Best Supporting Actor 2015

Best Supporting Actor 2015

Christian Bale - The Big Short
0
No votes
Tom Hardy - The Revenant
3
10%
Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight
3
10%
Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies
20
67%
Sylvester Stallone - Creed
4
13%
 
Total votes: 30

FilmFan720
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by FilmFan720 »

The Academy certainly made the right choice here, especially with some mediocre choices that could have been made in this category after leaving so many better choices off the list. Mark Rylance brings such depth and warmth to every moment he is on screen, and it is much more complex than perhaps the part would have warranted with a lesser actor.

Stallone and Hardy both do passable work in crummy films.

Mark Ruffallo is the flashiest part of the Spotlight team, and I'll never begrudge him or the film a nomination, but there are other members of the ensemble I would have nominated ahead of him.

Christian Bale is a lot of fun in The Big Short, and brings the film even more to life than it does otherwise. I'm usually not a Christian Bale fan, but I am liking new lightweight character actor Bale much more than serious actor Bale.

My Top 5:
1. Oscar Isaacs, Ex Machina
2. Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
3. MIchael Shannon, 99 Homes
4. Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk
5. Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
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mojoe92
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by mojoe92 »

Tom Hardy was the best thing about the awful film that is "The Revenant" I loved his work and it was the only silver lining but Sylvester Stallone gets my vote here- he was the clear front runner and deservingly so, he showed a human side to Rocky Balboa, one that we have never seen before, we've only seen the monster, the machine that was Rocky

Christian Bale wasn't interesting in an even less interesting movie

Mark Rylance was one toned in probably Spielbergs worst film

Mark Ruffalo will forever be a bridesmaid
Sabin
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by Sabin »

Sabin wrote:
Kyle Chandler (Carol)
ksrymy wrote
You're going to have to explain yourself here because the only thing that kept Carol from being a masterpiece were the absolutely piss-poor, godawful male performances. Chandler especially seems way out of his element.
He was really good?
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by ksrymy »

Sabin wrote:Kyle Chandler (Carol)
You're going to have to explain yourself here because the only thing that kept Carol from being a masterpiece were the absolutely piss-poor, godawful male performances. Chandler especially seems way out of his element.
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Sabin
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by Sabin »

I'm going with Mark Rylance, although I have to say I think Tom Hardy is quite underrated on this board. There's a weirdness to his performance that The Revenant could've used much more of. Rylance, Hardy, and Stallone were all good nominees. I warmed up to The Big Short a bit more on a second viewing as well as Christian Bale's performance but both he and Mark Ruffalo don't deserve to be singled out from their ensembles.

My choices would have been...
1. Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina
2. Benicio Del Toro, Sicario
3. Walter Goggins, The Hateful Eight
4. Matthew Shear, Mistress America
5. Emory Cohen, Brooklyn
Runners up -- James Marsden (The D Train), Kyle Chandler (Carol), Paul Dano & Giamatti (Love & Mercy), Liev Schreiber & Stanley Tucci (Spotlight), and Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance & Sylvester Stallone.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by Cinephile12 »

Rylance is the only choice.

It's a very disappointing lineup. The likes of Michael Shannon (99 Homes), Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina) and even Harvey Keitel (Youth), Walter Goggins (The Hateful Eight), Emory Cohen (Brooklyn) would have been better nominees.

Hardy was ridiculous and one-note in an absolutely horrible film. Ruffalo fared better, but his tics and mannerisms were overwhelmingly annoying after a while (and the rest of the cast was much better and gave fine natural performances). Bale is fun, I suppose, but his approach felt very superficial to me (and I hate "The Big Short" in general). Stallone was surprisingly effective in the best role he's had since 1976's Rocky, but his whole narrative was baffling.

Rylance is miles better than anyone else, giving the finest male supporting performance of the year. It's the definition of precision, masterful subtlety and complexity in acting. A terrific turn in a solid film, which would have benefited a lot if Rylance had more screentime in the second half. Oscar rarely goes for quiet performances, so this was a hugely pleasant surprise. And I'm glad he pretty much swept the highbrow critics awards (New York, National Society, Boston; he even topped the Village Voice and Indiewire film polls).
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by dws1982 »

I still haven't quite made out where I'd place Carell on my 2015 list. Whether it's Lead or Support, he'd be near (or at) the top.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by ksrymy »

mlrg wrote:Of what I've seen my favourite performance was from Steve Carell in The Big Short

voted for Stallone
I'd argue that he's the film's lead.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by mlrg »

Of what I've seen my favourite performance was from Steve Carell in The Big Short

voted for Stallone
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by Precious Doll »

I really didn't have any great enthusiasm for the four performances that I have seen. I have yet to see Stallone as the film opened and closed within 2 weeks in my area and I was particularly busy at work on the last afternoon that it played.

I voted for Mark Rylance mainly because I think he is the best actor of the bunch and was the best aspect of the film he appeared in. I also liked Mark Ruffalo's work but he is overshadowed by most of his co-stars in Spotlight.

Generally I like Tom Hardy but not in this. Baffled by the Christian Bale inclusion.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by ksrymy »

First off, let's stop acting like Jacob Tremblay was anything other than a lead in Room. Yes, he was probably campaigned in this category, but still...

Sylvester Stallone was surprisingly good in Creed, but I think that's more because I really didn't expect much from him. I do think, though, that it goes to show that Stallone's worst enemy was himself in the director's chair. Ryan Coogler keeps him calm and understandable.

Mark Ruffalo is good in Spotlight as part of a team, but he's basically remembered for the one big speech that they used for his Oscar clip ("AND THEY LET IT HAPPEN!!!"). I really like Ruffalo and think he's one of our best, but this isn't anywhere near his best.

