The Oscar Quest: A Viewer’s Guide — Best Supporting Actor
Here is my subset of The Oscar Quest: A Viewer’s Guide, specifically for Best Supporting Actor.
A reminder about the color code:
Films in RED are films that are essential. These are films you need to see, whether you like them or not. Though you’ll probably like most of them. A few of these may be part of a personal bias, but this is my list. Just think of the films in red as films you need to see if you want to be film literate (in the most basic sense). At least 70% of these are films that, if you haven’t seen them, you should be ashamed of yourself. These are the prerequisites you need to get into the class. (5-star films.)
Films in ORANGE are films that are my personal favorites (that aren’t already marked red). While not “essential” per say, these are films that I love dearly. They’re essential to me. They’re films that I will tell you that you need to see. I’d say that 80% of the time, these are going to be films that most people would enjoy. A few of them might be subjective to me, but on the whole, these are all very good films. I tried to limit the orange ones to only the best of the best, my absolute favorites. But either way, I love them, and you should definitely see at least 80% of them. (My 5-star films. At worst, most people’s 3-star films. Generally 4’s for everybody.)
Films in YELLOW are films I rate as “very good” films. Not too many people can deny that these films are good films, and whether or not they like them will come down to personal preference. The yellows are the most expansive category. They are by far the biggest bunch. Some of them are 5 stars, but just aren’t ones I love enough to make them orange. Most are solid 4s and come highly recommended. Some are weak 4s and high 3s and come recommended. The strength of the recommendation can be gauged by checking the articles. I’d say at least 60% of them are ones that most people would definitely enjoy, sight unseen. You may want to check a synopsis to be sure, but the rule of thumb is, you see yellow, it’s a good film. You should definitely check out a good portion of these. (4-star films. Maybe a 5 or a 3 here or there.)
Films in GREEN are films that are good films, but ones that probably won’t be for everybody. These probably cover the most ground in terms of my ratings. These will be anywhere from films I feel are solidly 4 stars, to films I don’t even like so much but understand and appreciate that they’re good films. I think the major commonality among the films is that they’re very divisive. They’re all good, but, some people might really like them, some people might not. You almost definitely want to check the synopses on these. Because some of these I love, and some of these I really don’t like, but I mark them green because I know they are good films on some level and don’t want to discount them entirely. These will be the hardest to gauge in terms of my opinion on them based solely on the color. I recommend you get more information on these. But generally most people would rate these at least a 3. (These are generally 3-4 star movies. Many 3s, many 4s, it depends.)
Films in BLUE are — well — the other films. These are films that I enjoyed, but didn’t really love all that much. They’re ones that are one step above the next level below this. Think of these as films that I enjoyed, but not more than a “meh, that was pretty good” kind of way. You’ll get a feel for it when you see which ones are marked blue. They’re ones that, while not totally for me, have their high points, and are not “bad” enough to be put in the final category. Do your homework on these. You may find ones you like here that I don’t like (it’s entirely possible), or you may find something that you like a lot more than I did. This is all based on my personal opinion. The first thing you should know before doing this is how my opinions match yours. NOTE: ALL WINNERS ARE AT LEAST BLUE. Having won, they carry at least that much of a coding. I may not feel so strongly about them, but they do earn that much. So, if you see a WINNER in blue, chances are I don’t like the film too much. (3 star films. Almost exclusively. <5% 4 stars and 2 stars combined here.)
Films NOT in any color (or, whatever the default color of this page is) are films that I don’t like. I won’t go so far as to say I hate them, since they are Oscar nominees, and that at least merits a certain amount of respect, but we’ll put it like this: these are ones I DO NOT recommend. Or, they’re films that just really weren’t for me. By elimination, there have to be a few of these on this list. So, the ones that are blank are ones that either I don’t like or are completely indifferent towards. And complete indifference means, they may be good, but I don’t care. I just didn’t care for it, whether because I think it’s a bad film, a boring film, or because it just really wasn’t for me. Read the articles if you want specifics. (3 stars or 2 star here. Nothing nominated for an Oscar gets a 1. They’re not completely inept. Mostly 2s, some 3s.)
