Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2007: Results

10. Morgan Freeman in Gone Baby Gone - Freeman has good moments, but gives a little too many indications about his character's duplicitous nature early on.

Best Scene: His confrontation with Patrick,.

9. John Travolta in Hairspray - Travolta nicely gives a surprisingly earnest and sometimes moving portrayal of his character.

Best Scene: Edna revealing her insecurities.

8. Ed Harris in Gone Baby Gone - Harris nicely brings his usual acerbic style that works quite well for his character.

Best Scene: Remy's confession.

7. Tommy Lee Jones in No Country For Old Men - Jones gives a moving, yet also somehow funny portrayal of a man's confusion and exasperation in face of a violent world.

Best Scene: Bell visits Ellis.

6. Sam Rockwell in The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford - Rockwell gives a terrific example of a pure supporting performance, that adds so much to the film, despite only ever briefly being the focus of it.

Best Scene: The Assassination.

5. Albert Finney in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - Finney gives a powerful portrayal of the rage and heartbreak that comes from a horrible loss.

Best Scene: The Last Scene.

4. Steve Zahn in Rescue Dawn - Zahn gives a haunting portrayal of a prisoner of war being worn away by his captors and nature.

Best Scene: After the failed signal.

3. Timothy Dalton in Hot Fuzz - Dalton gives a hilarious performance by creating the most obviously evil character who ever existed.

Best Scene: Skinner listens to Angel's theory.

2. John Carroll Lynch in Zodiac -  Lynch gives an outstanding performance, brilliantly realizing his unnerving enigma of a man all in one scene, well and a reaction shot. I have to admit that it was absurdly difficult just to rank my top and I'll admit I'm still not sure of my winner. I feel that I could switch out to any one of performances in the top five. This is an unbelievably great year for the category, it has to be to leave the likes of Bardem and Rockwell out of the top five.

Best Scene: His first scene. Although that reaction shot is also amazing.

1. Ben Foster in 3:10 to Yuma - Foster gives a wildly entertaining as well a rather chilling portrayal of a man who takes loyalty very seriously.

Best Scene: Finding the decoy wagon. 

Overall Rank:

1. Ben Foster in 3:10 to Yuma
2. John Carroll Lynch in Zodiac
3. Timothy Dalton in Hot Fuzz
4. Steve Zahn in Rescue Dawn
5. Albert Finney in Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
6. Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men
7. Sam Rockwell in The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford
8. Garret Dillahunt in The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford
9. Charles Fleischer in Zodiac
10. Tommy Lee Jones in No Country For Old Men
11. Armin Mueller-Stahl in Eastern Promises
12. Josh Brolin in No Country For Old Men
13. Robert Downey Jr. in Zodiac
14. Josh Brolin in American Gangster
15. Jim Broadbent in Hot Fuzz
16. Jeremy Davies in Rescue Dawn 
17. Kurt Russell in Grindhouse 
18. Jimmi Simpson in Zodiac
19. Gene Jones in No Country For Old Men
20. Paddy Considine in Hot Fuzz
21. Dillon Freasier in There Will Be Blood
22. Woody Harrelson in No Country For Old Men 
23. Karl Marcus Franklin in I'm Not There
24. Robert Duvall in We Own the Night
25. Paul Dano in There Will Be Blood
26. Ben Whishaw in I'm Not There
27. J.K. Simmons in Juno
28. Nick Frost in Hot Fuzz
29. Ed Harris in Gone Baby Gone
30. Anthony Edwards in Zodiac
31. Titus Welliver in Gone Baby Gone
32. Peter O'Toole in Ratatouille
33. Edward Woodward in Hot Fuzz
34. Sam Shepard in The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford
35. Richard Gere in I'm Not There
36. Brian Cox in Zodiac
37. Paul Schneider in The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford
38. Elias Koteas in Zodiac
39. Paul Freeman in Hot Fuzz
40. Barry Corbin in No Country For Old Men
41. Chris Evans in Sunshine
42. Thomas Haden Church in Spider-Man 3
43. Garret Dillahunt in No Country For Old Men 
44. Raymond J. Barry in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story 
45. Toby Jones in The Mist 
46. Jeff Daniels in The Lookout
47. J.K. Simmons in Spider-Man 3
48. Peter Fonda in 3:10 to Yuma
49. Jeremy Renner in The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford
50. Mark Strong in Stardust
51. Jerzy Skolimowski in Eastern Promises
52. John Travolta in Hairspray
53. David Wenham in 300
54. Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton
55. Brian F. O'Brien in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
56. Mark Strong in Sunshine
57. Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild
58. Timothy Spall in Enchanted
59. Benedict Wong in Sunshine
60. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's War
61. Alan Tudyk in 3:10 to Yuma
62. Stephen Root in No Country For Old Men
63. James Marsden in Enchanted
64. Josh Brolin in Grindhouse
65. Rafe Spall in Hot Fuzz
66. Ricky Gervais in Stardust
67. Tim Meadows in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story 
68. Michael Parks in Grindhouse
69. Bill Nighy in Hot Fuzz
70. Peter Vaughn  in Death at a Funeral
71. Gary Oldman in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
72. Peter O'Toole in Stardust 
73. Matthew Goode in The Lookout
74. Forest Whitaker in The Great Debaters
75. Michael Biehn in Grindhouse
76. Cliff Curtis in Sunshine  
77. Ian Holm in Ratatouille
78. Bill Nighy in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
79. Willem Dafoe in Mr. Bean's Holiday 
80. Ciaran Hinds in There Will Be Blood
81. Christopher Walken in Hairspray
82. Michael Wincott in Seraphim Falls
83. Philip Baker Hall in Zodiac 
84. Michael Fassbender in 300
85. Michael Shannon in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead 
86. Albert Brooks in The Simpson Movie
87. Kevin J. O'Connor in There Will Be Blood
88. Paul Giamatti in Shoot 'Em Up
89. Christian Bale in I'm Not There
90. Hiroyuki Sanada in Sunshine 
91. Alan Rickman in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
92. William Sadler in The Mist
93. Vincent Cassel in Eastern Promises
94. Philip Bosco in The Savages
95. Donal Logue in Zodiac
96. Peter Cullen in Transformers
97. Karl Johnson in Hot Fuzz
98. Peter Dinklage in Death at a Funeral 
99. William Hurt in Into the Wild
100. Matt Besser in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story 
101. Michael Gambon in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
102. Chris Parnell in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story 
103. James Franco in Spider-Man 3
104. Timothy Spall in Sweeney Todd
105. Waris Ahluwalia in The Darjeeling Limited
106. Dallas Roberts in 3:10 to Yuma
107. Morgan Freeman in Gone Baby Gone
108. Kevin J. O'Connor in Seraphim Falls
109. Peter Fonda in Ghost Rider
110. Danny Hoch in We Own the Night
111. Kevin Eldon in Hot Fuzz
112. Robbie Coltrane in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
113. Ned Beatty in Charlie Wilson's War
114. Jon Voight in Transformers
115. James Cromwell in Spider-Man 3
116. Jason Bateman in Juno
117. Lam Suet in Mad Detective
118. Sam Elliot in Ghost Rider
119. Bruce Davison in Breach
120. Mark Wahlberg in We Own the Night
121. Timothy Olyphant in Live Free or Die Hard
122. John Ashton in Gone Baby Gone  
123. Terrence Howard in August Rush
124. Tom Hollander in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
125. Benedict Cumberbatch in Atonement 
126. Alan Tudyk in Death at a Funeral
127. Alan Rickman in Sweeney Todd
128. Heath Ledger in I'm Not There
129. Gordon Lam in Mad Detective 
130. Justin Long in Live Free or Die Hard
131. Dennis Haysbert in Breach
132. Sacha Baron Cohen in Sweeney Todd
133. Alex Veadov in We Own the Night
134. Geoffrey Rush in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 
135. Rupert Grint in Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix 
136. Nate Parker in The Great Debaters
137. Michael Cera in Juno
138. Toby Huss in Rescue Dawn
139. Kevin Smith in Live Free or Die Hard
140. Rupert Graves in Death at a Funeral
141. Chow Yun-Fat in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 
142. Logan Lerman in 3:10 to Yuma 
143. Vince Vaughn in Into the Wild
144. Robert De Niro in Stardust
145. Robin Williams in August Rush
146. Jamie Campbell Bower in Sweeney Todd
147. Chris Evans in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
148. Michael Chiklis in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
149. Josh Duhamel in Transformers
150. Julian McMahon in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
151. Anthony Anderson in Transformers 
152. John Turturro in Transformers 
153. Topher Grace in Spider-Man 3 
154. Rodrigo Santoro in 300
155. Wes Bentley in Ghost Rider

