Best Supporting Actor: Ranking Every Oscar Nominee
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Yesterday I covered the Best Supporting Actress category, and so it only makes sense to hop over to the adjacent category today. This batch of nominees is actually quite stacked with talent. No one here feels out of place in any way, whether the performance lasts around ten minutes or for the entire film. I’d argue that everyone here stole either scenes or the entire picture, and for those reasons they’re all qualified. Having said that, I still feel like there are one or two snubs (one to be covered below) and that there is a clear winner amongst the pack. Let’s get right to it. Here are your nominees.
Biggest Snub: Paul Dano-The Fabelmans
Did Paul Dano take a shit on the doorstep of an executive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences? How this guy hasn’t had a single Oscar nomination his entire career is actually astonishing. He’s been robbed for the following films:
•There Will Be Blood
•Love & Mercy
•Little Miss Sunshine
He could have easily been nominated for more as well.
He’s really good as a father figure trying to keep his family together without showing signs of cracking in The Fabelmans, and it felt like a sure thing that he’d wind up here, considering how the film was getting some safe Oscars love across the board. Not for Dano, apparently. We love you, Paul Dano. You’re welcome into our family here at Films Fatale if the Academy is going to be negligent to you like this.
5. Judd Hirsh-The Fabelmans
Let me be clear: I am only placing Judd Hirsch last here because of how short his part is. It maybe makes more sense for Paul Dano — who is present throughout the entirety of The Fabelmans — to be in this group of nominees as well, but I don’t want to give the impression that I think that Hirsch was bad in this film. If anything, those ten minutes (or so) of Hirsch’s presence are actually incredible, and I feel like part of the justification of having him nominated come from the fact that his brief appearance kind of lasts with you throughout the entire film. He’s feisty, rigid, and oh-so full of life. He is easily identifiably the fuel in Sammy Fabelman’s life that keeps him going with his art. Steven Spielberg wanted someone memorable that would leave an impact in as little time as possible. We got that with Hirsch: one of the finest actors of our time who makes the most of his tiny amount of screen time. He’s competing with performances that were longer and had more to do with their stories, so that’s the only reason why I’m placing him so low.
4. Barry Keoghan-The Banshees of Inisherin
What I love about performances like Barry Keoghan’s drunken Dominic in The Banshees of Inisherin is that I know — with precise certainty — that this is not even close to the best work of this young actor. He’s having fun more than anything as the village buffoon who has issues at home but also tries to find joy in life. He’s extremely likeable despite his antics, but you know deep down that he’s actually hiding a lot of scarring from the rest of Inisherin. There’s just something about this performance that feels like it was another day in the office for Keoghan; not to say that he was phoning-in his character, but that it feels so effortless for him. I guarantee we’ll be seeing his name pop up in these sorts of discussions again in the future. For now, let’s just enjoy how magnetic Keoghan is in this film as the flashes of hope in a miserable town that sadly get cursed by hate.
3. Brian Tyree Henry-Causeway
Even though Jennifer Lawrence is great in Causeway, the film feels borderline unfinished and otherwise unwatchable. That is until Brian Tyree Henry gives purpose to the entire feature and its lead character. He’s just so charming despite the hardships his character, James, has had to face as a recent amputee. It’s the moment where he feels betrayed and has his trust broken that Tyree Henry shines the most, with subdued acting that you can feel resonate from deep within him. It’s as if he is able to share his hurt with you telepathically, so you can feel every ounce of it. My heart ached for James throughout Causeway, even when he seemed to be having a good day. That’s the power of someone as naturally gifted as Brian Tyree Henry, who I am so happy to see nominated here.
2. Brendan Gleeson-The Banshees of Inisherin
Did you know that, like most of the acting nominees this year, this is the first time Brendan Gleeson has ever been nominated for an Oscar? Shocking, right? In order for a film like The Banshees of Inisherin to work, you need the character of Colm to be stubborn but not annoying, angry but not hateful, and bored but not boring. You can just feel the lack of desire in Colm thanks to Gleeson’s mastering of apathy, and it benefits the comedy, tragedy, and very essence of The Banshees of Inisherin nicely. You feel Pádraic’s loss when he can no longer talk to his former best friend, and we never even see the best of Colm (and yet we, too, feel like we are missing out on someone great now). That’s a pretty difficult role that Gleeson took on and nailed.
1. Ke Huy Quan-Everything Everywhere All at Once
There’s a reason why Ke Huy Quan has been winning every award under the sun, and I would argue that only ten percent of it (or so) is because of the lovely comeback story that his Everything Everywhere All at Once role has granted him. It’s because he actually deserves the love he’s gotten for this character of countless identities, faces, and spirits. On one hand, he’s a father not knowing how to bring up his consideration of divorce to his wife, and anxious about the IRS taking away his family’s struggling laundromat. Then he’s a messenger from another parallel universe that is trying to help this timeline’s version of his wife save the existence of all. There are so many other roles Huy Quan fulfils, but my personal favourite — and the one that broke my heart the most (along with the rest of you all) — is what many have dubbed the Wong Kar-wai version (if you’ve seen the film, you know the one): a man that seemingly has it all and still has regrets and desires. I could feel the sadness in my bones. Ke Huy Quan is funny, thrilling, and — most importantly — incredibly moving in Everything Everywhere All at Once: he is the embodiment of finding a spark in those that you thought you lost your love for, either as an actor shunned by an industry, or a husband that tries to help you through this nightmare we call life.
Cameron Geiser’s review of Everything Everywhere All at Once
Who I want to win: I’d be happy with anyone here winning, as most are first time nominees (and not a single previous winner in sight). Nonetheless, Ke Huy Quan brings a tear to my eye when I’m just writing about him.
Who I think will win: Ke Huy Quan is currently at the Critics Choice Awards second base, and he’s booking it toward that BAFTAs third base. No doubt he’s going to make it home plate.
Tune in tomorrow for our next Academy Award category! We’re reviewing every single nominee on every weekday.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.