Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1962: Brock Peters and Robert Duvall in To Kill a Mockingbird

Brock Peters did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Brock Peters plays Tom Robinson, an essential character in To Kill a Mockingbird even though he only appears in a single scene, we briefly hear his voice in another scene. Brock Peters plays Tom Robinson a man accused of beating and raping a white woman. The lawyer Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) does agree to defend the man despite much of the public already having deemed him guilty. This goes to the point that during the night before his trial Tom comes close to being lynched, and we hear Peters's fearful voice as he quietly asks if they've left. We next see Tom at the trial and Peters is very effective even as he sits silently by portraying the state of horror of a man who is well aware of the terrible situation he is in. The highlight of Peters's performance is of course when Atticus asks Tom to testify on his own behalf. Peters is great in the scene as suggests just the modest man Tom was before the trial, and shows him to be almost paralyzed by the considerable unease brought upon by the accusations. Peters is excellent by actually constantly realizing the effort it takes Tom to keep his composure fitting for a man who knows a noose is waiting for his neck for a crime he did not commit.

Peters is great throughout his portrayal of Tom's testimony since he makes the process of it feel so authentic. He finds that difficulty in Tom as he tries to get past each word, and just set up the situation where he had been asked by the woman several times to help her with chores. He attempts to tell this as a friendly story, though Peters properly never allows the nervousness to fully disappear. As the story progresses to reveal the night of when the supposed crime occurred Peters makes the emotional strain all the greater as he tries to tell the truth about what happened. Peters is incredibly moving by depicting Tom's hesitation to get to the important details of what happened showing the sensitive nature of the man, as well as even conveying the certain sympathy Tom has for his rather wretched accuser. Tom states that the woman in fact attempted to come on to him and that all he did was flee the situation. Peters is heartbreaking as he tearfully espouses his innocence. In the moment Peters echoes so well not only the memories of the past but also the terrible pain of knowing where those memories have left him now. After the testimony there is but a guilty verdict left for him. It's only a short moment but Peters reveals a definite despair in Tom before he is taken away, which sets up Tom's unfortunately tragic fate. Peters gives a very strong performance here as he makes the needed impact in his substantial scene. Tom Robinson is not just the name, as Peters creates the real loss of a man caused by a prejudiced society.

Robert Duvall did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Arthur "Boo" Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Robert Duvall also plays a pivotal character in the film, but just like Peters he only has a single scene where we see his face. Boo Radley has a quite the build up as Atticus's two children Jem (Phillip Alford) and Scout (Mary Badham) are somewhat obsessed with him due to the various stories told about him. Those being that he is a potentially dangerous man who only comes out at night. Radley has a considerable presence in the story though he does not appear until the very last scene of the film. Luckily though Robert Duvall must have one of the greatest entrances ever for both a character and an actor since this was Duvall's very first film appearance. Boo appears after having saved Atticus's children from an attacker, and he is found hiding behind a door as everyone tries to figure out what happened. I don't mind admitting that the scene never fails to give me chills. Duvall's reaction is indeed perfection as the light first illuminates him. Duvall first jumps back in an instinctual fear as we see the recluse, and in the moment we see the potentially dangerous man that everyone seems to talk about. There's that distance of a man who only finds discomfort from the presence of onlookers. However in just a few seconds as Scout recognizes him Duvall so naturally, yet silently, reveals such warmth in his face showing the good man that Boo is. It's such a beautifully rendered moment by Duvall as he successfully sums up his character matter of seconds. The moment can be used as an example of truly flawless acting as there is such an emotional impact from just that one look. It is true that this performance is probably no longer than three minutes, perhaps shorter. This in itself is a challenge as Duvall manages to simply be Boo Radley here, and everything that his character is and means is found in those three minutes.