Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: George Clooney in "The Descendants"

And the nominees were:

Ryan Gosling in "The Ides of March"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
Leonard DiCaprio in "J. Edgar"
Michael Fassbender in "Shame"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Winner George Clooney delivered a nice compliment to "Shame's" Michael Fassbender for his well-accomplished nude scenes in "Shame." "If you can play golf with your hands behind your back, go for it, man. Do it!" quipped Clooney. And how effortless was that acceptance speech, where Clooney barely mentioned his film ("The Descendants") and instead spent more time talking about his buddy Brad Pitt.