Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1981: Results

5. John Lithgow in Blow Out- Lithgow gives an interesting turn as a hired killer who accomplishes his dirty job by pretending to be a murderous psychopath.

Best Scene: Burke explains his actions to his superior.

4. Paul Freeman in Raiders of the Lost Ark- Freeman gives an effective performance that makes Belloc the shadow to Indiana Jones.

Best Scene: "This, this is history"

3. Wilford Brimley in Absence of Malice- Brimley steals his whole film through his assured performance that basically wraps up the plot for his film.

Best Scene: His scene.

2. Bill Hunter in Gallipoli- Hunter gives a strong performance giving humanity to a man who continues with a futile and fatal charge because it is his order to do so.

Best Scene: Major Barton proceeds with the final charge.

1. Robert Prosky in Thief- Prosky gives my favorite supporting performance of 1981, apologies once again to my seemingly perpetual number 2 Jack Nicholson, by delivering a fantastic performance as a warm genial older man which hides the vicious gangster beneath.  

Best Scene: Leo threatens Frank.

Overall Rank:

1. Nicol Williamson in Excalibur
2. Robert Prosky in Thief
3. Jack Nicholson in Reds
4. John Gielgud in Arthur
5. Ian Holm in Chariots of Fire
6. Howard Rollins in Ragtime
7. Bill Hunter in Gallipoli 
8. Wilford Brimley in Absence of Malice
9. Griffin Dunne in An American Werewolf in London
10. Dennis Hopper in Out of the Blue
11. David Warner in Time Bandits
12. Paul Freeman in Raiders of the Lost Ark 
13. Lee Van Cleef in Escape From New York
14. Mickey Rourke in Body Heat 
15. Sean Connery in Time Bandits 
16. Willie Nelson in Thief
17. John Gielgud in Chariots of Fire 
18. John Lithgow in Blow Out
19. Gianfrancesco Guarnieri in They Don't Wear Black Tie
20. Rutger Hauer in Nighthawks
21. James Woods in Eyewitness
22. Jerry Orbach in Prince of the City
23. Michael Ironside in Scanners
24. Brad Dourif in Ragtime
25. Michael Palin in Time Bandits 
26. Nigel Havers in Chariots of Fire
27. Kjell Nilsson in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior 
28. Harry Dean Stanton in Escape From New York  
29. Bruce Spence in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
30. Christopher Walken in Pennies From Heaven
31. Burgess Meredith in Clash of the Titans 
32. Herbert Grönemeyer in Das Boot
33. Patrick McGoohan in Scanners
34. Bill Kerr in Gallipoli
35. Donald Pleasence in Escape From New York
36. Kenny Baker in Time Bandits 
37. Nicholas Farrell in Chariots of Fire 
38. Robert Grubb in Gallipoli
39. Lindsay Anderson in Chariots of Fire
40. John Cleese in Time Bandits
41. Warren Oates in Stripes
42. Nigel Davenport in Chariots of Fire
43. Bob Balaban in Absence of Malice 
44. Ralph Richardson in Time Bandits
45. Sean Penn in Taps
46. James Coco in Only When I Laugh
47. Michael Lerner in The Postman Always Rings Twice
48. Max von Sydow in Victory
49. John Rhys Davies in Raiders of the Lost Ark
50. Tom Cruise in Taps
51. Brion James in Southern Comfort
52. Patrick Magee in Chariots of Fire
53. Vernel Bagneris in Pennies From Heaven
54. Paul Geoffrey in Excalibur
55. Christopher Plummer in Eyewitness
56. Topol in For Your Eyes Only
57. John Woodvine in An American Werewolf in London
58. Michael Preston in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
59. Fred Ward in Southern Comfort
60. Ralph Richardson in Dragonslayer
61. Ernest Borgnine in Escape From New York 
62. David Rappaport in Time Bandits
63. Kenneth McMillan in Whose Life Is It Anyways?
64. James Cagney in Ragtime
65. Alan Bates in Quartet
66. Burgess Meredith in True Confessions
67. Struan Rodger in Chariots of Fire 
68. Pierce Brosnan in The Long Good Friday
69. Ian Holm in Time Bandits
70. John Colicos in The Postman Always Rings Twice
71. Kenneth McMillan in True Confessions
72. Ronald Lacey in Raiders of the Lost Ark
73. David Argue in Gallipoli 
74. Peter Egan in Chariots of Fire 
75. Don Gordon in Out of the Blue
76. Isaac Hayes in Escape From New York
77. Barney Martin in Arthur
78. David Yelland in Chariots of Fire
79. Gene Hackman in Reds 
80. Milton Gonçalves in They Don't Wear Black Tie
81. Alfred Molina in Raiders of the Lost Ark
82. Charles Durning in True Confessions
83. James Olson in Ragtime
84. Julian Glover in For Your Eyes Only
    
