Alternate Best Actor 1999: Results

5. Brad Pitt in Fight Club-Brad Pitt gives a good enough performance that is charismatic enough although not to the level the film suggests his character should be.

Best Scene: "Hit me as hard as you can"

4. Edward Norton in Fight Club- Norton, in the less showy role of the two leads of the film, gives the more consistent performance effectively portraying his character's strange journey through the film.

Best Scene: The Narrator tries to go to the police.

3. Forest Whitaker in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai- Whitaker performance is all about creating the style of the samurai which he handles wonderfully well. 

Best Scene: Ghost Dog takes down the gangsters.

2. Guy Pearce in Ravenous- Pearce is very effective by being the sane man among the insanity.

Best Scene: Captain Boyd sees his new commanding officer.

1. Jim Carrey in Man on the Moon- Jim Carrey proves himself a master mimic as he becomes Andy Kaufman and every character he played.

Best Scene: Andy's first time doing the foreigner. 

Overall Rank:

1. Richard Farnsworth in The Straight Story
2. Bob Hoskins in Felicia's Journey
   
3. Jim Carrey in Man on the Moon
4. Jim Broadbent in Topsy-Turvy
5. Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense
6. Russell Crowe in The Insider
7. Guy Pearce in Ravenous
8. Forest Whitaker in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
9. Heath Ledger in Two Hands
10. Anthony Hopkins in Titus
11. Nicolas Cage in Bringing Out the Dead 
12. Edward Norton in Fight Club
13. Tom Hanks in The Green Mile
14. Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense
15. Ron Livingston in Office Space
16. Al Pacino in The Insider
17. Mel Gibson in Payback
18. Terence Stamp in The Limey  
19. Om Puri in East is East 
20. Denzel Washington in The Hurricane
21. Ralph Fiennes in Sunshine 
22. Brad Pitt in Fight Club
23. Eddie Murphy Bowfinger
24. Jeremy Northam in The Winslow Boy
25. Kevin Spacey in America Beauty
26. Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut 
27. Allan Corduner in Topsy-Turvy
28. Brendan Fraser in The Mummy
29. Tim Allen in Galaxy Quest
30. Ralph Fiennes in The End of the Affair
31. Keanu Reeves in The Matrix
32. John Cusack in Being John Malkovich
33. Johnny Depp in Sleepy Hollow
34. Eddie Murphy in Life
35. George Clooney in Three Kings
36. Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You 
37. Matthew Broderick in Election 
38. Jake Gyllenhaal in October Sky 
39. William Eadie in Ratcatcher
40. Eli Marienthal in The Iron Giant
41. Rupert Everett in An Ideal Husband 
42. Nigel Hawthorne in The Winslow Boy 
43. Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday
44. Mark Wahlberg in Three Kings
45. John Leguizamo in Summer of Sam
46. Ben Foster in Liberty Heights
47. Joe Breen in Angela's Ashes
48. Ciaran Owens in Angela's Ashes
49. Michael Legge in Angela's Ashes
50. Adrien Brody in Summer of Sam
51. Ben Stiller in Mystery Men 
52. Clint Eastwood in True Crime
53. Adrien Brody in Liberty Heights
54. Steve Martin Bowfinger
55. Robin Williams in Jakob the Liar
56. Billy Crystal in Analyze This
57. Robert De Niro in Analyze This
58. Tom Hanks in Toy Story 2
59. Tim Allen in Toy Story 2
60. Sean Penn in Sweet and Lowdown
61. Hugh Grant in Notting Hill 
62. Ethan Hawke in Snow Falling on Cedars
63. Jeremy Theobald in Following
64. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Flawless
65. Pierce Brosnan in The World is Not Enough
66. Martin Lawrence in Life
67. Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley
68. Johnny Depp in The Ninth Gate
69. Willem Dafoe in The Boondock Saints 
70. Robert De Niro in Flawless 
71. Alex Haw in Following
72. Jude Law in eXistenZ
73. Arnold Schwarzenegger in End of Days
74. Joseph Gordon-Levitt 10 Things I Hate About You
75. Martin Lawrence in Blue Streak
76. Liam Neeson in The Phantom Menace
77. Devon Sawa in Idle Hands
78. Mike Myers in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
79. Thomas Jane in Deep Blue Sea  
80. Freddie Cunliffe in The War Zone
81. Adam Sandler in Big Daddy
82. Steve Martin in The Out of Towners
83. Sean Patrick Flanery in Simply Irresistible
84. Tobey Maguire in The Cider House Rules 
85. James Van Der Beek in Varsity Blues
86. Norman Reedus in The Boondock Saints
87. Sean Patrick Flanery in The Boondock Saints
88. Jake Lloyd in The Phantom Menace

Next Year: 2000 lead

Alternate Best Actor 1999: Forest Whitaker in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

Forest Whitaker did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Ghost Dog in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is an interesting and enjoyable enough film about a mysterious hit man, who follows the code of the samurai, who finds himself the target of the mafia he works for.

