Oscar 2011: Best Actor in a Supporting Role

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences added these awards to their list of Academy Awards for Merit in 1936 to recognise the contribution of supporting actors to the overall experience of a film. This year’s contenders for Best Actor in a Supporting Role are worthy competition to one another. Most of the nominees breathe such life into their characters that it is impossible to imagine the films without those characters and it is impossible to imagine the characters without these actors.

Christian Bale for The Fighter

Our rank  1 

After playing the suave Bruce Wayne and Patrick Bateman, Christian Bale plays Dicky Eklund — the crack-head older half-brother of a rising boxing star in The Fighter. To bring authenticity to the character, Bale lost 30 pounds and, in being Eklund, he lost his signature confidence to play a man trapped in past glory and enslaved by his addiction. Bale is one of the strengths of this biopic and even as a supporting actor leaves an immense impact on the audience, delivering one of the finest performances of his career. Though we are divided between Geoffrey Rush [The King's Speech] and Bale, we think it would only be fair if Bale were to walk away with the Oscar this year.

Geoffrey Rush for The King’s Speech

Our rank 2

Now here’s a character that refuses to address a prince according to protocol, is dead sure of his skill, and who slowly becomes a confidant to a stammering king. Rush plays a jugalbandi in great harmony with Colin Firth’s Bertie. While playing Lionel Logue, Rush brings in eccentricity and confidence to compliment the subtle arrogance and apprehension that Firth brings to the lead character. Wherever the balance tips, Rush’s performance tones down or plays up to keep the equilibrium going. Rush’s performance makes the film a sheer pleasure to watch.

 

Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right

Our rank 3

As the carefree Paul, who suddenly discovers that he fathered two children with sperm he donated, Mark Ruffalo is endearing. He works up his scruffy charm to waltz into a lesbian household as the biological father of the kids and soon takes centre-stage as an adviser, confidant, employer and source of insecurity for the different members of the family. As the family goes through an upheaval, Paul gets caught in a whirlwind of his own, only to be thrown to the sidelines as the storm begins to subside. Ruffalo portrays the transitions in the character’s personality with ease and even garners sympathy from the audience. A role we've never seen Ruffalo play before earns him his first nomination at the Academy almost after two decades in the industry. Between Rush and Bale, he may stand slim chance, but let’s hope we get to see more from this crusty actor.

 

John Hawkes for Winter's Bone

Our rank 4

Hawkes’s Teardrop in Winter’s Bone is a ruddy, meth-addicted uncle to the protagonist Ree. Telling his niece to stay out of her missing father’s business, Hawkes explodes on screen. In the little screen time he gets, Hawkes displays anger, tenderness and helplessness with measured efficiency. This first-time nominee at the Oscars thoroughly deserves his place in the line-up of fantastic actors, even if he stands little chance of going up on stage with an acceptance speech, thanks to the sheer magnitude of his competitors’ performances. Perhaps next time.

 

Jeremy Renner for The Town

Our rank 5

Renner’s Coughlin is a zany best friend to the protagonist of the gripping The Town but only walks out doing a half-baked job. With shades of his performance in The Hurt Locker showing up every now and then, one wonders why the blue-eyed actor was nominated this year. Towards the end of the film, you do see a lot more from Renner, which begins to justify his place in this line-up, but in comparison to the other nominees, he fails to shine.