by Cláudio Alves

To watch an actor play another performer is a pleasure. There's wonderment to be found in these Matryoshkas of acting within acting, be it the porn inexpressiveness of Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights or the desperate showboating of Judy Garland in A Star Is Born. Not surprisingly, if we peruse the history of the Academy Awards, we'll find numerous instances of thespians nominated for giving life to fictional actors or real-life stars of the past. Perhaps no other profession is so generously dramatized in the annals of acting awards.

This season, Renée Zellweger won the Best Actress trophy for resurrecting the ghost of Garland for one final performance. There were two other actors-as-actors performances nominated. While we don't see much of Scarlett Johansson's Nicole onstage, her profession as an actress is a central part of the characterization in Marriage Story. On the other hand we see Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton at work, and layers of performance unraveling in glorious Panavision. 

After the jump a quick trip through Oscar history of actors who won gold playing other actors…