BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Unlike Best Supporting Actress' race, Best Supporting Actor looks much less obvious. From Oscar-winning figures to a big couple of actors who seem to be overdue for a first Academy Award nomination, Supporting Actor is unpredictable at this point of pre-awards season. Russell Crowe seems to have an acting vehicle with enough potential for a career comeback as a religious father who doesn't accept his son's homossexuality in Boy Erased (a movie that is said to be an acting gem!). Then, there is Adam Driver, best known from the newest Star Wars movies and from his collaborations with Noah Baumbach and for his amazing performance in 2016's Patterson - this year he seems to be contending for a supporting part in Spike Lee's critically acclaimed comedy BlacKkKlansman and while he's not the movie's standout, he's very good and he might benefit from the movie's Oscar buzz for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. A Star Is Born's movie trailer debuted under a huge wave of enthusiasm and while most people seems to be building high expectations around Cooper and Lady Gaga, I believe Sam Elliot will impress since he seems to have the best part on paper as the leads' carrer manager (and let's not forget he deserves an Oscar nod for his career). Remember when Jonah Hill got kinda surprising Oscar nods for his turns in Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street? I know both movies were big Oscar hits, but Hill excels himself in Gus Van Sant's Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot, delivering the same kind of performance as Robbie Williams' in Good Will Hunting... and the AMPAS has showed some love for Hill before! And then, there's Sam Rockwell for Backseat - he's still fresh from his Oscar win for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, last year, but playing George W. Bush in a Adam McKay movie is Oscar buzzy enough to include him in my predictions!
- Timothée Chalamet, Beautiful Boy - He's only 22 and he's an Academy Award nominee already (he was wonderful in Call Me By Your Name), but can such an young actor get a 2nd nod at this young age and at this very early stage of his career? Well, the internet seems to love him, the kid has great acting chops and his part in Beautiful Boy as a drug-addicted young man is quite juicy! And judging from the movie trailer, he seems amazing - hope he excels, but I'm cautious about predicting him because the AMPAS has already gone for him last year and Oscar voters will also have Lucas Hedges (who's only 21) also in contention for a leading role in Boy Erased.
- Kit Harington, The Death and Life of John F. Donovan - Can Harington make a transition from TV to film that successful so he gets an Oscar nomination? He's quite popular thanks to his leading role in Game of Thrones TV series and he did great in 2014's Testament of Youth, but he was bad in Pompeii... Well, this year he stars as John F. Donovan, a TV star who shares correspondence with a kid and then loses his career and dies - lead or supporting? He's the title character, but the movie is told from the kid's perspective. No matter what, I trust Xavier Dolan - such a gifted director.
- Michael B. Jordan, Black Panther - MCU has never produced a big Oscar player (its movies have never gone beyond some nods in technical categories until 2017's Logan got a Best Adapted Screenplay nom), but it seems there's some big buzz for Black Panther. Described as the most human MCU movie, Ryan Coogler brought us a superhero movie that's also a social comment on globalization and a real family-drama. The movie's standout? Michael B. Jordan as a villain full of noble intentions, a truly nuanced and multidimensional character and one of the most effective performances of the year. Jordan has already met some award recognition for smaller productions (Fruitvale Station and Creed), but will a big-budget superhero movie give him the glory a couple of prestige movies weren't able to do. Maybe, Marvel will need to organize a smart campaign for Black Panther.
- Matthew McConaughey, White Boy Rick - He lived a career high-point some years ago, from 2011's Lincoln Lawyer, to 2012's Mud and Magic Mike, to 2013's Oscar-winning turn in Dallas Buyers Club to 2014's Christopher Nolan epic Interstellar, but then the McConaugheissance faded. This year, he promises something spectacular with White Boy Rick, by playing the lead's dad, a blue-collar factory worker trying to keep his family together as the automotive industry collapses around him in Detroit. Let's wait for TIFF to see the first reactions. It has potential for sure.
- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Poppins Returns - Well-known in the Broadway community for the musicals In the Heights and Hamilton, Miranda is an Academy Award nominee already for Best Original Song (2016's Moana), but he's also a Tony Award and Emmy winner. While early reactions to Mary Poppins Returns still unknown, Miranda's role as Jack, a lamplighter and former apprentice to Bert, might be delicious enough for Oscar taste. Of course he has the talent, but some big stage actors aren't able to shine as bright on-screen as they shine on stage. Plus, will the AMPAS bite a sequel of a beloved classic? Let's wait.
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