Next Year: 1989 Lead

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2007: Albert Finney in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Albert Finney did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Charles Hanson in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.

Albert Finney plays the father of the sons Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Hank (Ethan Hawke) who work together on a plan to rob their parents' jewelry store to solve their severe financial problems. Finney's appearances are rather brief in the earliest scenes of the film as we see him rather simply as apparently just a supportive grandfather towards his granddaughter and loving husband towards his wife. His role seems simple enough but when robbery masterminded by Andy goes wrong, that all changes. The film at first jumps between the perspective of the brothers, but when the fallout begins the film jumps back to show the events through Charles's eyes. In the earliest scenes in a chronological sense Finney is good in honestly realizing the somewhat simple life of Charles we are shown. He presents Charles as being content enough with his life and bringing a nice bit of warmth in just his slight interactions with his wife. It technically speaking is not anything overly substantial but Finney does a good job of establishing the contentment in Charles's life just before the robbery is about to take place.

The robbery though is botched which leaves Charles's wife severely injured to the point she falls in a completely unresponsive coma. Finney is tremendous in the first scene, chronologically speaking, as Charles comes back to the shop to discover the police investigating the crime scene, and so well portrays the overwhelming fear in Charles as he tries to find out what has happened to his wife. Soon afterwards his children come to the hospital and we see Charles as he has to wait to know his wife's condition. Finney is heartbreaking as he portrays the anxiousness in Charles as he sits in the waiting room chair barely able to be still as well as a striking confusion and sadness he shows Charles trying to come to grips with what exactly happened with his wife. Finney is incredibly moving as he plays Charles as being barely able to speak as he portrays just how distraught Charles is over his wife's condition, and clearly how much he loved her. Finney is terrific in the scenes succeeding this one chronologically as Charles has to make his choice whether or not to pull his wife's plug, and let her die since her brain is no longer functioning.

Finney portrays so well Charles's grief as he almost seems to retire into himself as he must contemplate letting his wife go. Finney shows that Charles almost can barely comprehend how he's in this situation and depicts so well this sad state where Charles does not want to have to recognize this decision he must make. Finney reveals all the pain in Charles in such a poignant fashion as Charles finally says to let her go. Afterwards we see Charles in his state of grief and Finney keeps Charles still attempting to comprehend what has happened while suffering every moment of this confusion. During this time there is a fantastic scene for Finney where Charles's elder son Andy voices the distance he feels from the rest of the family largely because of the cold treatment he received from Charles. Although we never see any of the boys childhood Finney is marvelous in the way he brings out such a considerable sorrow and regret, as well as warmth as Charles attempts to apologize to Andy for this. What makes Finney's performance of this scene particularly brilliant though, is when Andy seems to go too far in his anger, Finney brings out the Charles that caused that, showing the stern father as he quickly slaps Andy to set him straight.

Charles's story does not end as the film continues to follow him as deals with his wife's death past the funeral. Finney again keeps Charles unable to stop thinking about what happened, and so good at portraying this obsession in him. Finney naturally eases away from the confusion in Charles to a palatable anger, which Finney always portrays coming directly from his sadness. Finney creates the sense of discontent in Charles as no one seems to care about what really happened at the crime scene. Finney builds the overwhelming frustrations in Charles as all of his attempts to get the police to do something fail, and Finney makes Charles decision to investigate the crime himself an inevitability. Finney is outstanding because when Charles makes this decision Finney expresses finally a sense of purpose in Charles. Finney perhaps reveals a bit of the old Charles as he brings a considerable determination in him, as it becomes clear that Charles will have his revenge. This brings Charles to a fellow jewelry dealer who he knows was a fence, and happened to be the man Andy goes to to ensure he'll be able to move the jewelry from the robbery.

