Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2024: Results

10. Denzel Washington in Gladiator II - Washington gives an entertaining performance that offers some much needed gravitas to his film though he is limited by the film's weaknesses. 

Best Scene: Protecting Dondus.

9. Richard Roundtree in Thelma - Roundtree gives an endearing performance that offers the right straight man contrast to Squib's lead performance.

Best Scene: Argument with Thelma.

8. Jason Bateman in Carry-On - Bateman gives an entertaining though also menacing portrayal of a particularly caustic mercenary. 

Best Scene: Woke up. 

7. David Jonsson - Jonsson elevates his film best he can by giving an endearing yet appropriately synthetic portrayal of both the best companion and a more enigmatic sinister presence. 

Best Scene: Back to himself. 

6. Karren Karagulian in Anora - Karagulian gives a consistently hilarious portrayal of constant intense frustration though just a hint of growth in there as well.  

Best Scene: Home invasion

5. Franz Rogowski in Bird - Rogowski is going out an extreme limb and makes his off-beat character feel absolutely real and human. 

Best Scene: Arm twist.

4. Austin Butler in Dune Part II - Butler brings such tremendous bravado to make a memorable sadist though also remarkably finds nuance within the type. 

Best Scene: "May thy knife chip and shatter"

3. Simon McBurney in Nosferatu - McBurney finally gets his chance to do more than his usual type and runs away with his chance through his captivating portrayal of a very particular religious fervor. 

Best Scene: First scene in the mad house. 

2. Adam Pearson in A Different Man - Adam Pearson gives a distinctly larger than life, approachable, charming, humble, hilarious, yet earnest, likeable performance though also successfully as a very particular tormentor. 

Best Scene: Unexpected arrival with Edward's work friends. 

1. Clarence Maclin in Sing Sing - Good predictions Luke, Bryan, Jonathan, A, Tony, Emi Grant, Razor, Perfectionist, Calvin, Matt, Ytrewq, John Smith, RatedRStar & Brazinterma. Maclin gives my favorite male supporting performance of the year as he manages to give both a layered portrayal of a man finding his voice as an actor, while also giving an incredibly moving and heartwarming portrayal of a prisoner finding purpose and so convincingly becoming a better man.

Best Scene: "To Be Or Not To Be"

Overall Ranking:

1. Clarence Maclin in Sing Sing
2. Guy Pearce in The Brutalist
3. Adam Pearson in A Different Man
4. Yura Borisov in Anora
5. Jeremy Strong in The Apprentice - 5
6. Selton Mello in I'm Still Here 
7. Simon McBurney in Nosferatu
8. Austin Butler in Dune Part II
9. Franz Rogowski in Bird
10. Willem Dafoe in Nosferatu
11. Bill Skarsgård in Nosferatu
12. Karren Karagulian in Anora
13. Dennis Quaid in The Substance 
14. David Jonsson in Alien Romulus
15. Jason Bateman in Carry-On
16. Richard Roundtree in Thelma - 4.5
17. Vache Tovmasyan in Anora
18. Sean San José in Sing Sing
19. Javier Bardem in Dune Part II
20. Robert Gwisdek in Dying
21. Edward Norton in A Complete Unknown 
22. Jay O. Sanders in His Three Daughters
23. Samuel L. Jackson in The Piano Lesson
24. Peter Macon in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
25. Tom Burke in Furiosa
26. Raghav Juyal in Kill
27. Paul Raci in Sing Sing
28. Sean Dino Johnson in Sing Sing
29. Mosi Eagle in Sing Sing
30. David Giraudy in Sing Sing
31. Patrick Griffin in Sing Sing
    
