John Turturro, now 69, is being tipped by Sony Pictures Classics for a first-ever Oscar nomination after four decades as one of Hollywood's most recognisable character actors. His starring role in "The Only Living Pickpocket in New York," which premiered at Sundance and drew acclaim at this weekend's Telluride Film Festival, gives him a rare leading part to carry, something his long career of celebrated supporting turns has never provided.

Turturro has worked with directors including the Coen brothers, Spike Lee and Robert Redford, won the best actor prize at Cannes for "Barton Fink" in 1991, and earned Golden Globe and SAG nominations for "Quiz Show" three years later, yet has never received Academy recognition. Television has been more generous, with Emmy nominations for "The Night Of" and "Severance". In the new film, directed by Noah Segan, he plays Harry Lehman, an ageing pickpocket whose trade is being rendered obsolete by digital payments and phones, while he cares for his ailing wife; the studio is framing the film as the vehicle to finally secure him the nomination his career has long deserved.