Andrew Scott is tipped for Best Actor Oscar as he is praised by critics for his ‘astonishing and captivating’ role in ‘devastating’ AIDS drama Elsinore

DAILYMAIL.COM • 3h ago

By JOANNA CRAWLEY, DEPUTY SHOWBIZ EDITOR (NEWS) 09:37 08 Oct 2026, updated 09:51 08 Oct 2026

Andrew Scott is on course for his first Oscar win, as critics laud his new film Elsinore, which received its European premiere at the London Film Festival on Wednesday night.

The actor, who missed out on an Academy Award nomination for his acclaimed film All Of Us Strangers three years ago, received a standing ovation as the credits rolled on Elsinore at the Royal Festival Hall last night.

And Friday morning’s reviews have been unanimous in their praise.

Based on the true story of Ian Charleson, the Scottish actor best known for Chariots of Fire, Elsinore focuses on the autumn of 1989 when Charleson took over the role of Hamlet at the National Theatre after Daniel Day-Lewis withdrew.

Charleson was already seriously ill with Aids, and knew that playing Hamlet – one of the most physically and emotionally demanding roles in theatre – could accelerate his decline.

Directed by Simon Stone and written by Stephen Beresford, the film gives Andrew ‘a career defining role’.

Kevin Maher in his review for The Times declares that the actor ‘has all but secured the best actor trophy,’ addig that ‘you’ll barely be able to see the screen through the tears.’

Tim Robey awarded the film four stars, headlining his review for The Telegraph, by writing that ‘the ovations for Scott will be instant, thunderous and deserved following his career-defining role’.

He adds that the star ‘pours his soul into Elsinore, with stunning conviction, and will rightly win awards for his performance. If it was his compatriot Jesse Buckley’s turn last year for Hamnet, it’s his now.’

ScreenDaily’s Dave Calhoun agrees, writing that ‘the ghost of Hamlet will surely haunt another awards season when audiences and voters connect with this sharp and stirring but never sentimental drama’.

In a five-star review for The Standard, Nick Howells admits that ‘the last time I cried this much in a cinema was three years ago. That film was Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers, and I wept like a baby. The common thread between that film and Elsinore? The completely devastating performances of Andrew Scott.’

‘Scott was criminally overlooked during awards season then, but dispel any scepticism about those already shooing him in for an Oscar this time round. This is a performance of a lifetime; and one the Academy voters would need a collective bout of insanity to ignore.’

Donald Clarke writing for the Irish Times says Elsinore ‘is a bruising film that confirms Scott as one of the greats of our age’.

He also offered up praise for the film’s strong supporting cast, which includes Billie Piper as Charleson’s best friend, Peter Mullan as his father and Olivia Colman as his doctor.

The Guardian’s Benjamin Lee calls Andrew’s performance ‘astonishing’, adding that ‘watching Scott handle that wrestle, of resiliently trying to not cave in to what his body is telling him, is an utterly heartbreaking trial to watch’.

Slant Magazine’s Ed Gonzalez goes against the grain, awarding the film just two stars and calling it ‘a fascinatingly confused brushstroke of a film’.

He directs much of the criticism at the screenplay, writing that ‘by film’s end, the mysteries of the man’s being remain under lock and key, with Stephen Beresford’s script defining him almost entirely by his desperate desire to play Hamlet on stage’.

‘That need is never unpacked for us, even if Andrew Scott makes you feel it in your gut the way Ian does.’

Elsinore will be released in UK cinemas in January 2027.

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