32. James Williams in Sing Sing
33. Joe Alwyn in The Brutalist
34. Denzel Washington in Gladiator II 
    
35. Cory Michael Smith in Saturday Night
36. Mark Eydelshteyn in Anora
37. Stephen McKinley Henderson in Civil War
38. Malcolm McDowell in Thelma
39. Willem Dafoe in Kinds of Kindness 
40. Ben Chaplin in September 5
41. Ashish Vidyarthi in Kill 
42. Alessandro Nivola in The Brutalist
43. Antonio Banderas in Babygirl
44. Dylan O'Brien in Saturday Night
45. Arthur Conti in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
46. Jesse Plemons in Civil War
47. Barry Keoghan in Bird
48. Hugh Jackman in Deadpool & Wolverine 
49. Don Johnson in Rebel Ridge
50. Harris Dickinson in Babygirl 
51. Lamorne Morris in Saturday Night
52. Martin Donovan in The Apprentice
53. Pedro Pascal in The Wild Robot
54. Kodi Smit-McPhee in Memoir of a Snail
55. Ravi Kishan in Laapataa Ladies
56. Ralph Ineson in Nosferatu
57. Brendan Gleeson in Joker Folie A Deux 
58. Ronald Zehrfeld in Dying 
59. Tommy Dewey in Saturday Night 
60. Pierfrancesco Favino in Maria
61. Kesav Binoy Kiron in Girls Will Be Girls
62. Guilherme Silveira in I'm Still Here
63. Danny McCarthy in Good One
64. Antonio Savoia in I'm Still Here
65. Michael Fassbender in Kneecap - 4
66. Robbie Williams in Better Man
67. Leigh Gill in Joker Folie a Deux
68. Sergio Castellitto in Conclave
69. Corey Hawkins in The Piano Lesson
70. Kevin Bacon in Maxxxine
71. Josh Brolin in Dune Part II 
72. Benjamin Clementine in Blitz
73. Nicholas Podany in Saturday Night
74. Michael Shannon in The Bikeriders
75. Stellan Skarsgård in Dune Part II 
76. Ed Harris in Love Lies Bleeding
77. Steve Pemberton in Better Man
78. Peter Sarsgaard in September 5
79. Isaach de Bankolé in The Brutalist
80. David Webber in Hard Truths 
    
81. Scoot McNairy in A Complete Unknown
82. Matthew Rhys in Saturday Night
83. Kevin Bacon in Beverly Hills Cop: Axle F
84. Chris Hemsworth in Furiosa
85. Haluk Bilginer in Maria
86. Victor Slezak in The Order
87. Jonathan Bailey in Wicked
88. Hans-Uwe Bauer in Dying
89. Jonathan Hyde in The Brutalist
90. Michael Potts in The Piano Lesson
91. Alexander Karim  in Gladiator II
92. Kevin Costner in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
93. Timothy Spall in Wicked Little Letters 
94. Kit Connor in The Wild Robot
95. Aleksei Serebryakov in Anora
96. Raul Dial in Didi
97. Carlos Diehz in Conclave
98. Tuwaine Barrett in Hard Truths
99. Charlie Carrick in The Apprentice
100. J.K. Simmons in Saturday Night
101. Winston Duke in The Fall Guy 
102. Channing Tatum in Blink Twice
103. Lucian Msamati in Conclave
104. Mamoudou Athie in Kinds of Kindness
105. Damon Herriman in The Bikeriders
106. Blair Underwood in Longlegs
107. Kevin Durand in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 
108. Jeff Goldblum in Wicked
109. Jon Hamm in Transformers One
110. Damon Herriman in Better Man
111. Jeff Fahey in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
112. Ralph Ineson in The First Omen
113. Kiefer Sutherland in Juror No. 2
114. Jovan Adepo in His Three Daughters
115. Will Sharpe in A Real Pain
116. Shia Labeouf in Megalopolis 
117. Cooper Hoffman in Saturday Night
118. Jason Schwartzman in The Last Showgirl
119. Norman Reedus in The Bikeriders 
120. Antonio Banderas in Paddington in Peru
121. Anand Sami in All We Imagine As Light
122. Dave Merheje in Sometimes I Think About Dying
123. Bill Nighy in The Wild Robot
124. Brian F. O'Byrne in Conclave
125. Sam Worthington in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
126. Alex Wolff in A Quiet Place Day One 
127. Chris Messina in Juror No. 2
128. Reece Shearsmith in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
129. Dave Bautista in The Last Showgirl
130. Motell Foster in La cocina
131. Hugh Bonneville in Paddington in Peru
132. Marc Maron in The Order
133. Masahiro Motoki in Touch
134. Pierfrancesco Favino in The Count of Monte Cristo
135. Keegan-Michael Key in Transformers One
136. Peter Dinklage in Wicked - 3.5
137. Dave Bautista in Dune Part II
138. Pitobash in Monkey Man
139. Channing Tatum in Deadpool & Wolverine
140. Anthony Ramos in Twisters
141. Simon Rex in Blink Twice
142. John Ashton in Beverly Hills Cop: Axle F
143. Mike Faist in The Bikeriders
144. John Lithgow in Conclave
145. Matt Berry in The Wild Robot
146. Kurt Egyiawan in A Real Pain
147. Kyle MacLachlan in Blink Twice
148. Bill Camp in Drive Away Dolls 
149. Emory Cohen in The Bikeriders
150. William H. Macy in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
151. Boyd Holbrook in The Bikeriders
152. Gabriel Basso in Juror No. 1
153. Judge Reinhold in Beverly Hills Cop: Axle F
154. Willem Dafoe in Saturday Night
155. Mark Hamill in The Wild Robot
156. Elias Koteas in Janet Planet
157. Sikandar Kher in Monkey Man
158. Boyd Holbrook in A Complete Unknown
159. Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Beverly Hills Cop: Axle F 
     
