Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1986: Dean Stockwell in Blue Velvet

Dean Stockwell did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Ben in Blue Velvet. 

Dean Stockwell falls into a specific subset of Lynchian performances where an actor is tasked for brief screen time or a brief scene to make a substantial impact, and Stockwell is game for the part. Stockwell appears during the long night sequence where our hero Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) is brought along for a ride by the psychotic Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) with his gang and the lounge singer Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini). The latter whom Frank is controlling due to holding her husband and child as hostages. The group arrives at Ben’s, which appears to be a brothel of a strange kid that Ben runs. Stockwell doesn’t have much screen time to work with so he doesn’t waste much time in instantly establishing a unique presence to the film and Stockwell. As we see Ben who perpetually wears a robe, carries his cigarette holder and most bizarrely his face is caked with white powder makeup for reasons unknown. Stockwell amplifies the elements with his completely atypical to his typical presence in almost every facet. Stockwell is extremely affected here, though in the best possible way in his way of almost always casually crossing his arms in an overly relaxed yet oddly specific fashion, along with his casual movement throughout the scene where Stockwell makes Ben a strange lord over his very particular domain. Such a manner perhaps living up to Frank’s description of Ben as “suave”, which Stockwell is suave though suave in a way that Frank would find suave, given Ben seems to be the one person that Frank respects in any way throughout the entire film. The specificity of Stockwell’s performance doesn’t end there with his extremely satisfied expression as he glides about his place, and an expression that seems to indicate a state of normalcy where the world of Ben and Frank seems anything but. Stockwell’s vocal performance amplifies this all the more with his extremely gradual way of speaking all his lines with a considerable calm wrapped into every word. Stockwell’s voice would be more suitable for an affected art dealer in some ways yet here as the brothel running drug dealer there is a particularly fascinating quality to his strangeness. Particularly as the scene develops where he receives praise from Frank, which Stockwell’s reactions are both hilarious and off-putting in the very modest acceptance of such coarse yet adoring descriptions. Keeping that manner in mind even as Frank verbally and physically berates Jeffrey for daring not to toast to Ben, something Ben briefly joins in with by punching him as well, though so perfectly weird as Stockwell keeps Ben as calm as ever even in the act of violence. We even get a particularly bizarre moment where Ben even feeds Frank some drugs, where Stockwell is glowing in the moment and the two look more like a pet and a master. All of this oddity would be wonderful where Stockwell crafts such a idiosyncratic creature in Ben that is fascinating to behold, but what takes the performance the next step towards absolute brilliance is when he chooses to serenade everyone with Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” using the original track and a work light. Stockwell truly makes lip syncing an art form where he is captivating where he might as well be singing the song with how hard it is not to fix upon every single moment of Stockwell’s performance of Ben’s performance. Stockwell takes this idea further in his motions specifically towards Frank where Stockwell’s performance brings this kind of pestering if not controlling motions seemingly to mess with Frank a bit the lyrics clearly mean more to Frank than even people who love the song. My favorite moment from his performance is actually the moment that suggests all of this might be some kind of facade of Ben’s when Frank’s reactions to the song start to become violent. Stockwell’s “Oh shit” expression is perfect as though Ben suddenly realizes the danger of messing with Frank too much and is genuinely concerned, before the music stops and Stockwell returns to Ben’s old manner however now keeping to himself away from Frank. A great moment because Stockwell through the reaction suddenly opens more about Ben’s relationship with Frank and lets us in a bit behind the curtain albeit for a moment. A moment within a scene, and what a scene it is, with Stockwell being an essential facet through his singular creation of Ben that once you’ve seen his work here, you simply don’t forget it.