The 2007 Academy Awards Part 5: Best Supporting Actor Hopefuls

The top contenders to currently be nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2007 Academy Awards:

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Jack Nicholson in The Departed: I'd say this is pretty much set in stone at this point. Nicholson has everything going for him here. A huge star, Hollywood legend with 3 Oscars and 13 nominations to his name, in a showy supporting role in one of the biggest hits of the year. Nicholson is great in The Departed, letting his appearance go, putting on a thick Boston accent and playing one of his scariest, most cold-hearted roles. Hard to say whether or not he could be considered the frontrunner to win, the fact that he's already won three might work against him but his name will unquestionably be included in the list of nominees.

Eddie Murphy in Dream Girls: This is another one that I'd say is pretty much a lock. Murphy has been a very successful box office draw (for the most part) for several decades working almost exclusively in comedic roles but here he makes his first transition to drama and will likely receive a ton of hype for his performance. The Academy loves it when people play against type and Murphy not only does this with taking on a dramatic performance but playing a sleazy character and doing his own singing as well. Murphy could stand a legit shot at winning the Oscar if Dream Girls can perform well enough at the box office. It's the lifetime comic showing he's got dramatic acting chops and playing against type. It'll be hard for the Academy to resist.

Brad Pitt in Babel: I had originally projected him to be nominated as Lead Actor but everything I've read seems to indicate that Pitt will be pushed as supporting actor rather instead. It might make sense given that the film has interlocking storylines and he's only part of one of them; it might be hard for him to get a strong push as Lead Actor given his screentime, but as supporting actor it'll be an easy push. Critical reviews of Babel were wildly divergent and the box office wasn't great but the film is still getting a strong push from the studio and Pitt, a huge A list star in a very emotional, serious dramatic role will get some attention from the Academy.

Michael Sheen in The Queen: James Cromwell plays Prince Phillip in the film, but Michael Sheen's role as Prime Minister Tony Blair is getting the attention from the movie awards circuits. I've read that while Cromwell's character adds some depth to the story, it's Sheen's Blair and his opinion on how the public should be treated in the wake of the death of princess Diana that creates the main conflict with Helen Mirren's title character. Sheen is a solid but relatively unknown actor, but Tony Blair is still currently a well-known political figure and Sheen is said to embody him perfectly. I'd say it's safe to pencil him onto the shortlist of supporting actor nominations.

Ben Affleck in Hollywoodland: His chances may have very well diminished at this point. Hollywoodland came out several months ago to mostly positive reviews but little to no box office. Affleck however, with a few surprise victories at different film festivals (including at the Venice Film Festival) could very well sustain attention and garner himself a nomination. His role as George Reeves, TV's original Superman was a very impressive one, where Affleck altered his appearance and accent and hit some dramatic moments that few people thought he was capable of. He's a reasonably big star and it's his best performance to date, so he might get a strong push from the studio in hopes of getting more attention for the film. I thought he did a wonderful job and deserves a nomination but there could be several things working against him.

Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine: I'm a little apathetic about Arkin's work here. It was a decent comedic turn with a couple of funny moments but I didn't think the acting was anything special and I thought there were others in the cast (Greg Kinnear in particular) who had much stronger work. However, the general consesus seems that Arkin, the veteran of the cast, will be given the push for a Best Supporting Actor nomination. I think that's partially due to the widespread love (which I'm also not exactly sharing)and unexpected success of the film itself coupled with the fact that as I mentioned, he's the veteran. It's very possible that he turns up as one of the five nominees but it's not likely that he has any chance of winning.

Jackie Earle Haley in Little Children: Probably has a very strong outside shot at a nomination. Haley is a former child star (he was in both the Bad News Bears and Breaking Away) playing a former child star in this film who was convicted as a pedophile and released back into the world from prison. Reviews have stated that's it's a very dark, difficult, serious and commanding role and while he isn't the focal point of the movie he does play an intregal part in it. It could be that the nature of the character dissuades voters but Haley has the best chance out of any one in the cast for a supporting nomination and backed by strong critical favor he could very well be nominated.

Adam Beach in Flags of Our Fathers: I'm skeptical about this one, and about Flags of our Fathers in general after the middling critical reaction and terrible box office but his name is consistently turning up as a possibility so he can't be ruled out. Beach is a younger, American-Indian actor who has worked mainly in television that drew a lot of really good response from his work in the Eastwood film and as much as I hate to admit this being the case, the fact that he's a Native American might draw some sympathy from voter's and help him get the nod.

I know there's typically 10, but it's a weak year for supporting actor performances and if the five Oscar nomineed end up being anything other than some combination of these five guys I'll be genuinely surprised.

Up next will be Best Supporting Actress, followed by predictions for the Golden Globe nominations.