160. Stanley Tucci in Conclave
161. J.K. Simmons in Juror No. 2
162. Joe Alwyn in Kinds of Kindness
163. Michael Shannon in A Different Man
164. Giancarlo Esposito in Maxxxine
165. Michael Rooker in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
166. Bobby Cannavale in Maxxine
167. Brandon Perea in Twisters
168. Leigh Gill in Blitz
169. Kodi Smit-McPhee in Maria
170. Dean Norris in Carry-On
171. Laurence Fishburne in Transformers One
172. Pedro Pascal in Gladiator II
173. Chris Evans in Deadpool & Wolverine
174. Paapa Essiedu in The Outrun
175. Wesley Snipes in Deadpool & Wolverine
176. Ed Begley Jr. in Strange Darling
177. Charles Dance in The First Omen
178. Ethan Slater in Wicked
179. Will Patton in Janet Planet
180. Peter Kay in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
181. Matthew MacFadyen in Deadpool & Wolverine
182. Stephen Graham in Young Woman and the Sea
183. Aaron Chang in Didi
184. David Denman in Rebel Ridge
185. Willem Dafoe in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
186. Louis Black in Inside Out 2
187. Robert Smigel in Between The temples
188. Bill Nighy in The First Omen
189. Arturo Castro in Roadhouse 
190. Paul Weller in Blitz
191. Emory Cohen in Rebel Ridge 
192. Steve Coogan in Joker Folie a Deux
193. Shea Whigham in Fancy Dance
194. Ian Bliss in Late Night with the Devil
195. M. Emmett Walsh in Brothers
196. Andy Samberg in Lee
197. Steve Buscemi in Transformers One
198. Daveed Diggs in Nickel Boys
199. Hridhu Haroon in All We Imagine As Light
200. Oded Fehr in La cocina
201. Dwayne Johnson in Moana 2
202. Marton Csokas in Cuckoo
203. Bastien Bouillon in The Count of Monte Cristo
204. John Turturro in The Room Next Door
205. Tony Hale in Inside Out 2 
206. Tim McInnerny in The End
207. Michael Shannon in The End
208. Lennie James in The End - 3
209. Jason Schwartzman in Queer
210. Joseph Quinn in Gladiator II
211. Harris Dickinson in Blitz
212. Stephen Dillane in The Outrun
213. Christopher Walken in Dune Part II
214. Laurence Fishburne in Megalopolis
215. Drew Starkey in Queer
216. Nicholas Braun in Saturday Night
217. Jamie Campbell Bower in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
218. Dave Franco in Love Lies Bleeding
219. Joaquim de Almeida in Roadhouse
220. Tim McInnerny in Gladiator II
221. Percy Hynes White in My Old Ass
222. Danny Huston in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
223. Colman Domingo in Drive Away Dolls
224. Giancarlo Esposito in Megalopolis
225. Rhys Auteri in Late Night With the Devil
226. Lukas Gage in Roadhouse
227. Haley Joel Osment in Blink Twice
228. Andy Nyman in Wicked
229. Topher Grace in Heretic
230. Matt Damon in Drive Away Dolls 
231. Fred Hechinger in Thelma 
232. Christopher Eccleston in Young Woman and the Sea
233. Harry Lawtey in Joker Folie a Deux
234. Dustin Hoffman in Megalopolis
235. Steven Michael Quezada in Strange Darling
236. Justin Theroux in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
     
