The Oscar Quest: Rankings – Best Supporting Actor
Here is my subset of The Oscar Quest Rankings, specifically for Best Supporting Actor. Just in case the one big article is too much for you and you just want one specific category.
(Underlined means that’s what won. An asterisk (*) means that’s what I’d have voted for. Anything in RED means I haven’t seen the film yet.)
Best Supporting Actor
2013 – 1. Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street *
2. Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
3. Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
4. Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
5. Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
2012 – 1. Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook *
2. Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
3. Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
4. Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
5. Alan Arkin, Argo
2011 – 1. Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close *
2. Christopher Plummer, Beginners
3. Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
4. Nick Nolte, Warrior
5. Jonah Hill, Moneyball
2010 – 1. Christian Bale, The Fighter *
2. Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
3. Jeremy Renner, The Town
4. John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
5. Mark Ruffalo, The Kids are All Right
2009 – 1. Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds *
2. Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
3. Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
4. Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
5. Matt Damon, Invictus
2008 – 1. Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight *
2. Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
4. Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
5. Josh Brolin, Milk
2007 – 1. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War
2. Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men *
3. Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
4. Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
5. Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
2006 – 1. Mark Wahlberg, The Departed *
2. Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
3. Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
4. Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
5. Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
2005 – 1. William Hurt, A History of Violence *
2. George Clooney, Syriana
3. Matt Dillon, Crash
4. Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
5. Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
2004 – 1. Clive Owen, Closer *
2. Jamie Foxx, Collateral
3. Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
4. Alan Alda, The Aviator
5. Thomas Haden Church, Sideways
2003 – 1. Alec Baldwin, The Cooler *
2. Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai
3. Benicio del Toro, 21 Grams
4. Tim Robbins, Mystic River
5. Djimon Hounsou, In America
2002 – 1. Chris Cooper, Adaptation. *
2. Paul Newman, Road to Perdition
3. Christopher Walken, Catch Me if You Can
4. John C. Reilly, Chicago
5. Ed Harris, The Hours
2001 – 1. Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast *
2. Ian McKellen, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
3. Ethan Hawke, Training Day
4. Jim Broadbent, Iris
5. Jon Voight, Ali
2000 – 1. Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire *
2. Jeff Bridges, The Contender
3. Benicio del Toro, Traffic
4. Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator
5. Albert Finney, Erin Brockovich
1999 – 1. Tom Cruise, Magnolia *
2. Jude Law, The Talented Mr. Ripley
3. Michael Clarke Duncan, The Green Mile
4. Michael Caine, The Cider House Rules
5. Haley Joel Osment, The Sixth Sense
1998 – 1. Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan *
2. Geoffrey Rush, Shakespeare in Love
3. Robert Duvall, A Civil Action
