2012 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Supporting Actor
February 15, 2012
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. This week we will look at the four acting categories, and up next is Best Supporting Actor. This category is only slightly more competitive than Best Supporting Actress with almost all the evidence pointing to one winner.
(Note: All previous awards listed are only for acting and not other categories. However, they are for supporting and lead acting.)
Best Supporting Actor
Jonah Hill for Moneyball
Nick Nolte for Warrior
Christopher Plummer for Beginners
Max von Sydow for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Conclusion: Best Supporting Actor is only slightly less one-sided than Best Supporting Actress. Christopher Plummer should win for Beginners and the rest will just have to settle for the nomination.
Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn
Tomatometer Score: 84% Positive
Movie's Previous Major Nominations: SAG and Golden Globe
Movie's Previous Major Wins: None
Actress's Previous Major Nominations: One Oscar and One SAG
Actress's Previous Major Wins: None
Notes: I'm a little surprised Kenneth Branagh hasn't won an Oscar yet. He's been nominated four previous times, but only once for acting. He's also been nominated for three previous Golden Globes, all for TV work, an additional SAG for a TV movie, and an Independent Spirit Award for Best Picture. But with all of that, he hasn't earned a major win here. (He's done a whole lot better with the BAFTAs.) Unfortunately, there's little hope he will end that streak this year, as he's gone home empty handed twice already.
Tomatometer Score: 94% Positive
Movie's Previous Major Nominations: SAG and Golden Globe
Movie's Previous Major Wins: None
Actress's Previous Major Nominations: None
Actress's Previous Major Wins: None
Notes: Jonah Hill is mostly known for his comedic work and this is his first role that has earned him any major nominations. Granted, there are times when an actor will have a breakout hit and earn an Oscar the first time he's nominated, but so far he's gone zero out of two at the SAGs and the Golden Globes and there's really no buzz that suggests he can win at the Oscars. Now that he's shown he has range, perhaps he will get more dramatic roles and can get another chance to win in the future.
Tomatometer Score: 83% Positive
Movie's Previous Major Nominations: SAG
Movie's Previous Major Wins: None
Actress's Previous Major Nominations: Two Oscars, Two Golden Globes, Two SAGs, and One Independent Spirit Award
Actress's Previous Major Wins: One Golden Globe
Notes: Warrior had some pre-release buzz that suggested it would be a player during Awards Season. However, while its reviews were excellent, it wasn't able to translate that into box office revenue or that many nominations. The nomination is deserved, but I don't think he really has a shot at converting it to a win.
Tomatometer Score: 84% Positive
Movie's Previous Major Nominations: Golden Globe, SAG, and Independent Spirit Awards
Movie's Previous Major Wins: Golden Globes, SAG, and one pending
Actress's Previous Major Nominations: One Oscars, One Golden Globes, Two SAGs, and One Independent Spirit Award
Actress's Previous Major Wins: None
Notes: Christopher Plummer has nearly everything going for him. He's a respected actor who has never won an Oscar despite a nearly 60 years filled with impressive performances, so he has the "Lifetime Achievement Award" in play. He won at both the Golden Globes and the SAGs, so he's got a winning streak going. On the other hand, it is a smaller film and the overall reviews are not the best of the five films in this list. However, that hasn't hurt the film so far.
Tomatometer Score: 45% Positive
Movie's Previous Major Nominations: None
Movie's Previous Major Wins: None
Actress's Previous Major Nominations: One Oscars and Two Golden Globes
Actress's Previous Major Wins: None
Notes: Max von Sydow also has a "Lifetime Achievement Award" in play. However, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close earned weak reviews for a wide release and terrible reviews compared to most Oscar nominated films. Just earning a nomination was a surprise.
Filed under: Awards Season, Warrior, Beginners, My Week with Marilyn, Moneyball, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close