(Note: Winners appear first and bolded. If a performance/directorial effort is italicized, I consider it to be one of the best. If an asterisk (*) appears after a film, it means it hasn’t been nominated before and is appearing for the first time (in the order of Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Director). Also, the colors are uniform throughout. I’ve rated the films, not the performances.)
(Anything flush right on the page is a film I’ve yet to see.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
2013 – Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
2012 – Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
2011 – Christopher Plummer, Beginners *
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior *
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
2010 – Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town *
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
2009 – Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger *
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones *
2008 – Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight *
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder *
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road *
2007 – Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford *
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War *
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild *
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
2006 – Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls *
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
2005 – George Clooney, Syriana *
Matt Dillon, Crash
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man *
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt, A History of Violence *
2004 – Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
Alan Alda, The Aviator
Thomas Haden Church, Sideways
Jamie Foxx, Collateral *
Clive Owen, Closer *
2003 – Tim Robbins, Mystic River
Alec Baldwin, The Cooler *
Benicio del Toro, 21 Grams
Djimon Hounsou, In America
Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai *
2002 – Chris Cooper, Adaptation.
Ed Harris, The Hours
Paul Newman, Road to Perdition *
John C. Reilly, Chicago
Christopher Walken, Catch Me if You Can *
2001 – Jim Broadbent, Iris
Ethan Hawke, Training Day
Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast *
Ian McKellen, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Jon Voight, Ali
2000 – Benicio del Toro, Traffic
Jeff Bridges, The Contender
Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire *
Albert Finney, Erin Brockovich
Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator
1999 – Michael Caine, The Cider House Rules
Tom Cruise, Magnolia *
Michael Clarke Duncan, The Green Mile
Jude Law, The Talented Mr. Ripley *
Haley Joel Osment, The Sixth Sense
1998 – James Coburn, Affliction
Robert Duvall, A Civil Action *
Ed Harris, The Truman Show *
Geoffrey Rush, Shakespeare in Love
Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan *
1997 – Robin Williams, Good Will Hunting
Robert Forster, Jackie Brown *
Anthony Hopkins, Amistad *
Greg Kinnear, As Good as It Gets
Burt Reynolds, Boogie Nights *
1996 – Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jerry Maguire
William H. Macy, Fargo
Armin Mueller-Stahl, Shine
Edward Norton, Primal Fear *
James Woods, Ghosts of Mississippi *
1995 – Kevin Spacey, The Usual Suspects *
James Cromwell, Babe
Ed Harris, Apollo 13
Brad Pitt, Twelve Monkeys *
Tim Roth, Rob Roy *
1994 – Martin Landau, Ed Wood *
Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction
Chazz Palminteri, Bullets Over Broadway *
Paul Scofield, Quiz Show
Gary Sinise, Forrest Gump
1993 – Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive
Leonardo DiCaprio, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape *
Ralph Fiennes, Schindler’s List
John Malkovich, In the Line of Fire *
Pete Postlethwaite, In the Name of the Father
1992 – Gene Hackman, Unforgiven
Jaye Davidson, The Crying Game
Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men
Al Pacino, Glengarry Glen Ross *
David Paymer, Mr. Saturday Night *
