Will Tom Hiddleston Nab An Oscar Nom This Year?

This is good news for both the man himself and his legions of adoring fans: Apparently, Tom Hiddleston has two films premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival this year: Specifically, High-Rise and I Saw The Light. This is a big deal, and not just because two movies means more Hiddleston: TIFF is generally seen as one of the most important predictors awards season — and, specifically, for the Oscars in the spring — so the fact that Hiddleston has two films opening with tons of buzz could mean big things. Could this mean that Hiddleston might be taking home a golden statue in 2016 for one of these roles — or, at the very least, a nomination?

After all, TIFF has a history of foreseeing who will get those coveted Oscar nominations, so it could be a very good year for Hiddleston.

In sizing up the big festivals on the circuit, The Guardian gives a brief history of TIFF: back in 1998, Variety called TIFF "second only to Cannes" in terms of which festivals were the most influential in the Oscars race, and Time Magazine later said that TIFF had become "the most influential film festival, period." Interestingly enough, TIFF, which runs from September 10 to September 20 this year, does not have a jury — but rather, audience-chosen honors in several different categories for films. But, in TIFF's history since the festival first opened in 1978 — and ESPECIALLY since Variety hailed the fest in 1998 — TIFF has been a crystal ball for the Oscars with its award for Best Film.

In 2014, The Imitation Game took the prize at TIFF, and went on to be a huge contender in the Oscars race. Though the film lost Best Picture at the 2015 Academy Awards to Birdman, star Eddie Redmayne (who's a friend of Hiddleston's, of course), took home the award for Best Actor. Last fall after TIFF, Entertainment Weekly noted that Julianne Moore's performance in Still Alice "stunned audiences," the brilliant actress took home the award for Best Actress. Other TIFF winners that have gone on to also win Best Picture include American Beauty , The King's Speech and 12 Years A Slave.

Hiddleston is looking good, then: Both I Saw The Light and High-Rise have been highly anticipated. Hiddleston plays legendary country singer Hank Williams in the first, and, if he nails it (which he obviously will), it could launch him to the next level. His role in High-Rise is also dark — he plays "a doctor who moves into a luxurious yet isolated tower block, only to find the building is beset by a dangerous class divide that threatens to break out into violence" — which is a change of pace that could bode well for him.

All the best to Hiddles this September, and throughout the very, very long awards season that has only just begun.