Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1958: Gunnar Björnstrand in The Magician

Gunnar Björnstrand did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Dr. Vergerus in The Magician. 

Frequent Bergman collaborator Gunnar Björnstrand plays the pivotal role, essentially the plot driving role, of Dr. Vergerus who is the minister of health whose intention is to investigate a theater troupe who claim to have supernatural abilities. Björnstrand's performance cuts through the film in his first scene where he is part of the inquest into the troupe. Björnstrand is commanding through the confidence of his demeanor, Björnstrand wielding a certain power of his intention as a man who is quite clear in his disbelief of the group. Björnstrand brings this certain self-satisfied humorous bent in his delivery. Björnstrand bemuses himself a bit with every line showing just how little the doctor perceives the group to himself. He's exuding disrespect, however Björnstrand is careful to emphasize the intelligence of the character. His manner and delivery is that of insight and of attack. Björnstrand even looks over the titular magician Dr. Vogler (Max von Sydow) physically as a doctor would with specific intention, but then in an instance showing his casual dismissal when he found no medical reason for the magician's claims of muteness. Björnstrand is captivating in this scene crafting real drama over every question and forcing the troupe to open themselves up to his questioning. Björnstrand creates with ease the ideal "antagonist" of sorts, setting up the man who seemingly cannot be tricked by this group and sees them as unquestionably below him in their claims. 

Dr. Vergerus's methods go beyond merely uncovering the lies of the troupe but seemingly breaking apart their very foundation, as we see in a later scene where he goes about asking questions late at night to Vogler's wife Manda (Ingrid Thulin), who is typically dressed as a man, however in the night removes this facade. Björnstrand is terrific in the scene of asking her more questions by portraying the whole scene with the obvious intention in his eyes and baited breath that the Dr. is obviously more than a little intrigued by the woman physically at the very least. Björnstrand becomes a hectoring villain in the moment as making this clear but his delivery towards her is still with constant attacks towards her existence and particularly to the husband's existence. Björnstrand though takes this moment further releasing a bit more direct passion beyond his confident disregard where the doctor reveals his lack of belief in anything other than reality, which where we see a bit more of seething venom in his voice. And Björnstrand reveals that this is more than just to prove them false, it is personal, and he makes it personal as his overtures towards Vogler's wife are directed with more than just flirtation. Leading eventually to Vogler physically manhandling Vergerus, and Björnstrand's portrayal is pitch perfect in his reaction showing the put down fear hidden by his pompous glee at seeing how his methods have gotten the mute magician to resort to physical violence.

The conflict reaches its climax as the troupe gives their performance, seemingly ending with the death of Vogler, to which Vergerus will perform the autopsy alone in a dark room. And suddenly the film turns towards Vergerus's perspective as essentially the "mark" fully for Vogler, as he faces a series of seemingly the supernatural as he attempts to go about his duty. Björnstrand is excellent in this scene by showing the doctor losing his confidence suddenly and now just being a man who must face potential supernatural all alone. There is a real power just in the complete change in the man who is now alone and without any sense of command to the situation. Björnstrand being incredibly effective by playing the doctor now as very much human who can be scared of the immediately unexplainable as eerie things begin to happen around him. Björnstrand portrays each moment of the doctor as he begins to silently exhibit doubt as one bit of haunting after another occurs around him. Björnstrand powerfully, presenting this attempt at the man trying to hold it together yet with each new element of the haunting, reacts naturally as a man being gripped in fear as each event becomes more intense. Björnstrand along with Bergman, and a bit Sydow, building the tension magnificently, and Björnstrand wholly earning this transformation of the completely confident non-believer being terrified by seemingly a resurrected corpse in front of him. When the truth is revealed as it being an elaborate ruse, Björnstrand closes his performance effectively by crafting a balance between the aggressively confident man before, now with a bit of bitterness for the trick, but he brings just enough modesty to his work to show that as much as Vergerus wouldn't like to admit he did learn something from it all. For my measure, this is film is at its best whenever Björnstrand is onscreen, as it then when the film focuses on its most compelling element, of this battle of the mind between the charlatan and skeptic.