237. Matt Wood in Saturday Night
238. Aaron Taylor-Johnson - Nosferatu
239. Douglas Hodge in We Live In Time
240. Dan Fogler in A Complete Unknown
241. Alexander Skarsgård in Lee
242. Aaron Stanford in Deadpool & Wolverine 
243. Jon Batiste in Saturday Night 
244. Edgar Ramirez in Emilia Perez 
245. Ray Fisher in The Piano Lesson 
246. Fred Hechinger in Nickel Boys
247. Gwilym Lee in Here 
248. Scoot McNairy in Nightbitch - 2.5
249. Nicolas Cage in Longlegs
250. Dan Stevens in Cuckoo
251. Logan Marshall-Green in Carry-On
252. Jonathan Langdon in Trap
253. Aaron Taylor-Johnson in The Fall Guy
254. Luke Wilson in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 
255. Austin Amelio in Hit Man
256. Jon Voight in Megalopolis
257. John David Washington in The Piano Lesson
258. Hamish Linklater in Nickel Boys
259. Stephen Graham in Blitz
260. Archie Renaux in Alien Romulus
261. C.J. Wilson in Drive Away Dolls
262. Billy Magnussen in Roadhouse
263. Joey Slotnick in Drive Away Dolls 
264. Tony Hale in Woman of the Hour
265. Mark Ivanir in Emilia Perez 
266. Fred Hechinger in Gladiator II 
267. Tye Sheridan in The Order
268. Bowen Yang in Wicked 
269. Theo Rossi in Carry-On - 2
270. Brendan Fraser in Brothers
271. Pete Holmes in Woman of the Hour
272. Mathew Shear in Between The Temples
273. Spike Fearn in Alien Romulus
274. Simon Prast in Maxxxine - 1.5
275. Dean Norris in The Six Triple Eight
276. Stéphane Ly-Cuong in Emilia Perez - 1
277. Paul Bettany in Here - 3 Wiseaus
278. Connor McGregor in Roadhouse - 0

Next: 2024 Lead

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2024: Austin Butler in Dune Part II

Austin Butler did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Feyd-Rautha in Dune Part II.