When the fence reveals that Andy was behind the plot due to Andy having left his business card with the fence, Finney's reaction brings the weight of this revelation to Charles, as he seems to shatter from the inside, and Finney delivers the severity of this betrayal. This leaves one last scene, the final scene of the film, where Charles visits an injured Andy in the hospital, after Andy's back up plan has also failed, to finally confront his son. Finney's performance is amazing here as he still suggests just a hint of the support of the father as he claims to accept Andy's apology, but it's only a hint. Finney then reveals the full extent of Charles's rage towards his sons. The intensity Finney brings is shattering, as he shows Charles finally unleash everything he has just barely been able to pent up since the robbery. This is a great performance Albert Finney, perhaps his very best, as he creates such a vivid and powerful portrait of a man's loss and the need for vengeance that comes from it.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2007

And the Nominees Were Not:

Albert Finney in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Timothy Dalton in Hot Fuzz

Tommy Lee Jones in No Country For Old Men

Ben Foster in 3:10 to Yuma

Steve Zahn in Rescue Dawn

Predict those five or these five:

Sam Rockwell in The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

John Carroll Lynch in Zodiac

Morgan Freeman in Gone Baby Gone

Ed Harris in Gone Baby Gone

John Travolta in Hairspray

Or both

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1990: Results

5. Armand Assante in Q & A - Assante gives a decent enough performance as a confident mob boss, but the film gives him very little room to explore his character.

Best Scene: The final Q & A.

4. Albert Finney in Miller's Crossing - A brilliantly stylized performance as he plays the role as a classic 30's gangster although he carefully finds depth in the role never becoming merely a caricature.

Best Scene: "Danny Boy"

3. Robert De Niro in Goodfellas - De Niro gives one of his best performance finding charisma of a suave gangster while never holding back in depicting the true violent nature of the man.

Best Scene: The phone booth.

2. Gary Oldman in State of Grace  - Gary Oldman rises well above his material with his energetic as well as somewhat psychotic yet oh so sympathetic depiction of a gangster who fights for the neighborhood he grew up in.

Best Scene: Waiting for the phone call.

1. Harry Dean Stanton in Wild At Heart - The great character actor Harry Dean Stanton gives an outstanding performance that is both hilarious and heartbreaking while being just so unassuming. I have to admit this was a great year and really I could scramble my top five any which way and I'd be fine with it.

Best Scene: His final scene.

Overall Rank:

1. Joe Pesci in Goodfellas
2. Harry Dean Stanton in Wild At Heart
3. Gary Oldman in State of Grace
4. Robert De Niro in Goodfellas
5. Albert Finney in Miller's Crossing
6. Richard Farnsworth in Misery
7. Willem Dafoe in Wild At Heart
8. Jon Polito in Miller's Crossing
9. Raul Julia in Presumed Innocent
10. John Goodman in Arachnophobia
11. Thomas F. Wilson in Back to the Future III
12. Raul Julia in The Rookie
13. Paul Sorvino in Goodfellas 
14. Tom Towles in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
15. Bruce Davison in Longtime Companion
16. Ralph Foody in Home Alone
17. Ian Holm in Hamlet
18. Roberts Blossom in Home Alone
19. J.E. Freeman in Wild At Heart 
20. Elias Koteas in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
21. Joseph Mazzello in Presumed Innocent
22. Ed Harris in State of Grace 
23. Michael Keaton in Pacific Heights
24. Frank Vincent in Goodfellas 
25. John Hurt in The Field
26. Crispin Glover in Wild At Heart
27. Hector Elizondo in Pretty Woman
28. John Candy in Home Alone
29. Michael Ironside in Total Recall
30. Joe Pesci in Home Alone
31. Daniel Stern in Home Alone 
32. John Glover in Gremlins 2 
33. Steve Bisley in The Big Steal
34. Vincent Schiavelli in Ghost
35. Joe Viterelli in State of Grace
36. Vincent Price in Edward Scissorhands
37. Paul Winfield in Presumed Innocent
38. Alan Bates in Hamlet
39. Burgess Meredith in Rocky V
40. George C. Scott in The Rescuers Down Under
41. Scott Glenn in The Hunt For Red October
42. Brian Dennehey in Presumed Innocent
43. Dustin Hoffman in Dick Tracy
44. Andy Garcia in The Godfather Part III
45. Marshall Napier in The Big Steal
46. Pat Hingle in The Grifters
47. Eli Wallach in The Godfather Part III
48. Michael Gross in Tremors
49. Armand Assante in Q & A
50. Michael Imperioli in Goodfellas
51. Al Pacino in Dick Tracy
52. Burgess Meredith in State of Grace 
53. Max von Sydow in Awakenings
54. J.T. Walsh in The Grifters
55. James Earl Jones in The Hunt for Red October
56. Joe Mantegna in The Godfather Part III
57. John Amos in Die Hard 2 
58. Stephen Dillane in Hamlet
59. Frank DiLeo in Goodfellas
60. Sam Neil in The Hunt for Red October
61. Sean Bean in The Field
62. William Sadler in Die Hard 2
63. Timothy Spall in White Hunter Black Heart
64. David Strathairn in Memphis Belle
65. Frank Sivero in Goodfellas
66. Stephen Tobolowsky in Bird on a Wire 
67. Tom Skerritt in The Rookie
68. Alun Armstrong in White Hunter Black Heart
69. Fred Ward in Tremors
70. Ronny Cox in Total Recall
71. William Atherton in Die Hard 2
72. Sam Rockwell in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
73. Ralph Bellamy in Pretty Woman
74. John C. Reilly in State of Grace
75. Sab Shimono in Presumed Innocent
76. George Dzundza in White Hunter Black Heart
77. John Heard in Home Alone
78. Robert Prosky in Gremlins 2 
79. Christopher Lloyd in Ducktales The Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp
80. Kevin Clash in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
81. John Spencer in Presumed Innocent
82. Mark Lamos in Longtime Companion
83. Tim Curry in The Hunt For Red October
84. John Turturro in State of Grace
85. Richard Gant in Rocky V
86. John Lithgow in Memphis Belle 
87. Paul Sorvino in Dick Tracy
88. William Hickey in My Blue Heaven
89. Mako in Pacific Heights
90. Bill Duke in Bird on a Wire
91. Alan Arkin in Edward Scissorhands 
92. Robert Picardo in Gremlins 2
93. David Carradine in Bird on a Wire
94. Gary Busey in Predator 2
95. Devin Ratray in Home Alone
96. Nathaniel Parker in Hamlet
97. Luis Guzman in Q & A
98. Graham Greene in Dances With Wolves
99. Charles S. Dutton in Q & A
100. Ned Beatty in Captain America
101. Anthony Michael Hall in Edward Scissorhands 
102. Charlie Korsmo in Dick Tracy
103. John Turturro in Miller's Crossing
104. Campbell Scott in Longtime Companion 
105. Gailard Sartain in Ernest Goes to Jail
106. Darren McGavin in Captain America 
107. Robert Sean Leonard in Mr. And Mrs. Bridge
108. Gilbert Gottfried in Look Who's Talking Too
109. Tom Berenger in The Field  
110. Julian Sands in Arachnophobia
111. Vincent Perez in Cyrano de Bergerac
112. Charles Napier in Ernest Goes to Jail
113. Dennis Franz in Die Hard 2
114. Ronny Cox in Captain America
115. Ian Bannen in Ghost Dad
116. J.E. Freeman in Miller's Crossing
117. Charles Rocket in Dances With Wolves
118. Patrick Cassidy in Longtime Companion 
119. Burt Young in Rocky V
120. Gerry Bamman in Home Alone
121. Jason Alexander in Pretty Woman 
122. Richard Tyson in Kindergarten Cop
123. Ray Baker in Heart Condition
124. Tony Goldwyn in Ghost
125. Sage Stallone in Rocky V
126. Pepe Serna in The Rookie
127. Rip Taylor in Ducktales The Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp
128. Patrick O'Neal in Q & A
129. Scott Paulin in Captain America
130. Tommy Morrison in Rocky V

