Nomination Speculation: Best Supporting Actor

Academy Awards 2012

Lo and behold, Oscar night is just around the corner! I’m kicking off this week with the Best Supporting Actor category, and there are five very diverse roles to pick apart and examine. Apart from Jonah Hill, all of the nominees have been nominated for an Oscar before, and are all veterans of the Hollywood scene. But who knows – might Hill be this year’s dark horse and swipe the prize from the Oscar heavyweights?

The Contenders: Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn, Jonah Hill – Moneyball, Nick Nolte – Warrior, Christopher Plummer – Beginners, Max Von Sydow – Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Academy Awards 2012
Poster courtesy of Wikimedia user Dhialokaaaa.

The Front Runner: I’d say this one was an easy one to choose: Christopher Plummer in Beginners is a lock-in for this award. As a 70-year-old man who comes out of the closet after his wife’s death (and just before his own death), it was an incredibly fascinating role that Plummer took on board and played beautifully. Beginners was a charming indie film that was bolstered by Plummer’s performance, and he exhibited such youthful enthusiasm and earnest emotion that viewers genuinely mourned his death in the film. Plummer managed to balance both his character’s wisdom and wonder and perfectly conveyed the sense of rebirth that was needed for the character. The role has everything the Academy loves and I think it’s safe to say that Plummer has this award in the bag. What’s more, he’s already gotten the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and received overwhelming praise for his role.

Worth Mentioning: Playing Sir Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn, Kenneth Branagh was able to pull off a colorful real-life character while managing to hold his own against Michelle Williams’ Marilyn Monroe. Despite the lackluster script, critics have cited Branagh’s performance as lively, crisp and passionate. The Academy loves period pieces, especially ones involving real life people, and he has gotten nominations from the BAFTA, The Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild, so he has generated solid Oscar buzz.

Christopher Plummer
Plummer is a shoo-in for winning the award. | Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia User Nehrams2020

Also worth mentioning is Nick Nolte’s role as a neglectful alcoholic father who tries to reconcile with his son by training him to box in Warrior (or this year’s version of The Fighter). Nolte gives an emotionally honest performance amidst all of the action and fighting, making him a gem to watch. Not only that, but he’s also garnered significant positive feedback for his role, and a Screen Actor’s Guild nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Probably Won’t Win: That leaves Jonah Hill and Max Von Sydow. Hill, the funnyman behind such teen comedies as Superbad and Get Him to the Greek, was an unexpected choice for a nomination, but he managed to blow everyone away by showing audiences that he could, in fact, act. Hill was actually quite solid as Brad Pitt’s sidekick in Moneyball. In all likelihood though, Hill will most likely not be going home with the prize but this could be the start of an interesting turn in his career. Von Sydow was the most surprising nomination out of the list in his role as a mute man in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The film in general was underwhelming, and there was very little, if any, attention was brought to his performance. Von Sydow has not gotten any other big nominations from other awards either, so his chances of winning are rocky. Having said that, critics have enjoyed his subtle and emotionally fueled performance in the film.

Snubs Galore: With all Oscar nominations comes Oscar snubs. It looks like Drive has been having a very bad Oscar run and was completely overlooked by the Oscars. Not only has Ryan Gosling been snubbed in the Best Actor category; his co-star Albert Brooks was similarly passed over by the Academy.

About Ruth Chan

Ruth Chan (COM '14) is just your average moviegoer. Fortunately, she got a gig here at The Quad and is now lucky enough to write reviews for them. Shoot her a message if you ever want to discuss the geeky world of films with someone.

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