Entertainment

Who'll Be the J. Law of Award Season? 8 Contenders

by Alyse Whitney

Now that award season is in full swing after the 2015 Golden Globes show, we have a lot to look forward to. In addition to the fashion and fantastic speeches (hopefully as feminist as the Globes were, at that), some of the best parts are the ridiculous antics of celebrities. For the past few years, the spotlight has been on Jennifer Lawrence's crazy award-season behavior, but she was noticeably absent at Sunday's show. With that being said, she will probably skip most, if not all, of the shows this year since she's not in any nominated films. She could show up for moral support for frequent co-star Bradley Cooper or just to drink and cheer people on, but she won't be the belle of the ball in 2015.

I will miss J. Law tripping up stairs and freaking out about Jack Nicholson, but there are plenty of suitable substitutes to take over this year. It doesn't have to be a woman, though — it could just as easily be Benedict Cumberbatch as it could be Emma Stone who gets everyone talking and laughing. There are a few early front runners after the Globes, but there's still time for others to make a case for themselves. For now, I've narrowed it down to eight potential replacements who could be this award season's Jennifer Lawrence.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Cumberbatch is a champion photobomber — which we saw when he photobombed U2 at the Oscars last year — and he snuck one in at the Globes behind Meryl Streep and Margaret Cho. He also volunteered as tribute to announce the first award with Jennifer Aniston, which was adorable and awkward. Yes, it was likely staged, but it doesn't matter because it was wonderful.

Emma Stone

Stone took the Big Eyes comment from Amy Poehler and Tina Fey like a pro, and we all know how fun she can be on late-night talk shows. She's nominated a lot throughout the upcoming shows, so if she lets loose and has fun, she could totally be a great Lawrence replacement.

Amy Adams

Rachel Murray/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

This picture. Need we say more? Her speech was feminist and empowering at the Globes too, which is different from Lawrence's schtick, but it is memorable and important nonetheless.

Meryl Streep

After Streep participated in the North Korea bit with Margaret Cho, I thought back to how great she was during the pizza and selfie fun at the Oscars last year. She's a national treasure, hilarious, and knows how to steal the spotlight from anyone — in a classy way, of course — and can take us by surprise. Case in point: her smooching Mark Ruffalo on The Graham Norton Show above.

Anna Kendrick

Kendrick isn't nominated for any awards on her own throughout award season, but she will be around for Into the Woods. Since she isn't responsible for taking the stage at all (except to possibly present), seeing her have fun on red carpets and watching her reactions in the crowd could make her a good swap-in for Lawrence. Knowing the spotlight isn't on her, she could just go crazy and do things like Red Panda impressions every time. (See above for proof.)

Reese Witherspoon

Witherspoon loves to dance, and if she even just busts a move once throughout award season, she's the winner. Plus, if she does take home an award for Wild, her reaction, speech, and celebration afterward will make for something fantastic and photo-worthy.

Jennifer Aniston

Aniston is changing everyone's views about her with gritty indie drama Cake, and although I can't guarantee that she will win this award season, she already had fun with Cumberbatch onstage and also went wild by grabbing Kate Hudson's butt on the red carpet at the Globes.

Chrissy Teigen

Teigen had an amazing cry face at the Globes when her husband, John Legend, won for his song "Glory" with Common, and she fully embraced the memes that followed. Please pan to her in the audience at every show for even more amazing moments.

Images: Giphy (6); Getty Images (2)