Forest Whitaker certainly is not the first man you think of when you think of samurai or even a modern samurai, but Whitaker could not be more comfortable in the role of the stoic man who takes pride in the ideas found in a book that outlines the purpose of the samurai. Whitaker's performance is that of finding a consistent tone and sticking with it through the film. This is the nature of the character who is very firm in his belief of following the code of the Samurai to the letter, he is not one of those atypical ones played by Toshiro Mifune. Whitaker plays Ghost Dog who does not just talk about being a samurai he walks the walks right down to an undying loyalty to his retainer even if the retainer does not deserve it.

Whitaker gives a fully physical performance in his portrayal of Ghost Dog as there is a certain way he moves and walks that is very telling of his character. The samurai can be seen in his movements and Whitaker is quite effective in showing Ghost Dog as a man so utterly devoted to his ideals that he is one with them. There is such grace in his performance in every movement. There is not a wrong step he is always the samurai in every movement. Whitaker makes this an interesting performance just to watch, and he is especially good in the pivotal action scene late in the film. The way he uses his gun is not that of an action hero, or even gangster. Whitaker makes the movements that of artist at work much like a samurai with his sword. 

In his scenes of non-violence Whitaker gives a very unassuming performance that works well as he makes Ghost Dog just a man of quiet reflection. Whitaker has an innate likability as an actor to begin, but he is particularly splendid here in his portrayal of Ghost Dog who might have strange morals but morals that he does stick to. Whitaker stays with his character's nature the whole film through and this easily could have made him seem an uninteresting character but Whitaker makes it work. Whitaker brings to life the devotion of Ghost Dog to life in a gentle and even believable fashion. Whitaker makes it simple by being entirely genuine with the part. He makes the nature of Ghost Dog something very honest in the film.

Ghost Dog certainly is a most unusual film lead by a most unusual hero with a most unusual casting. Forest Whitaker does not seem strange in the part in the slightest though he makes it his own. This is a performance about the creation of the character and his creation of Ghost Dog is an endearing and strangely fascinating sort. Every action take by the Ghost Dog is realized by Whitaker's assured performance and even the final actions of Ghost Dog, which could have seemed completely absurd and frankly they are completely absurd, but Whitaker makes it work because he makes Ghost Dog a philosophy such a part of him. Whitaker makes him the samurai in every other way, from his manner in violence to his thoughts on every day things, therefore Ghost Dog would even have to stay with the fatal fault of the samurai code. 

Alternate Best Actor 1999

And the Nominees Were Not:

Brad Pitt in Fight Club

Edward Norton in Fight Club

Jim Carrey in Man on the Moon

Forest Whitaker in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

Guy Pearce in Ravenous

Alternate Best Actor 1988: Results

5. Forest Whitaker in Bird- Whitaker gives a performance that combines the charm and pain of his character well.

Best Scene: Bird's death. 

4. William Hurt in The Accidental Tourist- Hurt is very strong here by realizing his character's depression while still giving a charming and sometimes humorous performance.

Best Scene:  Macon chooses Muriel.

3. John Malkovich in Danger Liaisons- Malkovich takes an unorthodox but effective approach to his womanizer character by stressing the mechanics of the man's method.

Best Scene:  Valmont tries to reject Madame de Tourvel.

2. Bob Hoskins in Who Framed Roger Rabbit- Hoskins is terrific in the lead of this film interacting perfectly with the strange cartoon characters throughout the film as well giving an entertaining and sometimes powerful performance entirely on its own as well.

Best Scene:  Eddie tells Roger what happened to his brother.

1. Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers- Good Prediction Michael Patison, Mark, and Maciej. Well it should be no surprise to anyone that Jeremy Irons wins this year. Although I liked all these performances Irons stands far and above as the best. He is simply incredible in his portrayal of the twins of his film and their interconnected world. Irons here not only gives one but two great characterizations here finding the subtitles that differentiate the two perfectly as well as creating a fascinating connection between them.

Best Scene:  Beverly and Elliot finally separate.

