Not since the actual "Sophie's choice" has there been a decision this hard. The last 10 "Best Supporting Actor" winners are among some of the best in film history. There's literally no weak links and a good 6-7 of them would be legit top choices. But this is the world we live in and we love our lists so here's how I'd stack up these amazing performances:
10. Christopher Plummer "Beginners" (2012)
Sorry but didn't see this one so can't accurately tell you anything about it, it is Christopher Plummer though so I'm sure he deserved it. Be better then me and see it.
9. Alan Arkin "Little Miss Sunshine" (2007)
In a war i feel bad for Alan Arkin, his performance was fabulous no doubt but the problem is his was still the s3cond best performance that year. Eddie Murphy was cruising to the victory until infamously "Norbit" was released right around Oscars time and there was no way he was getting the award and after "Academy Award winner" on the "Norbit" poster. Arkin put in a great, slightly unhinged performance but that cloud of what if is hanging over his award win and that's a shame.
8. George Clooney "Syriana" (2006)
Next up is George Clooney in "Syriana" where he played a CIA agent who is disavowed and forced to fend for himself while unraveling some political intrigue. Say what you will about the movie itself but Clooney is outstanding. He famously put on extra weight and got scruffy looking for the role with the intent to prove he could act and wasn't just a Hollywood pretty boy and it worked perfectly. He took home the gold and is now one of the top leading men in the business. Not bad for the guy from Roseanne.
7. Christian Bale "The Fighter" (2011)
Christian Bale is next on our list for "The Fighter" where he played the drug addicted "Dickie" Ecklund. Bale went through one of his many physical transformations for this role to get the drug emaciated body the role needed and it paid off with his first Oscar win. You have sympathy for him even as you realize all his troubles in life are his own fault and he's dragging his brother down the same rabbit hole he went down. Bale really digs into what makes this guy who lives in the past for his one moment of glory tick and finds the humanity in this passively self destructive character and he actually steals the movie from the planned star Mark Wahlberg. When you outshine a A-Lister and steal a biopic away from the guy its about you know you've done something special.
6. Jared Leto "Dallas Buyers Club" (2014)
Now we're into the part where any of these performances could have taken the top spot and Jared Leto is a perfect example of what i mean. He plays the role of a slowly dying Transgender AIDS patient whose slowly deteriorating health turns a once optimistic and fun loving person into a shell of themselves as they cough up blood and cry out about not wanting to die. If this role doesn't make your heart hurt then there is something wrong with you. Leto gives a masterclass performance and forces the viewer to see this disease from a much more personal angle. Bravo indeed
5. Christoph Waltz "Django Unchained" (2013)
We now come to the Christoph Waltz portion of the countdown with "Django Unchained". The second Oscar win with Tarantino for Waltz. He plays the role of dentist/bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz, the mentor to the titular Django. The charm and charisma Waltz brings to the movie is a welcome rest from the onslaught of disturbing imagery that is all over the movie. His ability to be both humorous and deadly fits him perfectly into Tarantino's heightened world and his ability to effortlessly rattle off a Tarantino monologue is second to none. Not quite as good as his next movie on the list but still great nonetheless.
4. Javier Bardem "No Country for Old Men" (2008)
Wanna see the personification of death on screen? Look no further then the chilling Anton Chigurh. A terrifying figure in the book Bardem brings this icy cold villain to the screen with a quiet menace that underlines the idea that less can be more. He never gets emotional, never yells or even raises his voice but every second he's on screen you feel something bad can happen at any moment. Something as simple as a coin toss gets elevated to a life or death moment without any threats even being said aloud, just his aura and tone are enough to scare any normal citizen. The fact that this man also adheres to a code, no matter how warped it may seem to us, adds another layer of depth you didn't realize was there.
3. Christoph Waltz "Inglorious Basterds" (2010)
Wanna see how to explode onto the American movie landscape? Just watch Christoph Waltz's breakthrough performance in "Inglorious Basterds". All the hype leading in was on Brad Pitt but from the first screening it was apparent this was Waltz's movie. His Colonel Hans Landa owns every scene he's in and even when not on screen you wither wish he was or his aura is hanging over it. Able to pull off both menacing and charming at the drop of a hat with such ease you'd assume he's reliving a past life. Tarantino once thought the role to be unplayable when he wrote it until Waltz auditioned and what a pairing the two have made. Its impossible not to like Landa and considering he's a Nazi known as "The Jew Hunter" like is a word that's hard to believe is attached to him. Amazing performance in one of Tarantino's best movies.
2. J.K. Simmons "Whiplash" (2015)
An example of a role that probably should have been nominated for lead actor but in no way is detracted from by this award. J.K. Simmons is amazing in the role as music teacher Terrence Fletcher whose obsessive need to push his students to the absolute limit to try and achieve perfection is impossible to look away from. Abuse is really the only way to describe his methods but once you find out why he does this you can completely see things from his point of view. Simmons loses himself in the role and completely erases any semblance of "acting" and simply becomes the character. Simply put his performance is about as close to perfection as you can get so don't miss it.
1. Heath Ledger "The Dark Knight" (2009)
As if there was any doubt who the top dog would be. Heath Ledger's "Joker" now transcends just film, He is a cultural icon. Ledger explodes off the screen and you can't look away anytime he's on. He manages to completely erase Jack Nicholson's performance from the public mind and when you can do that then you've done something magical. Everything from his look to his makeup to even his speech and posture makes the audience uncomfortable and scared and brings home the idea this man is capable of anything and yes you should be very very afraid. He's also shown to be almost omniscient with his ability to think 20 steps ahead of even Batman which again just drives home just how dangerous he is. Very few performances are quite literally immortal but this is certainly one of them and an easy choice for the top of our list.
Written by Jacob Maracle (https://twitter.com/TheDrizzle37)
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