Top 5 Best Supporting Actor Winners
By Austin Johnson
The Best Supporting Actor category is perhaps the most competitive category historically when it comes to the Oscars. Connor and I talk about our love for the character actors and supporting specialists all the time on our podcast. The last time I was looking at all the dudes who have won for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, I texted Connor and we went back and forth with about 20 names that we both adore. As you scroll through the years, you realize that damn near every winner was deserving. Sure, some guys have gotten robbed, but I really like the choices that the Academy has made when it comes to the Supporting Actor category. What was really interesting about picking these five actors was how I leaned towards the more recent decisions the Academy has made. I recently made a list for my favorite Best Picture Winners and it was all over the place with two 70’s films, a 90’s film, a 2000’s film, and then one from the teens. This list consists of performances that are all from the century that we are currently in. That wasn’t on purpose or anything, but these are the 5 roles that resonated with me the most.
5.) Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds (2009)
“AU REVOIR, SHOSANNA!”
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Christoph Waltz won two Oscars in four years playing polar opposite characters in two very different Quentin Tarantino films. He’s fantastic in Django Unchained, but he’s unforgettable in Basterds. Inglourious Basterds was nominated eight times at the 82nd Academy Awards, but Waltz is the only one who walked away with silverware. The opening scene of Basterds is perhaps Waltz's finest moment ever. Hans Landa still frightens the shit out of me and sets the tone very well for a wild ride.
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4.) Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men (2007)
“Now is not a time. What time do you close?”
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I made a list of my five favorite Coen Brothers' characters and Anton Chigurh found himself at number 2 on that. No Country for Old Men dominated the 80th Academy Awards with eight nominations and four wins including Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor. Javier Bardem has been up for three total Oscars and got the win for this role, rightly so. It’s always cool to see a brilliant actor like Bardem work with creative writers like the Coen Brothers in a villainous role. Bardem has a way of acting really creepy but so convincing and he’s at his best as Anton. The coin flip scene at the service station will never cease to knock my fucking socks off.
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3.) Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (2008)
“Do I really look like a guy with a plan?”
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Heath Ledger was just 28 years old when he passed away and only a month away from being able to walk the stage at the 81st Academy Awards to pick up his trophy for Best Supporting Actor. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight got eight nominations and two wins including Best Sound Editing and quite possibly the most unanimous Best Supporting Actor win of all time. Heath Ledger actually disappeared under all of that makeup in the most unsettling way. His Joker got The Dark Knight across the billion dollar mark at the box office and critical acclaim among all fans. Whenever I rewatch The Dark Knight, I picture myself on set, trying to hold a mic or some shit. Ledger’s Joker breaks through the screen and demands your attention with sharp dialogue and violent tendencies. I will always wonder what would’ve come next for Ledger after he left us with the most impressive performance inside of a superhero film ever.
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2.) J.K. Simmons in Whiplash (2014)
"Not quite my tempo."
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Whiplash is really about two people. Andrew Neimann, a jazz drummer played by Miles Teller and Terence Fletcher, a jazz conductor played by J.K. Simmons. Damien Chazelle’s debut film received three wins on five nominations at the 87th Academy Awards, including Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Supporting Actor. Simmons has been nominated once and won once, but he’s one of those guys who has just been all over the place. This role allowed him to reach deep down and find some kind of nasty that I just haven’t seen before. He makes his musicians feel small, and the audience feel helpless. He’s there to either break or make Andrew as a drummer. I never thought J.K. would be able to get away from being pegged as the Daily Bugle bastard, J. Jonah Jameson in my head but ever since Whiplash, I immediately think of Fletcher and all of his domineering glory when he comes up.
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1.) Mahershala Ali in Moonlight (2016)
“I got you a promise. Never let you go.”
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It’s no secret to Filmgazm listeners that I am in love with Barry Jenkins's Best Picture winner, Moonlight. I had it as my number two favorite Best Picture winner of all time, and Mahershala is obviously a massive part of my admiration for the film. Moonlight racked up three wins on eight nominations at the 89th Academy awards including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and of course Best Supporting Actor. Mahershala Ali has quickly become a household name with two Oscars in the past three years and he’s just 46 years old so I assume we will see him have more opportunities to win gold. His work in Moonlight as Juan is astonishing and minimalistic in the most artistic way. He gets out of the car to Boris Gardner playing and I am immediately entranced by every move he makes. Then he finds Chiron hiding in the cut and starts a friendship with him that provides some of the most moving scenes that I have ever seen in my life.
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