Overall Rank:

1. Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers
2. Klaus Maria Brandauer in Hanussen
3. John Neville in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen 
4. Willem Dafoe in The Last Temptation of Christ
5. Bob Hoskins in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
6. Eric Bogosian in Talk Radio
7. Bill Murray in Scrooged
8. Charles Grodin in Midnight Run
9. Robert De Niro in Midnight Run 
10. John Malkovich in Dangerous Liaisons
11. William Hurt in The Accidental Tourist
12. Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning 
13. Michael Keaton in Clean and Sober
14. Bruce Willis in Die Hard  
15. Keith Carradine in The Moderns 
16. James Woods in Cop
17. Joe Mantegna in Things Change
18. Steve Martin in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
19. Michael Caine in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 
20. Harrison Ford in Frantic
21. Robert Duvall in Colors
22. Daniel Day-Lewis in The Unbearable Lightness of Being  
23. Don Ameche in Things Change
24. Michael J. Fox in Bright Lights Big City
25. Forest Whitaker in Bird 
26. John Cleese in A Fish Called Wanda 
27. Jeff Bridges in Tucker A Man and His Dream
28. River Phoenix in Running on Empty 
29. Mel Gibson in Tequila Sunrise  
30. Isaach de Bankolé in Chocolat
31. Leslie Nielsen in Naked Gun 
32. Tom Cruise in Rain Man 
33. Harvey Fierstein in Torch Song Trilogy
34. James Woods in The Boost
35. Sam Neill in A Cry in the Dark
36. Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu in The Vanishing
37. Eddie Murphy in Coming to America
38. Edward James Olmos in Stand and Deliver
39. Kevin Costner in Bull Durham
40. Gene Bervoets in The Vanishing
41. Andy Lau in As Tears Go By
42. Sean Penn in Colors 
43. Sidney Poitier in Shoot to Kill
44. Tom Hanks in Big
45. Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man
46. Tom Berenger in Shoot to Kill 
47. Kurt Russell in Tequila Sunrise
48. Ray Liotta in Dominick and Eugene
49. Alec Baldwin in Beetlejuice
50. Warwick Davis in Willow
51. Emilio Estevez in Young Guns
52. Richard Dreyfuss in Moon Over Parador  
53. Francois Cluzet in Chocolat
54. Tom Hulce in Dominick and Eugene 
55. Navin Chowdry in Madame Sousatzka
56. Chris Sarandon in Child's Play 
57. Sylvester Stallone in Rambo III
58. Matthew Modine in Married to the Mob
59. Roddy Piper in They Live
60. Clint Eastwood in The Dead Pool
61. Brad Dourif in Child's Play
62. Jim Varney in Ernest Saves Christmas
63. Alex Vincent in Child's Play

Next Year: 1988 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 1988: Forest Whitaker in Bird

Forest Whitaker did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite winning Cannes and being nominated for a Golden Globe, for portraying Charlie Parker in Bird.

Bird is an okay film but not as compelling as one might want about Jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker's problems with addiction.

This particular film about a musician is rather different from say the newer ones like Ray or Walk the Line which both told the same story of a bizarrely unceremonious rise to fame, than fall into drug addiction followed by recovery by the woman he loves. Bird is different in that Charlie does not recover from his addiction as it does eventually lead to his death. This is very different film as well because we do not really see his fall into his addiction instead his addiction is more of a constant. There are moments where he steers from it partially but he never seems to entirely escape from his problems.

Due to the nature of Parker's story Whitaker does not so much have a character arc but more of a rubber band that goes back fourth. He goes from highs to lows suddenly without all that much notice. Whitaker therefore has to take bit of a scatter shot approach to his performance, which is helped even less since director Clint Eastwood even uses flashbacks giving Whitaker an even greater challenge to really portray Parker effectively. Whitaker does take on the role well actually despite the fact that Charlie Parker constantly jumps back and fourth in his way, and Whitaker actually does find the trouble within the man that causes this.

An important aspect of Whitaker performance is that he portrays Parker as never particularly happy even in the happier scenes of the film. Importantly he does not over do it and just have Parker as a man of depression. There is always a certain sadness in his portrayal though. Whitaker shows Parker as really a man who is unable to really achieve the sort of happiness that would really allow him to ever escape from his addictions. There is always a pain that Whitaker creates in Parker that only reinforces his self destructive behavior and he makes it believable that Parker even after seeming to drop an addiction he would only fall right back into it.

Whitaker despite showing the pain of Parker as a constant does still do well to portray Parker as a charismatic entertainer. He has quite a bit of charm in the role and is convincing in the way so many seem to like Parker so much. Whitaker makes all of it quite natural and creates the sort of presence that Charlie Parker really should have. Whitaker makes Parker a likable man who honestly in many situations can make himself seem like a man who has it entirely together simply through his charms. Whitaker properly shows that both his health and his charm seem to diminish in almost equal measure as the worse off he is the less he seems to want to please.