Next Year: 1936 Lead

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1990: Albert Finney in Miller's Crossing

Albert Finney did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Leo in Miller's Crossing.

Miller's Crossing on re-watch did improve for me. It's still far from my favorite Coen brother's film, and a major villain, the Dane, is a bit weak (which probably would not have been a problem if Peter Stormare, the original choice, had played the part), but on a whole it's pretty good gangster film.

Like many of the Coen brother's films the film takes a risk in having an overt style that spreads to all facets of the film including the acting. Now this did not work all to well for them a few years later in the Hudsucker Proxy where the best performance was given by Paul Newman simply because he did not try to play the part in the style of a 40's screwball comedy. Well here the take is that of a 30's gangster picture and perhaps this is most noticeable in the performance I'm focusing on here by Albert Finney as the crime boss of the town, yep focusing on yet another mobster which I believe is the theme for the supporting actors of 1990. This performance is quite a bit different from Gary Oldman in State of Grace and Robert De Niro in Goodfellas though because Finney chooses to play the part with this very specific style. Finney uses a particularly booming voice, really not at all unlike Ralph Foody's gangster voice from Angels with Filth Souls in Home Alone, that seems to come right from that old style of picture. In addition just the way he sits and leans on his desk in that opening scene seems to come right out from the past once more.

Now all of this could add up to nothing or become grating, as some of the acting can be with this sort of approach when done wrong. Finney though is just brilliant in the realization of this style. In terms of the simple points of it Finney amplifies the whole atmosphere of the film with his work which seems to fits so well into the setting that the Coen's have constructed. I suppose most importantly though Finney is incredibly entertaining and it is fun to watch him as Leo. It's enjoyable to simply watch him perform as the character. I especially love the whole "Danny Boy" shoot out where Finney aptly fulfills the job of a 1930's gangster badass. Every movement in the way Finney conducts himself is perfection in terms of creating Leo as the character he should be for this sort of story. Of course all of this this plays into the key of Finney's work here which is though this is a performance that's fun to watch but this is not a comic performance by Finney. Finney does plays the part with a lot of style but he does not go too far with the style. He does not let the style overwhelm to the point that is all there is, and Finney never uses the style to override the need to give depth to the character.

In this regards Finney is also terrific since he essentially leaves enough room to develop Leo beyond just his gangster style. Finney is interesting in that on the surface he brings the needed commanding presence to go along with his gangster style. Within in that though Finney is excellent in bringing a though strong vein of vulnerability to Leo. It is not anything that Finney plays on as overt that would completely compromise Leo's position. Instead Finney keeps it an understated yet so very effective compromise in Leo, that is needed to explain why Leo makes the decision that technically creates the conflict in the film. That decision being refusing to let the head of the rival mob Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito) kill a despicable bookie Bernie (John Turturro) because Leo is in love with Bernie's sister Verna (Marcia Gay Harden). Of course really Leo is being manipulated by Verna completely, but Fineny gives a why to this as he expresses just how infatuated with her he really is. Finney's particularly fantastic in the scene where his right hand man Tom (Gabriel Byrne) reveals he's been having an affair with Verna. Although Leo beats down Tom with a tough guy manner Finney portrays a devastation in Leo, showing just how meaningful the relationship is to him even though it is not to her.

Finney is outstanding here as he finds just the right tone exactly in which to play Leo, and I'd say he matches the style the film seems to be going for better than anyone else in the supporting cast. It's an incredible display of giving a pronounced style to his character, while never seeming to merely become a caricature. Really one of my problems with the film is that Leo exits the film not even quite half way through before reappearing for one last final scene. This is not even necessarily much of a criticism at what is there instead of Leo, but rather it's shame there is not more of Finney's great performance. Now to Finney's credit he certainly keeps Leo alive in the proceedings thanks to the considerable impact he makes in the first third where the majority of his screen time takes place. It is not until the very last scene of the film that he returns, but thanks once again to his earlier work it is an especially welcome one as Finney always manages to make the victory a satisfying one as he makes Leo such an oddly endearing gangster. Finney does not lose anything by his somewhat limited screen time though as he maintains his presence throughout. He makes Leo one of the most memorable aspects of the film as Finney works so eloquently with the material here. This is a performance I just love to watch and is the very best that I've seen from Finney.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1990

And the Nominees Were Not:

Albert Finney in Miller's Crossing

Armand Assante in Q & A

Robert De Niro in Goodfellas

Harry Dean Stanton in Wild At Heart

Gary Oldman in State of Grace

Alternate Best Actor 1982: Results

5. Albert Finney in Shoot the Moon - Although Finney can't escape some of the film's problems he still gives an effective portrait of a man facing a midlife crisis.

