My Picks for Best Supporting Actor

5. Stanley Tucci- The Lovely Bones
For the life of me I do not understand why Mr. Tucci was nominated for this and not Julie & Julia, or any of his previous wonderful roles. It cannot even be said that he was playing against type by playing a serial killer, because he plays one much more convincingly and eerily in The Pelican Brief. My biggest problem with his character is not even his fault, and that is the atrocious hair, makeup and contact lenses that they gave him. I understand that they wanted to make him look completely average, but those lenses were so incredibly distracting that I wondered why they could not just stick with his regular brown eyes. Nominating him for Julie & Julia would have been inspired, as he has proven he is one of the only actors who can hold a candle to La Streep, and together they create a wonderful and believable marriage, where he balances out her infectious energy, whereas in The Lovely Bones he is lost in the otherwise muck of the movie.

4. Christopher Plummer- The Last Station
It's hard to compare anyone to Helen Mirren and Christopher is no exception. Her character's explosiveness is hard to counter, but Christopher does as best he can by creating a quiet and almost giddy soul in Tolstoy. Best Supporting Actor was stacked this year, and I'll take a time out from critiquing Christopher to say who I think should have been nominated instead of him and Stanley: Anthony Mackie from The Hurt Locker and Alec Baldwin from It's Complicated. I think they are the only two who could have made this a multi-horse race instead of a one stallion win (Christoph). But I digress.

3. Matt Damon- Invictus
He plays a convincing sports hero/leader without making him seem saintly, which is a welcome relief. And he holds his own against Morgan Freeman, the only actor here on out allowed to play Mandela. I think Invictus got an unfairly bad rap and I'm not sure why, but Matt's performance is definitely worth seeing and worth recognizing.

2. Woody Harrelson- The Messenger
Being introduced to Woody's character and then discovering that he is a full-blown alcoholic midway through is almost shocking- his character is so strong and intimidating- he seems unaffected by reporting the deaths to next of kin- realizing that he is, in fact, a vulnerable person is a triumph of Woody's abilities as an actor, and he's the only person besides Christoph who I would want to win.

1. Christoph Waltz- Inglourious Basterds
Supervillians kind of have a lock on Best Supporting Actor at this point, and Christoph's Hans Landa is no exception. He makes speaking quadrilingually look easy and seamless, and his quiet moments are his most terrifying. Plus, anybody who is that into milk and dairy products in general is a character I can get behind. I'm torn between picking the opening as his triumphant scene or where he confronts Bridget von Hammersmarck, knowing full well that he will be turning himself in shortly. More than any of the other nominees in this category, I wanted to learn and see more of Christoph than what IB shows. Here's hoping for a prequel/sequel!

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