SubscribeOscars' supporting-actor types: Spry ole devils, leading men slumming . . .
Nathaniel R of thefilmexperience.net did such an ace job defining the character types that tend to win Oscars for best supporting actress (Long-Suffering Wife, Monstrous/Martyr Mom — click here to read more) that I asked my Envelope collaborator Paul Sheehan to tackle the same analysis of the supporting-actor race.
Here are some of the colorful groupings he came up with: Grumpy Old Man (Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine," two-time winner Melvyn Douglas in "Being There" and "Hud"); Spry Ole Devil (Morgan Freeman in "Million Dollar Baby," oldest winner George Burns in "The Sunshine Boys"), Mid-Life Crisis (Tim Robbins in "Mystic River," Jason Robards in "Julia"), Leading Man Slumming (George Clooney in "Syriana," Jack Nicholson in "Terms of Endearment), and Character Actor (Chris Cooper in "Adaptation," Jim Broadbent in "Iris").
Among this year's frontrunners, we have examples of all of these: old coot Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild," Max von Sydow as the spry father in "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," Tom Wilkinson in meltdown mode in "Michael Clayton," leading men John Travolta as a supportive mother in "Hairspray" and Javier Bardem as a murderous drug dealer in "No Country for Old Men," and Philip Seymour Hoffman unrecognizable as a CIA agent in "Charlie Wilson's War."
While there is buzz about newcomers Paul Dano ("There Will Be Blood") and Ben Foster ("3:10 to Yuma"), these tyros will be lucky just to get nominated. And thirtysomethings Ethan Hawke ("Before the Devil Knows You're Dead") and Sacha Baron Cohen ("Sweeney Todd") may get nods but most of the attention will be focused on the leading men in their movies.
Moving down the list to possible contenders, these trends can be spotted there as well. Stage vet Philip Bosco adds gumption to his grumpiness in "The Savages" while Albert Finney shows that he can still dazzle in "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead." Robert Downey Jr., drinks himself into oblivion in "Zodiac" while superstars Russell Crowe ("American Gangster") and Tom Cruise ("Lions for Lambs") take second billing. And the versatile German actor Armin Mueller-Stahl plays a Russian mobster in "Eastern Promises." The youngster of this group, Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford", may have to be content with knowing he held his own opposite Brad Pitt and establishing himself as a leading man in his big brother Ben's directorial debut "Gone Baby Gone."
By the way, while analyzing the supporting-actor race, Paul noticed a striking fact when results are compared to the supporting-actress category.
While 55 of the 71 chaps who've won the Oscar for supporting actor have been over age 40, just 32 of the supporting actresses have been that old. The stats are even more startling when using a cut-off age of 55 — two dozen men and only 8 women. And at the other end of the age spectrum, 20 women aged 30 and under have won, while only 3 such young men have triumphed.
When in the world are people going to realize that Sacha Baron Cohen's ten minutes of screen time in Sweeney Todd are not going to stand up to ALAN FREAKING RICKMAN in Sweeney Todd who is the REAL supporting actor (actually he's third lead!) in the film and is the villain and the one who brings about most of the film's plot. And apparently he's been called "remarkable" "wonderful" and several other praises, saying his scene with Depp at the end is one of the best in cinema history, according to Ain't It Cool News. Yeah, not Variety, but still, someone is commenting on the film having seen it, which is more than most people can do at the present time regarding the film.
I wish people would stop thinking that Sacha Baron Cohen is deserving of an Oscar for a film where all he does is make a brief impression and that's that. Reward the actors in the film who deserve the reward, not the ones who just put in a funny line or two or pull a good face. Anyone can do that.
Posted by: Michelle | November 09, 2007 at 05:39 PM
Cliff Robertson sucked in CHARLY and ranks as the worst best actor winner and the movie was lousy too. Jack Nicholson ranks as number 2 worst pick for AS GOOD AS IT GETS, and Warner Baxter was rotten in IN OLD ARIZONA..... them's the top 3 worst picks
Posted by: Ed L | November 05, 2007 at 06:28 AM
Paul Dano has some of the most buzz out of all the candidates - he's on the fast track for a nomination//
SRSLY, you're really stupid.
Posted by: Slayton | November 04, 2007 at 11:19 AM