4. James Coburn, Affliction
5. Ed Harris, The Truman Show
1997 – 1. Robert Forster, Jackie Brown *
2. Robin Williams, Good Will Hunting
3. Burt Reynolds, Boogie Nights
4. Anthony Hopkins, Amistad
5. Greg Kinnear, As Good as It Gets
1996 – 1. Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jerry Maguire
2. William H. Macy, Fargo *
3. Edward Norton, Primal Fear
4. James Woods, Ghosts of Mississippi
5. Armin Mueller-Stahl, Shine
1995 – 1. Kevin Spacey, The Usual Suspects *
2. Brad Pitt, Twelve Monkeys
3. Ed Harris, Apollo 13
4. James Cromwell, Babe
5. Tim Roth, Rob Roy
1994 – 1. Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction *
2. Martin Landau, Ed Wood
3. Gary Sinise, Forrest Gump
4. Chazz Palminteri, Bullets Over Broadway
5. Paul Scofield, Quiz Show
1993 – 1. Ralph Fiennes, Schindler’s List *
2. Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive
3. Pete Postlethwaite, In the Name of the Father
4. Leonardo DiCaprio, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
5. John Malkovich, In the Line of Fire
1992 – 1. Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men
2. Gene Hackman, Unforgiven *
3. Al Pacino, Glengarry Glen Ross
4. Jaye Davidson, The Crying Game
5. David Paymer, Mr. Saturday Night
1991 – 1. Michael Lerner, Barton Fink *
2. Harvey Keitel, Bugsy
3. Ben Kingsley, Bugsy
4. Jack Palance, City Slickers
5. Tommy Lee Jones, JFK
1990 – 1. Joe Pesci, Goodfellas *
2. Andy Garcia, The Godfather Part III
3. Al Pacino, Dick Tracy
4. Bruce Davidson, Longtime Companion
5. Graham Greene, Dances with Wolves
1989 – 1. Danny Aiello, Do the Right Thing *
2. Denzel Washington, Glory
3. Marlon Brando, A Dry White Season
4. Dan Aykroyd, Driving Miss Daisy
5. Martin Landau, Crimes and Misdemeanors
1988 – 1. Kevin Kline, A Fish Called Wanda *
2. Martin Landau, Tucker: The Man and His Dream
3. Dean Stockwell, Married to the Mob
4. Alec Guinness, Little Dorrit
5. River Phoenix, Running on Empty
1987 – 1. Sean Connery, The Untouchables *
2. Morgan Freeman, Street Smart
3. Albert Brooks, Broadcast News
4. Denzel Washington, Cry Freedom
5. Vincent Gardenia, Moonstruck
1986 – 1. Tom Berenger, Platoon *
2. Dennis Hopper, Hoosiers
3. Willem Dafoe, Platoon
4. Michael Caine, Hannah and Her Sisters
5. Denholm Elliott, A Room with a View
1985 – 1. Eric Roberts, Runaway Train *
2. Don Ameche, Cocoon
3. Klaus Maria Brandauer, Out of Africa
4. Robert Loggia, Jagged Edge
5. William Hickey, Prizzi’s Honor
1984 – 1. Adolph Ceasar, A Soldier’s Story *
2. Pat Morita, The Karate Kid
4. John Malkovich, Places in the Heart
4. Haing S. Ngor, The Killing Fields
5. Ralph Richardson, Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
1983 – 1. Sam Shepard, The Right Stuff *
2. Charles Durning, To Be or Not to Be
3. Jack Nicholson, Terms of Endearment
4. John Lithgow, Terms of Endearment
5. Rip Torn, Cross Creek
1982 – 1. James Mason, The Verdict *
2. John Lithgow, The World According to Garp
3. Louis Gossett Jr., An Officer and a Gentleman
4. Charles Durning, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
5. Robert Preston, Victor Victoria
1981 – 1. John Gielgud, Arthur *
2. James Coco, Only When I Laugh
3. Jack Nicholson, Reds
4. Howard Rollins, Ragtime
5. Ian Holm, Chariots of Fire
1980 – 1. Joe Pesci, Raging Bull
2. Timothy Hutton, Ordinary People *
3. Jud Hirsch, Ordinary People
4. Jason Robards, Melvin and Howard
5. Michael O’Keefe, The Great Santini
1979 – 1. Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now *
2. Melvyn Douglas, Being There
3. Justin Henry, Kramer vs. Kramer
4. Frederic Forrest, The Rose
5. Mickey Rooney, The Black Stallion
1978 – 1. Christopher Walken, The Deer Hunter *
2. Bruce Dern, Coming Home
3. Jack Warden, Heaven Can Wait
4. John Hurt, Midnight Express
5. Richard Farnsworth, Comes a Horseman
1977 – 1. Alec Guinness, Star Wars *
2. Jason Robards, Julia
3. Maximilian Schell, Julia