Best Scene: George connects with his eldest daughter.

4. Mel Gibson in The Year of Living Dangerously - Mel Gibson gives a charming leading turn that carries his film nicely well bringing the needed dramatic weight to some pivotal scenes.

Best Scene: After the execution.

3. Kurt Russell in The Thing - Russell is appropriately bad ass in the role but also still gives an effective depiction of the fears and paranoia of a man facing such a threat.

Best Scene: Making the tape.

2. Robert De Niro in The King of Comedy - De Niro creates an appropriately off putting yet fascinating depiction of a man desperate to live his dream as a celebrity.

Best Scene: Getting his audition tape back.

1. Richard Farnsworth in The Grey Fox - Good Prediction koook160. Richard Farnsworth once again brings such a effortless charm, perfectly fitting to the gentleman bandit, but here also effectively creates a striking darker edge to the character.

Best Scene: His farewell to Kate. 

Overall Rank:

1. Paul Newman in The Verdict
2. Richard Farnsworth in The Grey Fox
3. Robert De Niro in The King of Comedy
4. Ben Kingsley in Gandhi 
5. Jeremy Irons in Moonlighting
6. Kurt Russell in The Thing
7. John Hurt in The Plague Dogs
8. Christopher Benjamin in The Plague Dogs
9. Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie
10. Mel Gibson in The Year of Living Dangerously
11. Harrison Ford in Blade Runner
12. Peter O'Toole in My Favorite Year
13. Sylvester Stallone in First Blood 
14. Peter Ustinov in Evil Under the Sun
15. Henry Thomas in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial  
16. Albert Finney in Shoot the Moon
17. Eddie Murphy in 48 Hours
18. Robin Williams in The World According to Garp
19. Jack Lemmon in Missing
20. Nick Nolte in 48 Hours
21. Jeff Bridges in Tron
22. William Shatner in Star Trek II: The Wraith of Khan
23. Henry Winkler in Night Shift
24. Robert Preston in Victor Victoria 
25. Charles Bronson in Death Wish II
26. Richard Gere in An Officer and A Gentleman
27. Tom Atkins in Halloween III: Season of the Witch
28. Albert Finney in Annie
29. Sylvester Stallone in Rocky III 
30. Robert Hays in Airplane II: The Sequel
31. Peter MacNicol in Sophie's Choice
32. Michael Caine in Deathtrap
33. Burt Reynolds in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
34. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian
35. Christopher Reeve in Deathtrap 
36. Mark Linn-Baker in My Favorite Year
37. Marc Singer in The Beastmaster
38. Maxwell Caulfield in Grease 2

Next Year: 1982 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 1982: Albert Finney in Shoot the Moon

Albert Finney did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe, for portraying George Dunlap in Shoot the Moon.

Shoot the Moon is a film about dissolution of a marriage. It seems like there is the potential for a good film in there, but has a problem with the scenes of involving serious marital strife.

Albert Finney plays the patriarch of the family involving four rather rowdy daughters who also is a successful author. Finney actually takes an effective approach in terms of the conception of George's problems. In the early scenes Finney is good in portraying the innate sadness in George as he just goes about the day to day interaction with his family. There is this quiet defeat about his manner as he expresses George's dismay at his life. Finney does not show a specific problem but rather does well to just convey the unease George has in dealing with his often misbehaving girls or his wife Faith (Diane Keaton). Finney portrays the detachment he has from them in the moment, and that there is an awkwardness he can't shake including the moment in which he attempts to tell a joke to his wife early on which feels like a horrible attempt to connect with her. What Finney continues to well is also in the portrayal of George's interactions with his mistress.

Finney does not show any great happiness when George is with his mistress either though, just a little less unease, he does not love her it is obvious it just is merely something he is doing to apparently alleviate the pain he feels in his home life. Finney does well to not portray George's affair as what he really wants either, but just more of a byproduct of the mid-life crisis he seems to be having. Finney is good in establishing this through his performance, and he even continues well enough in the early scenes, only the early scenes, where he is fighting with his wife. There is nothing sensible about the arguments exactly it is just raw emotion and give the fight the needed intensity. Finney also does allude to George's actual intentions when it seems Faith is moving on from him. In these moments Finney shows George as attaching himself actually for once. He loses that distance from the early scenes, as well as the ones with his mistress, and shows that George does still care about his family even though he does not seem to know how exactly express this.

Of course things also fall apart a bit as Alan Parker's direction becomes a bit bizarre to say the least. There is one scene that seems to have a great deal of potential where Faith's father is sick and George reveals that he very much cares about this. The one scene involving this though is so rushed feeling including Finney's performance which becomes manic in a second that it unfortunately amounts to very little. That is only the tip though as the film decides to depict any later fights within the family to be so over the top that they come across as unintentionally absurd. If they were meant to be absurd that is problematic since the film becomes quite serious before and after these sequences. For example when George goes off spanking his daughter, even with a wire hanger, that is done in a way that is unfortunately more oddly funny than harrowing, but right afterwards it becomes very somber when he tries to apologize. Even if these moments were suppose to be comic it makes no sense whatsoever. I'll give Finney credit in that he tries to give it his all, but he can't overcome the problematic nature of these scenes.

The film of course calms down outside of these scenes even acting like they never existed really. Finney is even quite great in the last act of the film when his eldest daughter comes to him for solace after a fight with her mother. Finney is very moving in the scene by showing the fatherly side of George to finally come out and in the moment the disconnect seems to break as we see that George finally seems to be comfortable with his family life. Everything almost seems to end well as Finney continues to express this sentiment in George as he speaks with his wife one more time, of course all this is thrown out the window with one more act of absurdity that the film decides to end on. Thankfully for the actors this is wholly action based so they don't need to get histrionics too much. Albert Finney's performance I actually do rather like for the most part as in terms of the overarching characterization Finney takes an effective approach. Unfortunately his performance lapses in to troublesome territory when the film does the same. Due to that this is most definitely imperfect work by Albert Finney but still more than decent performance on the whole.

