What do you do if you're nominated for an Oscar, but you know you're not going to win? Grow the best beard in town, and win the moral victory.

That's our explanation for Viggo Mortensen's facial hair at this year's Academy Awards. The "Eastern Promises" star was up against an overwhelming favorite -- Daniel Day Lewis ("There Will Be Blood") -- for Best Actor, and knew he didn't stand a chance. His only option was to let his beard do the talking.

Disturbing and nightmarish by turns, it was a breakout performance for Mortensen's facial hair, which in a less-lustrous form had divided critics in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

This time around, as Styledash.com points out, Viggo's look was an impressive mix of "Let It Be"-era John Lennon and a werewolf/Russian-mafia hit man. Even though Viggo lost the Oscar, the beard was a victory for men everywhere.