Supporting Actor 2013

Favorite category time again! I know it won't let me down and I can't wait to watch these guys again.

2013 Best Supporting Actor

Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

I think it's kind of easy to dismiss Leto as simply dressing up as a woman and that's about it. But his performance has way more depth than first meets the eye and that's all because of Leto's ability. He makes Rayon much more than just a costume or caricature. Rayon feels natural and lived in and doesn't seem like a walking exaggeration, which can always be a huge problem when portraying a trans person. It's easy to slip into making fun of them or portraying them as nothing but loud, dramatic queens which of course isn't representative of them as a whole. I think Leto's dedication in losing lots of weight and talking with lots of trans people to better understand them and represent them shows. His chemistry with McConaughey is very apparent even when Ron and Rayon are at odds with each other. It's like they are an old couple at times and certainly like they are good friends at other times. Leto's performance also allows the general public to see that trans people aren't these terrible, awful degenerates. They are people first and foremost and can be kind, caring, and just like people you know. I think that's why Leto's performance works is because it's a very honest one. And of course, the Academy loves a good transformation like weight loss and playing a woman, so that certainly helped Leto here, too. But Leto does give a great performance even without the transformation stuff and one that resonated with the voters.

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips

This was a terrific performance out of nowhere. I mean when I first watched this film, I thought that damn, that hijacker guy was really fucking good and it would be so cool if he could get some recognition for being awesome. And get some recognition did he! Barkhad won a BAFTA which is no small feat. What I always liked about Abdi's performance was that he brought the human element to the terrorist/hijacker, something that we all too often don't get. We understood that they did this because of the hopelessness of their situation in Somalia. They probably never expected to get killed or captured and were definitely not trained to take lots of hostages or stand up to the US Navy. Another amazing thing about Abdi was that he ad libbed the "Look at me, I'm the Captain now" phrase. That phrase has been widely parodied, mocked, imitated, and lauded for it's badass nature. The fact that it was made up on the spot yet became a cinematic phrase on par with "Rosebud" and "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" is mind blowing. He brings an intimidating presence without being unrealistic. With all that said, this guy was a first time actor! He came from Somalia when little and never acted before which is just nuts to think about because he is so good. From the beginning and asserting dominance to the end where he realizes all hope is lost. Abdi gives a really impressive performance.

Bradley Cooper - American Hustle

I definitely wasn't the biggest fan of American Hustle, but I actually kinda liked Cooper in this role. I felt it was a lot more palatable than his turn in Silver Linings Playbook. It was evident to me that Cooper was having a lot of fun playing the FBI agent and was perfectly happy hamming it up in a very likable role. The performance itself is pretty uneven, but that's because the hamming it up thing doesn't work the entire time. Plus, the script and plot make his character look a bit ridiculous at times which Cooper struggles to overcome. It's way more hit than miss, however, and Cooper displays some great comedic chops. That's when it seems extremely evident that he's loving his character and loving acting with his pals. Every time his character is on screen you are guaranteed to laugh at something and his badgering of Louis CK is pretty hilarious. It's just a lot of fun to watch Cooper work in this role and his enthusiasm is contagious. I'd say he's having the most fun out of anyone in the film, honestly. Like playing with house money and getting an Oscar nomination out of it. It's kind of nice to see passion rewarded and I can't hate on this nomination very much. It's not the best but it is entertaining and all nominations should at least be that.

Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave

I didn't remember Fassbender being as good as he is in this performance. I kinda remembered that he was a mean, drunk slave owner but he does bring a lot more depth to the role than I remember. It's obviously the most flashy role in the entire film and one that if done poorly, could be very, very bad. Fassbender does not do a poor job, however, and delivers a pretty convincing and decent performance. The easy route would have been to go over the top with a character like this, creating a caricature of what a loud, belligerent slave owner might look like. But Fassbender mixes in some thoughtfulness and humanity even if those emotions aren't readily apparent or even easy to see. He's a man set in his ways but has moments of weakness (or maybe you could call it strength) where he realizes that he's acting inhumane and you feel like you can see his brain debating whether to continue the ill treatment of his property/slaves. Fassbender is here to provide the fuel to an ever growing fire of disgust and hatred of the system and the culture of that time for the audience and he does a rather convincing job of stoking the flames. He's essentially a villain but he doesn't portray his character in a cartoony way, which I think some of that can be because of McQueen as well. It can be weird calling a character such as Epps a good performance but Fassbender is able to make me do just that. Hopefully we will see much more of Fassbender in the Oscars to come.

Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street

Jonah brings a lot more to this role than he did to his Moneyball role and that should come as no surprise. Apparently he begged Scorsese or the producers to let him take the role and even took really low pay to play the part. I guess if you're going to go to those extremes, you need to deliver a performance that is Oscar worthy, right? Hill brings the comedic chops to a supporting role that is basically comic relief, but really good comic relief. There's a lot of humor in this film so Hill fits right in and makes the character and performance work. He plays an obnoxious asshole stockbroker friend of Jordan Belfort and runs with it. It's over the top but the whole film is over the top so it doesn't stand out in a negative way. A lot of his antics are pretty hilarious so it's easy to see why Hill would be remembered and nominated. And that's really about all there is to it which isn't a bad thing. Sometimes it's nice to see comedy roles get nominated, even dark comedy roles such as this one.
 
Another great group for Supporting Actor. There's not one among these guys that I dislike or even remotely kinda, sorta only somewhat like. Nope. All of these dudes are pretty good and give some fun performances. And that seems to be the theme for this year: fun. I would give my win to Abdi as his performance came out of nowhere and rivaled Tom Hanks in that film, which is no easy feat. Then clearly Leto who I'm ok with winning the actual Oscar, followed by Fassbender bringing it in his film, then Cooper and Hill hamming it up. Everyone just seemed to be having fun in their roles and that's always great to see.

Oscar Winner: Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club
My Winner:  Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Jared Leto
Michael Fassbender
Bradley Cooper
Jonah Hill