Alternate Best Actor 1982

And the Nominees Were Not:

Richard Farnsworth in The Grey Fox

Robert De Niro in The King of Comedy

Kurt Russell in The Thing

Mel Gibson in The Year of Living Dangerously

Albert Finney in Shoot the Moon

Alternate Best Actor 1970: Results

5. Jean Louis Trintignant in The Conformist- Trintignant fails to find consistency in his performance, and simply gives an uninteresting portrayal of a character with potential.

Best Scene: Marcello watches the assassination.

4. Alejandro Jodorowsky in El Topo- Jodorowsky gives an effective performance as a cool headed gunfighter then a repentant monk, but he never stands out past his own direction.

Best Scene: El Topo creates a new exit out of the cave.

3. Peter Boyle in Joe- Boyle gives a good performance as working class loud mouth by showing the man behind the bluster, but the film's shortcomings keep him from giving a great performance.

Best Scene: Joe's introduction.

2. Albert Finney in Scrooge- Finney overplays a moment here and there, but his alternate take on Ebenezer Scrooge does manage to work for the most part.

Best Scene: The redemption medley.

1. Gian Maria Volontè in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion- The only alternate that really brought much excitement for me is Volontè's work. Volontè gives an interesting and entertaining performance that cleverly manages to make sense of his character's seemingly random behavior.

Best Scene: The inspector openly confesses to his crime.

Overall Rank:

1. George C. Scott in Patton
2. Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces
3. Nicol Williamson in The Reckoning 
4. Warren Oates in Barquero
5. Jason Robards in The Ballad of Cable Hogue
   
6. Gene Hackman in I Never Sang For My Father 
7. Peter Sellers in Hoffman
   
8. Gian Maria Volontè in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
9. Alec Guinness in Cromwell
10. Melvyn Douglas in I Never Sang For My Father
11. Richard Harris in The Molly Maguires
12. James Fox in Performance 
13. Sergei Bondarchuk in Uncle Vanya
14. Jüri Järvet in King Lear
15. Yves Montand in The Confession
    
16. Tom Courtenay in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
    
17. Innokenty Smoktunovsky in Uncle Vanya
18. Lee Marvin in Monte Walsh 
19. Alain Delon in Le Cercle Rouge
20. Jean-Pierre Cassel in La Rupture
    
21. Albert Finney in Scrooge
22. Ron Moody in Twelve Chairs
23. Peter Boyle in Joe  
24. Marcello Mastroianni in Sunflower
    
25. Robert Mitchum in Ryan's Daughter 
26. David Bradley in Kes
    
27. Donald Sutherland in MASH 
28. Richard Harris in A Man Called Horse 
29. Sean Connery in The Molly Maguires
    
30. Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man  
31. Dhritiman Chatterjee in Pratidwandi
    
32. Richard Harris in Cromwell 
    
33. Fernando Rey in Tristana 
34. Michel Piccoli in Les Choses de la Vie
    
35. Jean-Pierre Leaud in Bed and Board
36. Marcello Mastroianni in The Pizza Triangle
    
37. Telly Savalas in Kelly's Heroes
38. Paul Newman in Sometimes A Great Notion
39. James Earl Jones in The Great White Hope
    
40. Alejandro Jodorowsky in El Topo 
41. Jean Yanne in Le Boucher
    
42. Clint Eastwood in Kelly's Heroes
43. Elliot Gould in MASH
44. Frank Langella in Twelve Chairs 
45. Robert Stephens in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
46. Tony Lo Bianco in The Honeymoon Killers
47. François Truffaut in The Wild Child
    
48. John Moulder-Brown in First Love
    
49. Ryan O'Neal in Love Story 
50. Lee Van Cleef in Barquero
    
51. Kenneth Nelson in The Boys in the Band 
52. Jean-Pierre Cargol in The Wild Child
53. Alan Arkin in Catch-22
    
54. Ben Gazzara in Husbands
    
55. Peter Falk in Husbands 
56. John Cassavetes in Husbands 
57. Jean-Claude Brialy in Claire's Knee
    
58. Michael Sarrazin in Sometimes a Great Notion 
59. Dennis Patrick in Joe 
60. Christopher Lee in Count Dracula
    
61. Rock Hudson in Darling Lili
    
62. Jean Louis Trintignant in The Conformist
63. Beau Bridges in Landlord
    
64. Frank Langella in Diary of a Mad Housewife 
65. Rod Steiger in Waterloo
    
66. Christopher Jones in Ryan's Daughter 
67. Richard Benjamin in Diary of a Mad Housewife 
68. Frederick Williams in Count Dracula
    
69. Jason Robards in Julius Caesar
    

Next Year: 1970 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 1970: Albert Finney in Scrooge

Albert Finney did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite winning a Golden Globe, for portraying Ebenezer Scrooge in Scrooge.

This is a musical version of A Christmas Carol which  is enjoyable and effective even if it longer than it needs to be, and not all the songs are exactly amazing.

When it comes to playing the miser Ebenezer Scrooge no one will top Alistair Sim for me. Sim plays the role perfectly capturing every part of his transformation and taking the right approach by making Scrooge an intelligent and shrewd businessman. Well that is not the way Albert Finney plays the part, but trying to simply copy Sim does not work as Jim Carrey's ineffective performance proved. George C. Scott did pretty well in the same realm of Sim's approach, but where the two differed Sim was stronger. Finney takes a completely different approach instead of playing Scrooge like a smart businessman, Finney plays Scrooge like a complete idiot, which is the way he is written here as well.

The casting of Albert Finney may seem a bit strange considering he was only in his thirties which is not the usual age of an elderly miser. Well they do capitalize on the fact that he can play the younger Scrooge in the flashbacks, although capitalize is probably too strong of a word as he has barely any lines as the younger Scrooge and can't barely make much of an impact there. His performance is all about his portrayal of the old Scrooge and he actually does a fine job of it. When I watch this performance I don't even think for a second about Finney's actual age as he completely becomes this rather strange character he makes out of Scrooge. Finney keeps every mannerism consist in his creation in this film.

