRylance for Twelfth Night, Macbeth's James McAvoy and Rafe Spall for Constellations.