Tom Hardy is pretty alright in the massively overrated Revenant. He creates an absolutely despicable character and does a good job with it. I found the movie most engrossing when Hardy was onscreen. I'm glad he's finally been recognized by AMPAS, but I wish it were for a better performance in a better film.

The only two I'd nominate myself are these last two.

Christian Bale is a freaking hoot in The Big Short. He makes Michael Burry a funny, dopey, relatable character. He's a total space cadet, and it's refreshing to see Bale give a performance like this so different from his usually, more serious fare. He's the best part of a largely excellent cast.

But what's even more refreshing is seeing Oscar go for subtle work. It doesn't happen often, but, when it does, it seems miraculous. I think the internet and the media had everyone believing in a cakewalk win for Stallone, but it only proves that the internet is good at fabricating comeback narratives Oscar certainly doesn't care for. Rylance's work is stunning. It might be the best win in this category since Christoph Waltz's first win, and this category has been pretty strong for a while. And to see such quiet work come directly after the year J. K. Simmons wins for Whiplash probably means something. Rylance's work in the opening sequence and the parts on the bridge are masterful. But would you really suspect anything else from the current crown jewel of world theatre?

My choices of Best Supporting Actor would've been:

1. Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
2. Benicio del Toro, Sicario
3. Christian Bale, The Big Short
4. Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk
5. Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina

Also worthy were Walton Goggins' dopey, hilarious new lawman in The Hateful Eight and Matthew Shear's comic work in Mistress America. Emory Cohen does successfully what James Dean was trying to do in Brooklyn. Stanley Tucci's sharky turn in Spotlight was the film's best part. If I had to cite another, I may go with Harvey Keitel for Youth.
Last edited by ksrymy on Wed Mar 23, 2016 1:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by Mister Tee »

I realized, a week or two back, that because of how the season had played out in this category -- so many candidates, with different people turning up at each venue -- that I hadn't really given much thought to who my choice would be. I'm still not entirely sure, though I'm thinking it'd be someone missing from the Academy roster: Idris Elba, Paul Dano, or Jacob Tremblay (though I might have to be more truthful and slot him in lead). I'd also want to tout Benicio Del Toro and Michael Keaton (though he's another borderline).

Of the actual nominees: though Tom Hardy ended up validating my 2014 Who'll Be Back bonus pick, I can't say I was all that happy to see him on this list. I couldn't understand half his dialogue, and found his character pretty one-dimensional.

Had Stallone won, it wouldn't have been disgraceful a la Don Ameche or Jack Palance. He gave a genuine performance, and his "I'd just want one more day with my wife" scene was genuinely affecting. It's just that he'd have paled against the deserving candidates sharing the ballot with him. So, I'm gratified he lost. (I'd have said almost the exact same about Lauren Bacall in '96 -- her performance was worthy, too, but in a shallow movie and not on par with her competition.)

It's a shame that Mark Ruffalo probably got singled out for his worst scene, that "It could have been me" speech. I can't say I loved any of his Spotlight performance (I was Keaton all he way), but that scene really rubbed me wrong.

I'll be the outlier on Christian Bale -- I think this was a pretty terrific piece of acting, off in its own world but recognizably human. He's the first on the list I'd honestly consider for the win.

But in the end I go to pleasing upset winner Mark Rylance, for wonderfully restrained work that was much the best element of Bridge of Spies. He'd have been an easier pick if he hadn't disappeared for much of the film's second half, but even with that he's the most impressive of this bunch.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by Big Magilla »

The Academy made the right decision here.

Among the missing, Michael Keaton in Spotlight, Jacob Tremblay in Room and Benico Del Toro in Secario are the ones I miss most.

Tom Hardy's best performance of 2015 was in Legend, not The Revenant in which he is pretty awful.

Christian Bale's performance in The Big Short is as phony as the film is.

Sylvester Stallone is fine in Creed, but he's not going to win an Oscar for Rocky until they kill the character off and maybe not even then if they'll suspect he'll come back as a ghost.

Mark Ruffalo is the only one of two on this list that I agree with, but Keaton's quieter performance in Spotlight is more deserving of a nod.

Mark Rylance brings a quiet dignity and brilliance to Bridge of Spies that easily earned his win.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by The Original BJ »

To go through the motions super-quickly...

The alts this year were better than many of the actual nominees -- Idris Elba, Benicio del Toro, Michael Keaton, Michael Shannon (though the latter two could have been promoted as leads as well.)

Stallone probably turned in his most grounded performance since the original Rocky, but it was still not much more interesting than his usual shtick, and I was thrilled voters resisted the pull of sentiment.

I thought Tom Hardy made more of an impression than DiCaprio in The Revenant, but his role was mostly that of a stock villain without many extra shadings.

Mark Ruffalo was solid throughout Spotlight, but you get the sense that, more than anything, he was cited over his costars simply for having the most obvious big acting moment in the film.

Christian Bale wasn't exactly a revelation in The Big Short, but he commands his mostly one-man-show portion of the movie with the level of panache we've come to expect from him over the years.

I'll endorse Oscar's choice and go with Mark Rylance, who brings the level of craft and detail typical of a renowned stage actor to a plum film role, and is graceful and moving throughout Bridge of Spies.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 2015

Post by flipp525 »

Had Jacob Tremblay been nominated in this category, I think he could have won based on affection for his performance, the surprising nomination haul for Room and the locked nature of Brie Larson for Best Actress giving a performance that was utterly dependent on his.
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