Worst2First: My Top Ten Supporting Actors/Actresses Who Should've Been Oscar Nominated
Worst2First:
My Top Ten Supporting Actors/Actresses
Who Should've Been Oscar Nominated
Every year the Academy Awards honors the best films of the year, and every year without question there's questionable choices and shocking snubs, but with only five (or in the case of Best Picture, ten) nominees, you're bound to leave out some tremendous performances. In the lead-up to the 2022 Oscars, I'll take a look at ten performers (or films) that should've been nominated - not that those who are nominated aren't deserving of it, but so were these performances (or films) as well.
This first week will look at my personal top ten supporting actors/actresses who should've been Oscar nominated...
**THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS**
#10
The Tender Bar
"The Tender Bar" is pretty much Oscar bait through-and-through, but surprisingly it didn't garner a single nomination. Based off the memoir of J.R. Moehringer, the film is a coming-of-age tale about his tumultuous childhood and how he used his childhood pain to become a writer. Ben Affleck stars as the supportive uncle who owns the local bar, and he gives a commanding performance in an otherwise by-the-books drama.
#9
CODA
"CODA" (Child of Deaf Adults) is the sleeper hit for Apple+, having recently won the coveted SAG Award for Best Ensemble, and fellow actor Troy Kotsur (who's Oscar-nominated) won the SAG for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, and he's well on his way to being one of the first deaf actors to win an Oscar (his co-star Marlee Matlin already won one back in 1986). Yet Daniel Durant, who's also deaf in real life like Kotsur and Matlin, should receive more recognition as Leo Rossi, the son of the family who struggles with being the big brother and protecting the family while also struggling with his own limitations.
#8
In the Heights
On paper it seemed that "In the Heights" would've dominated the Academy Awards - a musical based off an award-winning Broadway play about the stories of predominately Dominican citizens of Washington Heights, featuring songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and directed by "Crazy Rich Asians" director John Chu. Yet, possibly due to the pandemic, the film was a major bust, and any hopes of Oscar gold died with it. But if there was one performance that demanded Oscar attention it would've been Olga Merediz's Abuela, the kindly matriarch of the community and the heart and soul of the film (Merediz was also the only actress to play the role both in the film and the musical).
#7
Mass
"Mass" is one of those extraordinary films that resonates with your very soul even though it takes place literally in one room with only four actors who don't do anything more than talk. Yet the topic is as timely and important as ever - two sets of parents, one set lost their son due to a school shooter, and the other parents are the parents of the school shooter himself. Ann Dowd plays the mother of the shooter, and she gives a haunting performance as a mother who struggles to understand why her son did what he did, the life he lived, and the possible warning signs she missed that possibly could've prevented the tragedy.
#6
Belfast
One of the biggest Oscar surprises was the lack of nomination for Caitriona Balfe (even though her co-star, Judi Dench, received a nomination for much less screen time) as Ma, the mother of young Buddy who bears the weight of living in the struggling Troubles in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Balfe earned numerous nominations spanning different awards organizations, but was shut out of the Oscars, which is a shame because she gave a truly heartfelt performance.
#5
Licorice Pizza
Bradley Cooper had an amazing 2021, yet surprisingly he didn't receive any recognition for his work in "Nightmare Alley" or "Licorice Pizza," and that's a double shame. In Paul Thomas Anderson's coming-of-age dramedy, Cooper stars as Jon Peters, a film producer who's dating Barbra Streisand (and will make you pronounce her name right) and who's wonderfully, gleefully over-the-top and wonderfully psychotic. Cooper lets loose and unleashes his inner comedic child as a petulant adult who feels he's the most important person in the world, and the Academy really should've taken notice.
#4
Passing
"Passing" is a quietly powerful film about the issue of African Americans "passing" as white people due to their lighter skin color in hopes of being seen more normal and accepted in society, especially back in the 1960s. Ruth Negga stars as wealthy socialite Clare Bellew, an African American woman passing as a white woman, who's husband (who's incredibly racist) doesn't even know of her true heritage. Despite her pomp and circumstance, you sense her deep regret and fear and Negga pulls it off brilliantly.
#3
House of Gucci
Ridley Scott's "House of Gucci" is an incredibly strange thing, a biopic about the rise and fall of the Gucci family and all the turmoil, tension, and power grabs that went on within the family structure. The film itself was highly polarized - either people loved it or hated it - which diminished its chances of any Oscar nominations outside Costume and Makeup, but Jared Leto should've received some recognition as the eccentric Paolo Gucci, the outsider of the family who's seen more as a piranha than a person. At least Leto could win the Razzie for his performance.
#2
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Superhero films always get a bad rap when it comes time for awards season, and "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is no exception. Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin deserves Oscar recognition, as he dons the green costume twenty years after the original, and it seems that he never missed a beat. As Norman Osborn, Dafoe struggled with his mental demons as he battled between himself and his sinister alter-ego the Green Goblin, and he put everything he had into the performance. More than just fan service, Dafoe performed his own stunts and proved that no matter how long a hiatus, he can still be as sinister and creepy after all these years.
#1
Nightmare Alley
Cate Blanchett's role in "Nightmare Alley" is hauntingly intense and vivid, as is the entire project as a whole. Surprisingly the film itself didn't garner many Oscar nominations, and completely snubbed any acting performances. Blanchett plays Dr. Lilith Ritter, a psychiatrist who works with Bradley Cooper's Stan Carlisle in duping wealthy men out of their finances. Always the smartest person in the room and remaining several steps ahead of everyone else, Dr. Ritter is a cold, calculating woman and Blanchett plays her with pitch-perfect perfection.
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