4. Peter Firth, Equus
5. Mikhail Baryshnikov, The Turning Point
1976 – 1. Jason Robards, All the President’s Men *
2. Burt Young, Rocky
3. Burgess Meredith, Rocky
4. Ned Beatty, Network
5. Laurence Olivier, Marathon Man
1975 – 1. George Burns, The Sunshine Boys *
2. Chris Sarandon, Dog Day Afternoon
3. Brad Dourif, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
4. Jack Warden, Shampoo
5. Burgess Meredith, The Day of the Locust
1974 – 1. Robert De Niro, The Godfather Part II *
2. Lee Strasberg, The Godfather Part II
3. Michael V. Gazzo, The Godfather Part II
4. Fred Astaire, The Towering Inferno
5. Jeff Bridges, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
1973 – 1. Jason Miller, The Exorcist *
2. Vincent Gardenia, Bang the Drum Slowly
3. Randy Quaid, The Last Detail
4. John Houseman, The Paper Chase
5. Jack Gilford, Save the Tiger
1972 – 1. James Caan, The Godfather *
2. Al Pacino, The Godfather
3. Robert Duvall, The Godfather
4. Eddie Albert, The Heartbreak Kid
5. Joel Grey, Cabaret
1971 – 1. Roy Scheider, The French Connection *
2. Jeff Bridges, The Last Picture Show
3. Ben Johnson, The Last Picture Show
4. Richard Jaeckel, Sometimes a Great Notion
5. Leonard Frey, Fiddler on the Roof
1970 – 1. Chief Dan George, Little Big Man *
1. John Marley, Love Story
3. Richard S. Castellano, Lovers and Other Strangers
4. Gene Hackman, I Never Sang for My Father
5. John Mills, Ryan’s Daughter
1969 – 1. Gig Young, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? *
2. Jack Nicholson, Easy Rider
3. Rupert Crosse, The Reivers
4. Elliott Gould, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
5. Anthony Quayle, Anne of the Thousand Days
1968 – 1. Gene Wilder, The Producers *
2. Jack Wild, Oliver!
3. Jack Albertson, The Subject Was Roses
4. Daniel Massey, Star!
5. Seymour Cassel, Faces
1967 – 1. George Kennedy, Cool Hand Luke *
2. Cecil Kellaway, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
3. Gene Hackman, Bonnie and Clyde
4. Michael J. Pollard, Bonnie and Clyde
5. John Cassavetes, The Dirty Dozen
1966 – 1. Walther Matthau, The Fortune Cookie *
2. Robert Shaw, A Man for All Seasons
3. George Segal, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
4. James Mason, Georgy Girl
5. Mako, The Sand Pebbles
1965 – 1. Martin Balsam, A Thousand Clowns *
2. Ian Bannen, Flight of the Phoenix
3. Tom Courtenay, Doctor Zhivago
4. Frank Finlay, Othello
5. Michael Dunn, Ship of Fools
1964 – 1. John Gielgud, Becket
2. Peter Ustinov, Topkapi *
3. Stanley Holloway, My Fair Lady
4. Lee Tracy, The Best Man
5. Edmond O’Brien, Seven Days in May
1963 – 1. Melvyn Douglas, Hud *
2. John Huston, The Cardinal
3. Nick Adams, Twilight of Honor
4. Bobby Darin, Captain Newman, M.D.
5. Hugh Griffith, Tom Jones
1962 – 1. Omar Sharif, Lawrence of Arabia *
2. Telly Savalas, Birdman of Alcatraz
3. Terence Stamp, Billy Budd
4. Ed Begely, Sweet Bird of Youth
5. Victor Buono, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
1961 – 1. Jackie Gleason, The Hustler *
2. George C. Scott, The Hustler
3. George Chakiris, West Side Story
4. Montgomery Clift, Judgment at Nuremberg
5. Peter Falk, Pocketful of Miracles
1960 – 1. Jack Kruschen, The Apartment
2. Peter Ustinov, Spartacus *
3. Chill Wills, The Alamo
4. Peter Falk, Murder, Inc.
5. Sal Mineo, Exodus
1959 – 1. Arthur O’Connell, Anatomy of a Murder *
2. George C. Scott, Anatomy of a Murder
3. Hugh Griffith, Ben-Hur
4. Ed Wynn, The Diary of Anne Frank
5. Robert Vaughn, The Young Philadelphians
1958 – 1. Burl Ives, The Big Country *
2. Theodore Bikel, The Defiant Ones
3. Gig Young, Teacher’s Pet
4. Arthur Kennedy, Some Came Running
5. Lee J. Cobb, The Brothers Karamozov
1957 – 1. Sessue Hayakawa, The Bridge on the River Kwai *
2. Arthur Kennedy, Peyton Place
3. Vittorio de Sica, A Farewell to Arms
4. Russ Tamblyn, Peyton Place
5. Red Buttons, Sayonara
1956 – 1. Robert Stack, Written on the Wind *