1991 – Jack Palance, City Slickers *
Tommy Lee Jones, JFK
Harvey Keitel, Bugsy
Ben Kingsley, Bugsy
Michael Lerner, Barton Fink *
1990 – Joe Pesci, Goodfellas
Bruce Davidson, Longtime Companion *
Andy Garcia, The Godfather Part III
Graham Greene, Dances with Wolves
Al Pacino, Dick Tracy *
1989 – Denzel Washington, Glory *
Danny Aiello, Do the Right Thing *
Dan Aykroyd, Driving Miss Daisy
Marlon Brando, A Dry White Season *
Martin Landau, Crimes and Misdemeanors *
1988 – Kevin Kline, A Fish Called Wanda *
Alec Guinness, Little Dorrit *
Martin Landau, Tucker: The Man and His Dream *
River Phoenix, Running on Empty *
Dean Stockwell, Married to the Mob *
1987 – Sean Connery, The Untouchables *
Albert Brooks, Broadcast News
Morgan Freeman, Street Smart *
Vincent Gardenia, Moonstruck
Denzel Washington, Cry Freedom *
1986 – Michael Caine, Hannah and Her Sisters
Tom Berenger, Platoon
Willem Dafoe, Platoon
Denholm Elliott, A Room with a View
Dennis Hopper, Hoosiers *
1985 – Don Ameche, Cocoon *
Klaus Maria Brandauer, Out of Africa
William Hickey, Prizzi’s Honor
Robert Loggia, Jagged Edge *
Eric Roberts, Runaway Train
1984 – Haing S. Ngor, The Killing Fields
Adolph Caesar, A Soldier’s Story
John Malkovich, Places in the Heart
Pat Morita, The Karate Kid *
Ralph Richardson, Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes *
1983 – Jack Nicholson, Terms of Endearment
Charles Durning, To Be or Not to Be *
John Lithgow, Terms of Endearment
Sam Shepard, The Right Stuff
Rip Torn, Cross Creek *
1982 – Louis Gossett, Jr. An Officer and a Gentleman
Charles Durning, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas *
John Lithgow, The World According to Garp *
James Mason, The Verdict
Robert Preston, Victor Victoria
1981 – John Gielgud, Arthur
James Coco, Only When I Laugh
Ian Holm, Chariots of Fire
Jack Nicholson, Reds
Howard Rollincs, Ragtime *
1980 – Timothy Hutton, Ordinary People
Judd Hirsch, Ordinary People
Michael O’Keefe, The Great Santini
Joe Pesci, Raging Bull
Jason Robards, Melvin and Howard *
1979 – Melvyn Douglas, Being There
Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now
Justin Henry, Kramer vs. Kramer
Frederic Forrest, The Rose
Mickey Rooney, The Black Stallion *
1978 – Christopher Walken, The Deer Hunter
Bruce Dern, Coming Home
Richard Farnsworth, Comes a Horseman *
John Hurt, Midnight Express
Jack Warden, Heaven Can Wait
1977 – Jason Robards, Julia
Mikhail Baryshnikov, The Turning Point
Peter Firth, Equus
Alec Guinness, Star Wars
Maximilian Schell, Julia
1976 – Jason Robards, All the President’s Men
Ned Beatty, Network
Burgess Meredith, Rocky
Laurence Olivier, Marathon Man *
Burt Young, Rocky
1975 – George Burns, The Sunshine Boys
Brad Dourif, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Burgess Meredith, The Day of the Locust *
Chris Sarandon, Dog Day Afternoon
Jack Warden, Shampoo *
1974 – Robert De Niro, The Godfather Part II
Fred Astaire, The Towering Inferno
Jeff Bridges, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot *
Michael V. Gazzo, The Godfather Part II
Lee Strasberg, The Godfather Part II
1973 – John Houseman, The Paper Chase *
Vincent Gardenia, Bang the Drum Slowly *
Jack Gilford, Save the Tiger
Jason Miller, The Exorcist
Randy Quaid, The Last Detail
1972 – Joel Grey, Cabaret
Eddie Albert, The Heartbreak Kid *
James Caan, The Godfather
Robert Duvall, The Godfather
Al Pacino, The Godfather
1971 – Ben Johnson, The Last Picture Show
Jeff Bridges, The Last Picture Show
Leonard Frey, Fiddler on the Roof
Richard Jaeckel, Sometimes a Great Notion *
Roy Scheider, The French Connection
1970 – John Mills, Ryan’s Daughter
Richard S. Castellano, Lovers and Other Strangers *
Dan George, Little Big Man *
Gene Hackman, I Never Sang for My Father
John Marley, Love Story
1969 – Gig Young, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
Rupert Crosse, The Reivers *
Elliott Gould, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice *
Jack Nicholson, Easy Rider *
Anthony Quayle, Anne of the Thousand Days
1968 – Jack Albertson, The Subject Was Roses
Seymour Cassel, Faces *
Daniel Massey, Star! *
Jack Wild, Oliver!