85. Bob Balaban in Whose Life Is It Anyways?
86. Dabney Coleman in On Golden Pond
87. Ted Danson in Body Heat
88. Everett McGill in Quest for Fire
89. Ron Pearlman in Quest for Fire
90. James Belushi in Thief
91. John Cassavetes in Whose Life Is It Anyways?
92. John Candy in Stripes
93. Nicholas Clay in Excalibur
94. Dennis Farina in Thief
95. Denholm Elliot in Raiders of the Lost Ark 
96. Cyril Cusack in True Confessions
97. J.A. Preston in Body Heat
98. Paul Sorvino in Reds
99. Gregory Hines in History of the World Part I
100. Robert Addie in Excalibur
101. Dennis Franz in Blow Out 
102. Brad Davis in Chariots of Fire
103. Laurence Olivier in Clash of the Titans
104. Vernon Wells in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
105. Dennis Christopher in Chariots of Fire
106. Liam Neeson in Excalibur
107. Stephen Elliot in Arthur
108. Tom Signorelli in Thief
109. Michael Caine in Victory
110. Kenneth McMillian in Heartbeeps
111. Randy Quaid in Heartbeeps
112. John Larroquette in Stripes
113. Gabriel Byrne in Excalibur
114. Patrick Stewart in Excalibur
115. Doug McKeon in On Golden Pond 
116. Pele in Victory
117. Edward Hermann in Reds
118. Don Hood in Absence of Malice
119. Orson Welles in Butterfly
120. Harry Goz in Mommie Dearest
121. Michael Edwards in Mommie Dearest

Next Year: 1964 lead

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1981: Bill Hunter in Gallipoli

Bill Hunter did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Major Barton in Gallipoli.

Gallipoli is a film about the friendship of two different men Frank and Archy played by Mel Gibson and Mark Lee respectively, but there is a fairly solid ensemble that surrounds the two as they go from running for reward to running for their lives. Bill Hunter plays a superior officer in the Cavalry unit in which Archy and later Frank find themselves in. In the early scenes of his performance there is not all that much to Hunter's actual character. His brief moments though nicely humanize the superior in the military as Hunter plays Major Barton as an actual man in the position rather than some sort of inhuman representation of the military as he might have been played.

The real meat of Hunter's performance comes when the light cavalry is finally put into action as infantry who must attempt to take the enemy position by running across no man's land. Hunter is terrific in the scene as he shows the way Major Barton changes just through the course of initiating the plan. At the beginning Hunter keeps Barton as the likable enough superior, as a man it is completely understandable why he would allow Frank to take Archy's place as message carrier simply because of Archy's plead to him. Hunter begins with Barton with the humanitarian bent as he shows concern that the enemies turret guns have not been displaced, but Hunter still portrays the military restrictions as the man as he still is determined to proceed with the plan.

The last sequence of the film is amazing held together brilliantly by the performances of Gibson, Lee and Hunter who actually is equally important to the power of this end. Where Archy just has to wait until being called to make the run for the enemy lines, Frank also must follow orders to transfer the messages only allowed slight sway in the proceedings, and even Major Barton must follow orders although is allowed to think about it for a little longer. Hunter is exceptional in portraying the increasing desperation in Major Barton as he sees that his men barely make it on the field before being quickly killed by the onslaught of machine gun fire that rains down upon them.

Where Lee's Archy is the unfortunate soldier, and Gibson shows the futile attempt of a man to make a difference, Hunter shows the unfortunate reality of the chain of command in his performance as Major Barton. Barton could have easily been made to be a foolish lifeless man ordering the deaths of others, but the writing and Hunter's take on the major makes the ending of the film far more powerful. Hunter shows the humanity still in Barton and you can see how every death is tearing him apart to the point where he becomes a shaking mess of despair, but nevertheless Hunter still shows that restrictions in the man that forces him to follow his orders even in his emotional devastation. Hunter gives a remarkable performance by making Major Barton a good man who allows the deaths of men because it is his orders to do so.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1981

And the Nominees Were Not:

Robert Prosky in Thief

Wilford Brimley in Absence of Malice

Bill Hunter in Gallipoli

John Lithgow in Blow Out

Paul Freeman in Raiders of the Lost Ark