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Oscar Blurbs, Day 4: 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿

No other category generated more discussion following the nominations than Best Supporting Actor. While double nominations in the same supporting category from the same film have become relatively common-place, the doubly-nominated film in this category whipped up a storm of talk after the ostensible lead of the film was demoted to supporting. How will this affect a race that seemed somewhat locked in at first? Let’s find out.

The nominees are:

• Daniel Kaluuya (as Fred Hampton), Judas and the Black Messiah
• Lakeith Stanfield (as Bill O’Neal), Judas and the Black Messiah
• Leslie Odom (as Sam Cooke, Jr.), One Night in Miami…
• Paul Raci as (Joe), Sound of Metal
• Sacha Baron Cohen as (Abbie Hoffman), The Trial of the Chicago 7

In order of preference:

5) Sacha Baron Cohen, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 – When an ensemble this eNsEmBleY gets footing in the Oscar race, the designated awards nidus will usually emerge fairly quickly and carry the torch for the rest of the cast in lieu of an ensemble award (for now…). The combo of starring and writing in another highly visible awards contender this year, along with playing the colorfully baity real life cultural revolutionary Abbie Hoffman, gave Baron Cohen the edge to emerge as this cast’s standard bearer. And I think he’s…fine? To say that Baron Cohen has a little Borat in all of his performances I think is a lazy disservice to the kind of work he’s capable of (see: Sweeney Todd) but this does kinda feel on autopilot for him. Watch out for him as a spoiler win, though.

4) Leslie Odom, Jr., ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI… – The third major people-talking-in-one-room stage play adaptation in contention for awards this year also featured a strong ensemble that quickly settled on its representative. The four main actors play so well off of each other that this nomination really doesn’t exist without Kingsley Ben Adir’s Malcolm X, Eli Goree’s Cassius Clay, and Aldis Hodge’s Jim Brown sharing the load of the heart of the film. Odom more than holds down his end, and perhaps it was that little touch of Hamilton muscle that ultimately let him rise up. Voters may want to reward that stage-turned-Disney+ phenom (which was deemed ineligible) somehow.

3) LaKeith Stanfield, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH – Campaigned in lead actor (as the titular Judas), Stanfield found himself in supporting alongside his costar Daniel Kaluuya (the titular Black Messiah), leaving heads scratching left and right as to who the Academy thought the lead in that film was. With one of the most competitive lead races in years, perhaps there was a pact among Stanfield Stans to get him
nominated by whatever means necessary; we’ll never know. What we do know is that a brilliant and hardworking actor got some surprise recognition for a role that would likely not work with a lot of other performers, playing at times villain, hero, and audience surrogate. That it got in at all means people loved it, which may spell trouble for…

2) Daniel Kaluuya, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH – Stanfield’s Get Out costar was cruising to a likely win when nominations morning gave everyone pause. While still the likely front runner, and I don’t really believe vote-splitting is THAT much of a thing as people like to make it out to be, this unique situation would definitely make me clutch my acceptance speech a little harder in worry. In the end, the sheer bravado of the performance may ultimately speak for itself, as Kaluuya owns the screen every single time he is on it, even with Stanfield in frame, and at the end of the day, you just need to get people to notice.

1) Paul Raci, SOUND OF METAL – My favorite performance of the bunch may ultimately be the quietest, and that’s not just because he is essentially pulling dual language duty in English and ASL. A truly exemplar supporting performance elevates and augments, rather than distracts or scene steals from, the leads of the film, and Raci puts on a master class in exactly the kind of performance this category should reward more often.

WILL WIN: Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
COULD WIN: Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE: Alan Kim, Minari