Fandango Awards Watch
Fandango Film Commentator
Fandango Film Commentator
Best Supporting Actor
Chuck Says:
At first glance, this year's Best Supporting Actor category seems as much of a no-brainer as the Best Supporting Actress race (which will be won by Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There; see our previous predictions here). Javier Bardem -- as the most memorable embodiment of evil since Hannibal Lecter -- should win for No Country for Old Men.
© Miramax Films
However, the most predictable thing about the Oscars is that one of the Best Supporting Acting awards is always unpredictable. So while Bardem really is the deserving winner -- he's the cherry on top of No Country's cinematic sundae -- there are some other potential surprise candidates who could sneak in and steal his award.
The most likely non-Bardem winner would be Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild. I would actually love to see Holbrook and his co-star Catherine Keener sweep the Best Supporting categories. He is that good and affecting in the film, and their performances anchor what's already a great, albeit imperfect, movie.
© Lionsgate
If not Holbrook or Bardem, Ben Foster in 3:10 to Yuma would be a great choice to pull off an upset. As a young upstart among a cast of veterans in this surprise western hit, Foster is as memorable as co-star titans Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. While Bardem's performance is a landmark piece of onscreen villainy, Foster is first-rate as a villain's most trustworthy, sadistic sidekick.
Others leading the field include Tom Wilkinson as a desperate lawyer facing a crisis of conscience in Michael Clayton; John Travolta as loveable Momma Turnblad in Hairspray; and Paul Dano as a young pastor facing down big bad oilman Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood.
© Paramount Vantage
And then there are two Hollywood stars who've been around for decades, but whose talent is only now being fully exploited. Robert Downey Jr., the former Hollywood bad boy who’s been born again as an A-list working actor, was mesmerizing as the obsessed, alcoholic journalist in Zodiac. And praise is also due to Josh Brolin, who broke out this year in a lead role in No Country, and several memorable supporting turns in Grindhouse, In the Valley of Elah and American Gangster.
For this ‘80s movie buff, seeing ex-“Goonie” Brolin mentioned for an Oscar 20 years later, and Downey – the star of Less Than Zero – being cast as next summer’s superhero in Iron Man...it’s movie nirvana.
Stacie Says:
I am inclined to agree with Chuck that Bardem is the one to beat even at this early stage in the game. Besides landing on nearly every critic’s list for No Country, he’s also been previously nominated for Best Actor (Before Night Falls).
As it’s shaping up, I think Hal Holbrook, too, is Bardem’s closest competition. He turned in one of the best-reviewed performances of the season in Wild, and he’s a revered stage and screen actor with many unrecognized past performances. A nomination, at least, is inevitable.
The Assassination of Jesse James.
© Warner Bros. Pictures
A few more likely for Oscar consideration: Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, who, as the simpering gang tag-along, turned out to be the real standout in the Brad Pitt starrer; perennial nominee Philip Seymour Hoffman, whom the buzz says has the best Oscar chances among the Charlie Wilson’s War cast, and who also turned in lauded performances in The Savages and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead; industry vet Max Von Sydow, with a small but terribly moving part in The Diving Bell and Butterfly and Philip Bosco, who is receiving great reviews as the forgetful rest-home dad in The Savages.
© Paramount Pictures
I’m with Chuck on Robert Downey, Jr., too. Although Zodiac came out a while ago, hopefully the Academy will not forget about this underappreciated actor, whom I’d love to see get nominated. Currently he’s not making it onto pundits’ early predictions lists, which is unfortunate. His turn as boozy, chain-smoking ace reporter Paul Avery truly stole the show.
© The Weinstein Company Films
Some other unlikely nominees I’d really like to see: Alan Rickman for Sweeney Todd and Christian Bale, one of the best actors working today, for I’m Not There (he was also great in 3:10 to Yuma).
I think Paul Dano is a long shot to win for There Will Be Blood (too young), and although Travolta would lend the category some star power, the actor in a fat suit playing Edna Turnblad could be a little too campy for the Academy’s taste.