Austin Butler takes upon the role of Feyd-Rautha the psychotic and competent nephew of chief overt villain Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), a role famously played by Sting in the 84 film, which much derided overall though many still take pleasure to this day in his repeated use of “I WILL KILL HIM”, so there was a little bit of an expectation going in with this character as the chief rival to Paul Atriedes (Timothée Chalamet). Which fittingly cast fellow musician biopic actor in the role, and general up and comer in Austin Butler. I previously praised Butler for what he did in Elvis though I didn’t love the film overall, he was good and particularly had a very strong presence as a performer, something that even carried over to his otherwise severely underwritten role in The Bikeriders from 2024. And on the immediate surface, Butler offers the goods as Feyd-Rautha, right from the outset as Butler’s bald look is most striking and he adds on top of that another very daring vocal performance, this time going for a severe impression of Skarsgård just as he did for Elvis in Elvis. A great choice though as he just naturally fits right into the Harkonnen without seeming like an accent just for the sake of it, he really breathes life into the character through it. Amplifying the character all the more is the physical bravado he brings in every moment of his performance, as he very presents Feyd-Rautha who is someone who wants to present himself as the force of violence and destruction. Walking and just handling himself as a man who loves every bit of violence he sows. Something that Butler accentuates potently in each of his scenes, from the opening where he casually kills a few women to test out his knife, and before that even his speaking on what he could remove with such a frankly sexual overtone to every moment of Butler’s delivery of these descriptions. He makes Feyd-Rautha the proper villain in every sense, taking the moment of killing one of Paul’s allies with noting that the execution will be pleasure with such sincerity and perhaps more than a bit of physical arousal. Offering the ideal foe to Paul in the final fight, where I have particular affection for tossing Paul’s line back to him of “May thy knife chip and shatter” as though he is living his absolute best life before the fight. 

All of that would make for a good version of the character alone, finding his own way to bring to life his sadism in a less over the top but still very blunt way akin to Sting’s however with more depth even within that. But there is more to this performance than just depicting his villainy, as good as Butler is at that. Rather Butler doesn’t make him pure evil, not that what he shows him to be good, but doesn’t make him a black hole. As there’s even some vulnerability that Butler shows quite effectively, from his anger when the Baron setup a situation where he could be killed where Butler brings real vulnerability behind that, or in that gladiatorial game beforehand where he almost gets killed, Butler’s fantastic in the moment where the man has the knife on him, and in Butler’s laughing about it, there’s genuine fear glimpsed in him before he turns it around at the last minute. But Butler goes further by going as far as he can in terms of the idea of honor within the character. Something Butler consistently emphasizes that grants more nuance to the character than just another evil man, even if he is that. As in that gladiator fight, when he kills the spy, or even his own reaction to the end of the final duel, each time Butler’s delivery is with absolutely utmost honesty in his respect. He genuinely cares about the idea of honor and his eyes of someone who sees value in a real opponent or fighter. I love particularly the moment where in the original film Feyd-Rautha pestered Paul over Chani calling her his pet which Sting delivered with an extra bit of psychotic hectoring. Butler handles differently and in an intriguing way as he makes the whole moment weirdly genuine when he asks “any special attention for the pet”? Butler presents it as Feyd-Rautha very odd being yet in his deranged mind respectful offer to his opponent. As much as the character is this force for evil, and Butler delivers on that impactfully each second he’s onscreen, Butler does find nuance within the evil, creating life within the role beyond the specifics of the character in this narrative. 

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2024

And the Nominees Were Not:

Adam Pearson in A Different Man

Clarence Maclin in Sing Sing

Simon McBurney in Nosferatu

Richard Roundtree in Thelma

Franz Rogowski in Bird

Feel free to predict These Five, Those Five, Or Both. 

David Jonsson in Alien Romulus

Jason Bateman in Carry-on

Karren Karagulian in Anora

Austin Butler in Dune Part II

Denzel Washington in Gladiator II

Best Actor 2022: Results

5. Brendan Fraser in The Whale - Fraser is working within the confines of a bad film, however, within those confines, I was largely impressed by the genuine emotion he was able to pull out of the material, finding some empathy in his own work even while the film seemed to have none.

Best Scene: Health check-up.

4. Austin Butler in Elvis - Butler is working within a better film than Fraser, though still flawed in the limitations it puts upon Butler's work. Butler though is consistently impressive in portraying the onstage personas of Elvis through the year that goes beyond simple impersonation and becomes embodiment. Along with also granting humanity to the icon, even if these aspects are slightly limited by the script. 

Best Scene: Seeing Priscilla for the last time. 