Gene Wilder, The Producers *
1967 – George Kennedy, Cool Hand Luke
John Cassavetes, The Dirty Dozen *
Gene Hackman, Bonnie and Clyde
Cecil Kellaway, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Michael J. Pollard, Bonnie and Clyde
1966 – Walther Matthau, The Fortune Cookie *
Mako, The Sand Pebbles
James Mason, Georgy Girl
George Segal, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Robert Shaw, A Man for All Seasons
1965 – Martin Balsam, A Thousand Clowns
Ian Bannen, Flight of the Phoenix *
Tom Courtenay, Doctor Zhivago
Michael Dunn, Ship of Fools
Frank Finlay, Othello
1964 – Peter Ustinov, Topkapi *
John Gielgud, Becket
Stanley Holloway, My Fair Lady
Edmond O’Brien, Seven Days in May *
Lee Tracy, The Best Man *
1963 – Melvyn Douglas, Hud
Nick Adams, Twilight of Horror *
Bobby Darin, Captain Newman, M.D. *
Hugh Griffith, Tom Jones
John Huston, The Cardinal *
1962 – Ed Begely, Sweet Bird of Youth
Victor Buono, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Telly Savalas, Birdman of Alcatraz
Omar Sharif, Lawrence of Arabia
Terence Stamp, Billy Budd *
1961 – George Chakiris, West Side Story
Montgomery Clift, Judgment at Nuremberg
Peter Falk, Pocketful of Miracles *
Jackie Gleason, The Hustler
George C. Scott, The Hustler
1960 – Peter Ustinov, Spartacus *
Peter Falk, Murder, Inc. *
Jack Kruschen, The Apartment
Sal Mineo, Exodus *
Chill Wills, The Alamo
1959 – Hugh Griffith, Ben-Hur
Arthur O’Connell, Anatomy of a Murder
George C. Scott, Anatomy of a Murder
Robert Vaughn, The Young Philadelphians *
Ed Wynn, The Diary of Anne Frank
1958 – Burl Ives, The Big Country *
Theodore Bikel, The Defiant Ones
Lee J. Cobb, The Brothers Karamozov *
Arthur Kennedy, Some Came Running
Gig Young, Teacher’s Pet *
1957 – Red Buttons, Sayonara
Vittorio de Sica, A Farewell to Arms *
Sessue Hayakawa, The Bridge on the River Kwai
Arthur Kennedy, Peyton Place
Russ Tamblyn, Peyton Place
1956 – Anthony Quinn, Lust for Life
Don Murray, Bus Stop *
Anthony Perkins, Friendly Persuasion
Mickey Rooney, The Bold and the Brave *
Robert Stack, Written on the Wind *
1955 – Jack Lemmon, Mister Roberts
Arthur Kennedy, Trial *
Joe Mantell, Marty
Sal Mineo, Rebel Without a Cause *
Arthur O’Connell, Picnic
1954 – Edmond O’Brien, The Barefoot Contessa *
Lee J. Cobb, On the Waterfront
Karl Malden, On the Waterfront
Rod Steiger, On the Waterfront
Tom Tully, The Caine Mutiny
1953 – Frank Sinatra, From Here to Eternity
Eddie Albert, Roman Holiday
Brandon de Wilde, Shane
Jack Palance, Shane
Robert Strauss, Stalag 17
1952 – Anthony Quinn, Viva Zapata!