2. Mickey Rooney, The Bold and the Brave
3. Anthony Perkins, Friendly Persuasion
4. Anthony Quinn, Lust for Life *
5. Don Murray, Bus Stop
1955 – 1. Jack Lemmon, Mister Roberts *
2. Joe Mantell, Marty
3. Arthur Kennedy, Trial
4. Sal Mineo, Rebel Without a Cause
5. Arthur O’Connell, Picni
1954 – 1. Rod Steiger, On the Waterfront *
2. Lee J. Cobb, On the Waterfront
3. Karl Malden, On the Waterfront
4. Edmond O’Brien, The Barefoot Contessa
5. Tom Tully, The Caine Mutiny
1953 – 1. Robert Strauss, Stalag 17 *
2. Frank Sinatra, From Here to Eternity
3. Eddie Albert, Roman Holiday
4. Jack Palance, Shane
5. Brandon de Wilde, Shane
1952 – 1. Victor McLaglen, The Quiet Man *
2. Anthony Quinn, Viva Zapata!
3. Jack Palance, Sudden Fear
4. Richard Burton, My Cousin Rachel
5. Arthur Hunnicutt, The Big Sky
1951 – 1. Karl Malden, A Streetcar Named Desire *
2. Peter Ustinov, Quo Vadis
3. Kevin McCarthy, Death of a Salesman
4. Leo Genn, Quo Vadis
5. Gig Young, Come Fill the Gap
1950 – George Sanders, All About Eve *
2. Erich von Stroheim, Sunset Boulevard
3. Jeff Chandler, Broken Arrow
4. Edmund Gwenn, Mister 880
5. Sam Jaffe, The Asphalt Jungle
1949 – 1. Ralph Richardson, The Heiress *
2. James Whitmore, Battleground
3. John Ireland, All the King’s Men
4. Dean Jagger, Twelve O’Clock High
5. Arthur Kennedy, Champion
1948 – 1. Walter Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre *
2. Charles Bickford, Johnny Belinda
3. Oskar Homolka, I Remember Mama
4. Cecil Kellaway, The Luck of the Irish
5. José Ferrer, Joan of Arc
1947 – 1. Richard Widmark, Kiss of Death *
2. Edmund Gwenn, Miracle on 34th Street
3. Charles Bickford, The Farmer’s Daughter
4. Robert Ryan, Crossfire
5. Thomas Gomez, Ride the Pink Horse
1946 – 1. Charles Coburn, The Green Years
2. Claude Rains, Notorious *
3. Clifton Webb, The Razor’s Edge
4. William Demarest, The Jolson Story
5. Harold Russell, The Best Years of Our Lives
1945 – 1. James Dunn, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn *
2. Robert Mitchum, The Story of G.I. Joe
3. Michael Chekhov, Spellbound
4. John Dall, The Corn is Green
5. J. Carrol Naish, A Medal for Benny
1944 – 1. Barry Fitzgerald, Going My Way *
2. Monty Woolley, Since You Went Away
3. Clifton Webb, Laura
4. Claude Rains, Mr. Skeffington
5. Hume Cronyn, The Seventh Cross
1943 – 1. Claude Rains, Casablanca *
2. Charles Coburn, The More the Merrier
3. J. Carrol Naish, Sahara
4. Charles Bickford, The Song of Bernadette
5. Akim Tamiroff, For Whom the Bell Tolls
1942 – 1. Walter Huston, Yankee Doodle Dandy
2. Henry Travers, Mrs. Miniver
3. Frank Morgan, Tortilla Flat *
4. William Bendix, Wake Island
5. Van Heflin, Johnny Eager
1941 – 1. Sydney Greenstreet, The Maltese Falcon *
2. Donald Crisp, How Green Was My Valley
3. Charles Coburn, The Devil and Miss Jones
4. James Gleason, Here Comes Mr. Jordan
5. Walter Brennan, Sergeant York
1940 – 1. Walter Brennan, The Westerner *
2. Jack Oakie, The Great Dictator
3. Albert Basserman, Foreign Correspondent
4. James Stephenson, The Letter
5. William Gargan, They Knew What They Wanted
1939 – 1. Thomas Mitchell, Stagecoach *
2. Claude Rains, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
3. Harry Carey, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
4. Brian Aherne, Juarez
5. Brian Donlevy, Beau Geste
1938 – 1. Basil Rathbone, If I Were King *
2. Robert Morely, Marie Antoinette
3. Walter Brennan, Kentucky
4. Gene Lockhart, Algiers
5. John Garfield, Four Daughters
1937 – 1. Ralph Bellamy, The Awful Truth *
2. Roland Young, Topper
3. H.B. Warner, Lost Horizon
4. Joseph Schildkraut, The Life of Emile Zola
5. Thomas Mitchell, The Hurricane
1936 – 1. Mischa Auer, My Man Godfrey
2. Walter Brennan, Come and Get It *
3. Basil Rathbone, Romeo and Juliet
4. Akim Tamiroff, The General Died at Dawn
5. Stuart Erwin, Pigskin Parade
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