3. Paul Mescal in Aftersun - Mescal's nomination made this the best-case scenario for this category, and I am overjoyed he managed to get the nomination over the other better-known actors vying for that fifth spot. Mescal gives an understated but extremely potent portrayal of a man trying to fulfill his role as a dad while going through so much personal turmoil.

Best Scene: Just before "Under Pressure"

2. Bill Nighy in Living - Nighy's performance doesn't quite reach the all-timer status of Takashi Shimura's original performance but the fact that it comes close is quite an achievement on its own. Nighy gives a deeply moving portrayal of a man going from idly wasting away, to finding meaning near his last moments. 

Best Scene: "The Rowan Tree" the second time.

1. Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin Good predictions Tim, Calvin, Lucas & Aidan. I will first say even while this isn't the greatest lineup of all time, it is a great lineup, and particularly exciting lineup since the academy shirked potentially tired choices for five previously unrecognized actors. No performance was more deserving of this recognition in this five than Colin Farrell's for his pitch-perfect performance that manages to give a completely heartbreaking performance, a completely hilarious performance, and a completely dynamic portrayal of a "nice man's" whole world becoming shattered through one fundamental shift.

Best Scene: Niceness Argument. 

Next: 2022 alternate supporting.

Best Actor 2022: Austin Butler in Elvis

Austin Butler received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Elvis Presley in Elvis. 

Elvis tells the story of the king of Rock and Roll through the eyes of Elvis's nefarious manager Blofeld...I mean Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). 

Austin Butler joins the long-running list of Oscar-nominated performers playing famous musicians, a list that is filled with many uninteresting biopics that often (often deservedly) are mocked as easy academy catnip yet rather perfunctory efforts for most viewers. This sometimes extends to the often lip-synching performances by the leads, which extends as far back as at least as far back as when Cornel Wilde played Frederic Chopin. This film on the former end is mostly that, though filled through the madness of director Baz Luhrmann's style (something I wish I could love, but mostly gives me a headache), which given how tired these films are, I might've disliked less than I usually do. The other bit of strangeness is through the perspective of the Colonel pleading his case to the audience that he didn't cause Elvis's downfall, something I might've liked more if Tom Hanks wasn't so obnoxiously hammy (he could've been hammy still given the film's heightened tone just not obnoxiously hammy). This perspective does make Elvis a strange leading character in the first act or so of the film, as he takes quite a long time to appear beyond just glimpses as the colonel attempts to chase him down, and even in his first appearances, Elvis is purposefully seen as a distant figure, with the emphasis more so on his impact than in offering a more internalized perspective. The up-and-coming Austin Butler initially appears just as the idea of Elvis, and his work is almost entirely based upon a few scant words and his physical movements. Of course in a larger-than-life figure such as Elvis, that is a task in itself. And I'll say Butler is bluntly up to the task, even with the at times very overdone makeup, even beyond intention I think. His vocal performance, which apparently permanently transformed Butler's voice to that of Elvis's, is downright impressive. Elvis's voice is something that is very often impersonated and is often that of an impression. It would be very easy to become a caricature, however, Butler's vocal work does go beyond that. Butler's voice feels like Elvis's voice and doesn't feel like a put-on, which with someone like Elvis isn't a small feat in itself. 

The physical movements of Elvis are of course as iconic as anything else about him, so again, Butler does have a challenge, because again while frequently impersonated in this regard, it is something else to embody this in a convincing sense. And Butler seeks to fully capture Elvis's stage persona, in almost every aspect. This includes the way he just holds his head, to every different dance move and gyration, his grander movements as really this king stage so often that plays to the crowd, emotes within the song and just sells the energy of every song far beyond what is expected from any performer. Butler again is absolutely convincing in every step of this, literal and otherwise. He does embody that presence so potently without again feeling the parody, he feels like we are seeing Elvis with the sheer power of his work here. It is remarkable and shouldn't be handwaved because of how much he makes it a given throughout the film. The one facet that Butler does not do is consistently sing as Elvis, though there is a bit of it, and Butler does a more than fine job if perhaps his vocals aren't as powerful as Elvis's (hence the dubbing), though seems like if they had just let him sing Butler would've been up to the task. As Butler really is everything he needs to be as this image of Elvis without question. He has that down, and I would say goes far beyond other similar performances that feel far more like impressions. Butler realizes the icon, as a icon, but he also is convincing just as a performer who came to be an icon. It is striking work that in no way seems ever less than he should be, and dances around any of the pitfalls that are so common with these sorts of performances. 