Now to be sure this is not the most realistic portrayal of Scrooge, leave that to Sim and Scott, this is a much more colorful depiction which makes sense being that the film is a musical. Scrooge sings a lot in this version, unlike Michael Caine in the Muppets version who only sang a single song after Scrooge's redemption, including when he is miserly. It would be a bit hard for Scrooge to be taken completely seriously when he sings a song actually titled "I Hate People". This Scrooge also has no idea of his own behavior in anyway even at times stating how he really is good a man because of his penny pinching, so Finney's somewhat absurd performance is fitting for this film's depiction of the sinner.

As the evil Scrooge Finney has a hunched back, an askew mouth, and a bit of a trollish accent. In every regard Finney goes pretty far in making Scrooge a reprehensible and unsightly sort, but he stops short at the of just being a parody. Although I would not call Finney's Scrooge a real man, Finney does deliver some of his more important lines with the weight needed. He does not let the mannerisms just do the performance for him and remembers to bring the depth of character when needed. Now most of the time his performance is about the absurdity of this Scrooge, which leaves the question of whether or not Finney's mannerisms are unintentionally funny or just funny. I would go with the latter because again "I hate people" is the name of one of his songs.

The transition of Scrooge as he sees the past, present and future is rather different from other versions because this Scrooge is just so thick and even when it seems there is some leeway Scrooge returns back to his old ways. Finney is good in the emotional moments, and since he plays him as a bit of a dope it is believable enough that he would bargain away every step forward he makes. The only thing is this structure does not give his performance the power of Sim's and Scott's by any measure. He goes from A to B back to A back to B and repeat until he finally arrives at C. Finney's portrays A with all the miserly foolishness he should, and for the most part brings a poignancy as Scrooge sees his faults, but there is not much growth in his portrayal.

Well how about the singing since this is a musical. Well Finney is not one of the greatest singers who ever lived and not only that he sings in character, the character having a voice that would never be described as beautiful. It actually would have been quite wrong to have given a booming voice anyway though, and all I want from singing in a film is if they carry the meaning of the song through. Well Finney manages to do this quite well and it matches every stop of his performance as he changes his style of singing as Scrooge changes. He grumbles as the mean Scrooge, but brings a resonance when Scrooge remembers his mistakes. The highlight though of the musical side and performance side is Scrooge seeking redemption.

The redemption actually is summed up in a group of song reprises. Finney is very charming as he shows Scrooge drop any of his grumpiness and miserly behavior to fully embrace life. Finney goes all in and presents the happiness a man would most likely have if he came from literally seeing Hell. Even though the film hardly needs four songs for its ending, I don't even mind because Finney gives it his all with his extremely energetic performance. The joy of Scrooge's second chance is beautifully realized by Finney, and this is easily the best part of his performance. This end is not built to as well as in other adaptations for sure, but it's easy to buy because of what Scrooge sees before he returns to his room in this version.

Finney's performance isn't perfect as there are a few reaction just a little too odd, like when he barely reacts to a ghost carriage riding down the stairs of his house where most men would be looking for a new pair of pants (I apologize for the crudity). As I said this is not the best performance of Ebenezer Scrooge as his more flamboyant portrayal prevents his work from having the dramatic weight offered by Alistair Sim. I would put him in top five anyways, and I certainly appreciate a different take on the character. This is not the most compelling version of greedy man turned good, but looked at on its own Finney gives a fairly entertaining performance in this musical.

Alternate Best Actor 1970

And the Nominees Were Not:

Albert Finney in Scrooge

Alejandro Jodorowsky in El Topo

Gian Maria Volontè in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

Jean Louis Trintignant in The Conformist

Peter Boyle in Joe

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2003: Results

5. Albert Finney in Big Fish- Finney gives a fairly simplistic performance, but appropriately so. He fills his role with the right charm and warmth necessary.

4. Peter Sarsgaard in Shattered Glass-Sarsgaard gives an understated and effective performance in his depiction of a editor who slowly sees his popular writer for the liar he is.

3. Kevin Bacon in Mystic River- This was the battle of the subtle, and understated really. I must say that this is most certainly a toss up, really I hate to put Sargaard fourth but I don't really feel him as fourth. I really liked all four equally and I basically just had to pick one. Bacon is my choice at the moment giving a moving performance, that is again very understated, that finds a way to give the best performance of his film.

2. Paul Bettany in Master and Commander- Bettany another good understated performance this year as a quiet source of reason and warmth on a war ship.

1. Sean Astin- The Return of The King- Astin capitalizes on his work from the previous film fully realizes his character with a powerful passion.

Overall Rank:

1. Sean Astin in The Return of the King
2. Yoo Ji-tae in Oldboy
3. Paul Bettany in Master and Commander
4. Kiefer Sutherland in Phone Booth
5. James Caan in Dogville
6. Peter Sarsgaard in Shattered Glass
7. Bernie Mac in Bad Santa 
8. Jason Isaacs in Peter Pan
9. Ian McKellen in The Return of the King
10. Anthony Wong in Infernal Affairs II
11. Billy Crudup in Big Fish  
12. Park Hae-il in Memories of Murder
13. Viggo Mortensen in The Return of the King
14. Albert Finney in Big Fish
15. Sonny Chiba in Kill Bill Vol 1  
16. Bobby Cannavale in The Station Agent
17. John Ritter in Bad Santa
18. Bernard Hill in The Return of the King 
19. Eric Tsang in Infernal Affairs II
20. Dennis Leary in The Secret Life of Dentists
21. Robert Duvall in Gods and Generals 
22. Laurence Fishburne in Mystic River 
23. Lee Ingleby in Master and Commander
24. Brian Cox in X2
25. Stellan Skarsgaard in Dogville
26. Geoffrey Rush in The Curse of the Black Pearl
27. Sam Rockwell in Matchstick Men
28. Ben Gazzara in Dogville
29. Bill Nighy in Love Actually 
30. Elijah Wood in The Return of the King
31. Ruben Blades in Once Upon a Time In Mexico
32. Brendan Gleeson in Cold Mountain 
33. Max Pirkis in Master and Commander
34. Alan Cumming in X2 
35. Forest Whittaker in Phone Booth
36. Burghart Klaussner in Goodbye, Lenin!
37. Cillian Murphy in Cold Mountain 
38. Ken Watanabe in The Last Samurai 
39. Ethan Suplee in Cold Mountain
40. Kevin Conway in Gods and Generals 
41. Francis Ng in Infernal Affairs II
42. James Caan in Elf 
43. Willem Dafoe in Finding Nemo
44. Florian Lukas in Goodbye, Lenin!
45. Christopher Lee in The Return of the King
46. Chris Cooper in Seabiscuit  
47. Bob Newhart in Elf
48. Andy Serkis in The Return of the King
49. Michael Parks in Kill Bill Vol. 1 
50. Tony Cox in Bad Santa
51. Konstantin Lavroneko in The Return
52. James D'Arcy in Master and Commander
53. Michael McKean in A Mighty Wind
54. Christopher Guest in A Mighty Wind
55. Harry Shearer in A Mighty Wind
56. Tim Robbins in Mystic River
57. Billy Boyd in Return of the King 
58. David Hyde Pierce in Down with Love
59. Fred Willard in A Mighty Wind
60. Ian McKellen in X2
61. Jeff Bridges in Seabiscuit
62. Gene Hackman in Runaway Jury
63. Patrick Stewart in X2 
64. Ray Liotta in Identity 
65. Ray Winstone in Ripley's Game
66. Liam Neeson in Love Actually
67. Mickey Rourke in Once Upon a Time in Mexico
68. William H. Macy in Seabiscuit 
69. John Hawkes in Identity
70. Dustin Hoffman in Runaway Jury
71. Peter Dinklage in Elf 
72. Alfred Molina in Identity
73. Max Benitz in Master and Commander 
74. Vladimir Garin in The Return
75. Tom Guiry in Mystic River
76. Michael Caine in Secondhand Lions 
77. Peter Mullan in Young Adam
78. Hank Azaria in Shattered Glass
79. Judah Friedlander in American Splendor
80. David Wenham in The Return of the King 
81. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Cold Mountain 
82. Alan Rickman in Love Actually 
83. Steve Buscemi in Big Fish
84. Richard Briers in Peter Pan
85. Charles Dance in Swimming Pool
86. John Hurt in Owning Mahowny
87. Dan Janjigian in The Room
88. No-shik Park in Memories of Murder
89. John Rhys Davies in The Return of the King
90. Roe-ha Kim in Memories of Murder
91. Christopher Walken in The Rundown 
92. Hugo Weaving in The Return of the King
93. Eugene Levy in A Mighty Wind
94. Oliver Platt in Pieces of April
95. Orlando Bloom in The Return of the King
96. Dominic Monaghan in The Return of the King
97. Alec Baldwin in The Cooler
98. Aidan Gillen in Shanghai Knights
99. Billy Bob Thornton in Intolerable Cruelty
100. Donnie Yen in Shanghai Knights
101. Derek Luke in Pieces of April
102. Colin Firth in The Girl With The Pearl Earring
103. Hugh Grant in Love Actually 
104. Tom Wilkinson in The Girl With the Pearl Earring
105. Colin Firth in Love Actually
106. Danny DeVito in Big Fish 
107. Cillian Murphy in The Girl With The Peal Earring
108. Geoffrey Rush in Intolerable Cruelty
109. Bruce McGill in Matchstick Men
110. Willem Dafoe in Once Upon A Time in Mexico 
111. R. Lee Ermey in Willard
112. Michael Gambon in Open Range
113. Paul Adelstein in Intolerable Cruelty
114. Aaron Stanford in X-2
115. Djimon Honsou in In America 
116. Shawn Ashmore in X-2 
117. Bret Loehr in Identity
118. John Noble in The Return of the King  
119. Shawn Yue in Infernal Affairs II 
120. Edison Chen in Infernal Affairs II
121. Kyle Vogt in The Room
122. Greg Sestero in The Room
123. Ron Eldard in House of Sand and Fog
124. Scott Holmes in The Room
125. Philip Haldiman in The Room

Next Year: 1984 Supporting 

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2003: Albert Finney in Big Fish

Albert Finney did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for a Bafta and a golden globe, for portraying the older Edward Bloom in Big Fish.

Big Fish is an enjoyable, as Tim Burton seems to try much harder here than usual, about a dying man who tells tall tales about his life, while his son fails to comprehend his father as the son believes all the stories are made up.

Albert Finney portrays the older man telling his stories constantly to anyone who can, and trying to jump on the chance to tell a story if it seems like a good time to even if the people he is telling it to have already heard of the story. No matter what the situation Finney is very consistent in his depiction of Edward's attitude in regards to other people's reactions to his stories, which really is the point of indifference. It is not that he does not care exactly how people feel about him, but rather Finney shows that no matter what Edward enjoys telling his stories.

Finney is nicely charming in his role being just a nice old man, who gives off a great deal warmth to all around him. Even as his son consistently and somewhat angrily confronts him about his stories, Finney shows Edward to be resilient. Whatever anyone says about his stories or he himself Finney wonderfully conveys the genuine joy that always prevails in Edward. Finney properly reflects the joyous life of his character by simply portraying Edward as man whose happiness never ceases for a moment despite even when there is opposition against him.

One could try to argue I suppose that Finney should have put more mystery into his performance to fuel the son's doubts, but really that is not needed since the movie depicts the tales there is no reason Edward should not fully believe them himself. Finney takes the right approach with his performance by being just a constant source of constant merriment. There is properly no grey area with Finney's older Edward he is a man who has enjoyed his life, and does not mind telling people why he has enjoyed it the way he has.

This is not an excessively complex performance by Albert Finney by any means but he really does handle his role just as he should. He is just as the character should be which is a sweet old man. He is enjoyable to watch and listen to throughout the film. Finney really is an actor who frankly was not allowed enough of his Tom Jones like performances, as he does have a great deal of natural charm that usually is not something required of him in his roles. Here though Finney uses it wonderfully well in creating his character.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2003

And the Nominees Were Not:

Sean Astin in The Return of the King

Paul Bettany in Master and Commander

Kevin Bacon in Mystic River

Albert Finney in Big Fish

Peter Sarsgaard in Shattered Glass