Richard Burton, My Cousin Rachel *
Arthur Hunnicutt, The Big Sky *
Victor McLaglen, The Quiet Man
Jack Palance, Sudden Fear
1951 – Karl Malden, A Streetcar Named Desire
Leo Genn, Quo Vadis
Kevin McCarthy, Death of a Salesman
Peter Ustinov, Quo Vadis
Gig Young, Come Fill the Gap *
1950 – George Sanders, All About Eve
Jeff Chandler, Broken Arrow *
Edmund Gwenn, Mister 880 *
Sam Jaffe, The Asphalt Jungle *
Erich von Stroheim, Sunset Boulevard
1949 – Dean Jagger, Twelve O’Clock High
John Ireland, All the King’s Men
Arthur Kennedy, Champion
Ralph Richardson, The Heiress
James Whitmore, Battleground
1948 – Walter Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Charles Bickford, Johnny Belinda
José Ferrer, Joan of Arc
Oskar Homolka, I Remember Mama
Cecil Kellaway, The Luck of the Irish *
1947 – Edmund Gwenn, Miracle on 34th Street
Charles Bickford, The Farmer’s Daughter
Thomas Gomez, Ride the Pink Horse *
Robert Ryan, Crossfire
Richard Widmark, Kiss of Death *
1946 – Harold Russell, The Best Years of Our Lives
Charles Coburn, The Green Years *
William Demarest, The Jolson Story
Claude Rains, Notorious *
Clifton Webb, The Razor’s Edge
1945 – James Dunn, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn *
Michael Chekhov, Spellbound
John Dall, The Corn is Green *
Robert Mitchum, The Story of G.I. Joe *
J. Carrol Naish, A Medal for Benny *
1944 – Barry Fitzgerald, Going My Way
Hume Cronyn, The Seventh Cross *
Claude Rains, Mr. Skeffington
Clifton Webb, Laura *
Monty Woolley, Since You Went Away
1943 – Charles Coburn, The More the Merrier
Charles Bickford, The Song of Bernadette
J. Carrol Naish, Sahara *
Claude Rains, Casablanca
Akim Tamiroff, For Whom the Bell Tolls
1942 – Van Heflin, Johnny Eager *
William Bendix, Wake Island
Walter Huston, Yankee Doodle Dandy
Frank Morgan, Tortilla Flat *
Henry Travers, Mrs. Miniver
1941 – Donald Crisp, How Green Was My Valley
Walter Brennan, Sergeant York
Charles Coburn, The Devil and Miss Jones *
James Gleason, Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Sydney Greenstreet, The Maltese Falcon
1940 – Walter Brennan, The Westerner *
Albert Basserman, Foreign Correspondent
William Gargan, They Knew What They Wanted *
Jack Oakie, The Great Dictator
James Stephenson, The Letter
1939 – Thomas Mitchell, Stagecoach
Brian Aherne, Juarez *
Harry Carey, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Brian Donlevy, Beau Geste *
Claude Rains, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1938 – Walter Brennan, Kentucky *
John Garfield, Four Daughters
Gene Lockhart, Algiers
Robert Morely, Marie Antoinette
Basil Rathbone, If I Were King *
1937 – Joseph Schildkraut, The Life of Emile Zola
Ralph Bellamy, The Awful Truth
Thomas Mitchell, The Hurricane *
H.B. Warner, Lost Horizon
Roland Young, Topper *
1936 – Walter Brennan, Come and Get It *
Mischa Auer, My Man Godfrey
Stuart Erwin, Pigskin Parade *
Basil Rathbone, Romeo and Juliet
Akim Tamiroff, The General Died at Dawn *
Wow, fucking impressive man. I’m currently attempting to work my through an Oscar Quest of my own, I’d like to watch all of the nominated performances, and I’ve been using your posts as a guide of sorts. I enjoy your style of writing as well, it always makes for a very entertaining read. How long did it take you to watch virtually every film nominated in a major category? Was this something you committed to daily in order to accomplish the goal? Any tips you have for me to achieve this? Thanks :)
December 11, 2014 at 7:01 pm