But all that stage persona stuff can only amount to so much, as good as it might be if it all falls apart when he's off-stage. In a way, despite not being documented in the same way, Butler has to deliver a greater truth, when the film finally settles down enough to give Elvis a more in-person focus. And here is where I will again praise Butler, and again his evocation of Elvis truly is notable because he is as convincing when he is Elvis off stage. His manner is similar but less performative. However less performative in the right way. He still sounds like Elvis, and still has the manner of the man, but he's not playing for anyone, he's just being himself. Butler is convincing as Elvis the man, who is presented with largely a positive depiction of the man, however, working even within that context though Butler grants humanity that has greater depth alluded to even if not always explored. Butler in many ways succeeds because he does two things. When we see Elvis emote, it feels like Elvis emoting, but it also feels like a person emoting. He makes the essential jump to allow us to just believe him as Elvis, which on its own is quite an achievement. And again the emotions of many of these scenes are relatively simple, disappointment with his career at times, heartbreak over the death of his mother, and eventual romance with Priscilla. Butler brings the passion of the man towards music as sincerity. He brings a simple boy's sadness in the death of his mother and with Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge) just a lower key charm that is the stage Elvis however more modest, more genuine. Again while I don't think this is exactly exploring the deepest truths of Elvis, Butler is absolutely convincing in realizing what the film lets him present. 

As per usual the biopic trudges along a bit as we see Elvis fall into personal anguish as the aimless artist, although we get this note twice over. And where Butler continues to excel even when the film gets a bit baggy in comparison. Butler's physical performance continues to be quite remarkable because he successfully transitions through each of Elvis's stages, which are all kind of iconic in their own way. That is he does become more restrained, though more passioned in some ways, with greater maturity in the man's voice, as Butler does really two impressions and both are convincing. Even the overweight Elvis late in the film, Butler modifies his work again to give that larger-than-life presence that has as much passion but is suffering far more from the literal and metaphorical weight of his life. We of course get some perfunctory biopic moments, such as the man pushing back his state of malaise to make a statement in his comeback special. Again while I don't think these scenes really are of too much note, Butler's performance combines a sense of frustration of standing still and the ferocity of finally releasing his passion more directly in his comeback song. Butler's portrayal of the slow demise of the man is well done. Just shows the man physically becoming so much less, everything including his charm and passion reducing in his eyes, with a greater frustration towards the duplicitous Colonel. Although the scenes are a little repetitive, Butler continues to thrive in bringing to life every phase of the man's life even the most painful, which the film treats with sort of a gentle pain in that it never gets as raw as it could in that regard. I suppose that is where my praise is limited in that the film never let's Butler go past a certain point, which is unfortunate, however still notable what Butler does even in the confines of the role. It is a challenge not to be a parody, it a challenge not to be underwhelming when portraying such a iconic pop culture figure, it is challenge not to seem too distant. Butler avoids all of that, he's convincing in bringing Elvis to life as the iconic star, but he's also convincing in bringing to Elvis to life as a man. Although I certainly think a greater film could've been made out of Elvis the man, I couldn't think of a better man to portray him than Butler based on his very strong performance here. 

Best Actor 2022

And the Nominees Are:

Austin Butler in Elvis

Brendan Fraser in The Whale

Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin

Bill Nighy in Living

Paul Mescal in Aftersun