A number of records could fall in this year’s Academy Award acting races, depending on how the game plays out. The nominations will be announced on Jan. 10 and the awards will be presented on Feb. 24.
>> Hal Holbrook, a Supporting Actor candidate for both "Promised Land" and "Lincoln," could become the oldest nominee and the oldest winner in any category. He’s 87, though he’ll be 88 before the show takes place; the oldest winner to date is Christopher Plummer who won the award for "Beginners" at 82, and the oldest nominee was Gloria Stuart at 87.
>> Emmanuelle Riva, left, from "Amour," who turns 86 on the day of the Oscars, would be the oldest Best Actress nominee or winner, and the oldest winner in any category — unless Holbrook gets there, too.
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>> Nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis from "Beasts of the Southern Wild" could become the youngest Best Actress nominee (beating Keisha Castle-Hughes, who was nominated for "Whale Rider" when she was 13), the youngest Best Actress winner (over Marlee Matlin, 21) and the youngest female acting winner (currently Tatum O’Neal, who was 10 when she won Best Supporting Actress for "Paper Moon.").
>> Perennial nominee Meryl Streep would break her own record of 17 and become the most-nominated actor or actress ever if she gets a nod for "Hope Springs."
>> Daniel Day-Lewis of "Lincoln" can become the first three-time Best Actor winner. His two previous awards (for "My Left Foot" and "There Will Be Blood") leave him tied with Spencer Tracy, Frederic March, Gary Cooper, Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson and Sean Penn.
>> A nomination for Denzel Washington for "Flight" would be his sixth, breaking the record he shares with Morgan Freeman for the most-nominations for an African-American actor.
>> Anthony Hopkins could become the first person to win a Best Actor award for playing an Honorary Oscar winner, Alfred Hitchcock in "Hitchcock," and the second to be nominated for doing so (after Robert Downey Jr. in "Chaplin").
>> A "Silver Linings Playbook" nomination for Jennifer Lawrence at the age of 22 would make her the youngest person to be twice nominated for Best Actress (her previous nomination was for "Winter’s Bone") and the second youngest to be nominated for two acting awards of any kind. (Sal Mineo would beat her by a few months.)
>> An Oscar for Marion Cotillard for "Rust and Bone" would make her the first actor to win two Academy Awards for performances not in the English language. (Her first was for "La Vie en Rose".)