Whitaker is actually quite good in bringing together the different sides of Bird that come from his moments of terrible addiction to his reprieves of recovery. Whitaker does well in showing the emotional pulls in Parker that make him shift so randomly at times because the one thing that is constant is that underlying pain that Whitaker always properly conveys which propels him to his drugs and alcohol. Although Parker's jumps around in terms of emotional highs and lows Whitaker never makes them feel disconcerting as he does meet the needs of Bird whether he is charming a crowd or loathing himself in a drug addled haze.

Forest Whitaker here gives a good performance as Charlie Parker though it never becomes the powerful tour de force that one want from a depiction of a self destructive man. I do feel this is the fault of the film more that Whitaker which never quite strikes the right chords with the material to make the life of Parker come alive as well as it should. Whitaker realizes Parker as well as this version of the story probably would allow which is an interesting and effective depiction but never as striking as one would think could come from the man considering his life.

Alternate Best Actor 1988

And the Nominees Were Not:

Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers

John Malkovich in Dangerous Liaisons

William Hurt in The Accidental Tourist

Bob Hoskins in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Forest Whitaker in Bird 

Best Actor 2006: Results

5. Will Smith  in The Pursuit of Happyness- Smith simply is not very good here, he simply never is authentic as the person he is suppose to be playing, he always stays as just Will Smith, rather than Chris Gardner.

4. Peter O'Toole in Venus- Peter O'Toole is very strong showing the life, and lust of a washed up actor. The film is not particularly good, but O'Toole always stands out well despite this.

3. Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson- Gosling gives a brilliant understated performance, as a drug addict teacher. He never overplays single scene, and stays subtle almost throughout, except a few key scenes where he stands out incredibly well.

2. Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond- DiCaprio despite some weakness of the film's script, is incredibly strong here, in both a sense of creating interesting character and dealing with the changes of the character very well, and giving a strong leading man performance, which few actors could do as well.

1. Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland- Forest Whitaker is absolutely brilliant in every single scene in his film. He shows a man who is both absolutely insane, but also incredibly charismatic. It is an incredible challenge, and Whitaker achieves completely despite every challenge he must accomplish.

Deserving Performances:
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed
Daniel Craig in Casino Royale

Best Actor 2006: Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland

Forest Whitaker won an Oscar from his first nomination for portraying African dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.

The Last King of Scotland is a film I find rather fascinating, and I really enjoy its story since it is not a biography picture of Idi Amin, but rather the story of a doctor and his interactions with Idi Amin.

Forest Whitaker sometimes has been called a supporting performance to James McAvoy's lead as the doctor who becomes the dictators personal doctor and adviser of sorts. I disagree, they are both lead to me, both are essential to the film's story, and both hold great sway in terms of control of the film. McAvoy has more scenes, but Whitaker has the same if not more important.

Forest Whitaker's performance here is particularly fascinating if you compare it to his actual personality. In actuality you would be hard pressed to find someone less soft spoken that Whitaker, but here he is almost unrecognizable. He absolutely brilliant as Amin who is a challenging role, since he is both a mad man, and an extremely charismatic man. Whitaker properly makes this very peculiar individual properly his larger than life self, without ever going over the top. His insanity he slowly shows throughout the film is perfect. He shows it as something that effects the man who simply has a position of power that has more than gone to his head. Whitaker use of his face is particularly compelling, in the way faces of the insanity of the man who claims he knows when exactly he is going to die, and believes people are always conspiring around him. His faces are extreme yet always natural, and effective.

He not only is mad man but a very charismatic man at the same exact time, even when he raves like a lunatic he remains an incredibly magnetic presence. He is especially strong in any scenes in which he makes a speech whether it is to his guests, the people of Uganda or the foreign press, Whitaker simply lights of the screen. Which is rather odd since his character is a cruel dictator, but Whitaker makes you believe Amin ability to control and manipulate others. He allows one to understand how he could sway others from not knowing who he really was. Every one of these scenes are simply amazing to watch since you can see how he hides the true evil of the man, with his warm smile, strong presence and humor and they alone make his performance deserving of his win, but he has yet scenes that are surprisingly scenes where he is even stronger.

These scenes are every scene in which he and McAvoy heavily interact. They simply are brilliant together, they work off each other incredibly well. I like how their relationship grows and changes throughout the film. From their very first scene where they interact, in which Amin is intrigued by the doctor, and comes to like him. I like how Whitaker shows pure excitement at the doctor at first, and how he shows an actual liking of the man, even though Whitaker always still suggests Amin's suspicious with Amin's odd outbursts at times. Also I like how Whitaker shows the way Amin uses the doctor, particularly in one scene where he convinces the doctor to tell him suspicious information about one of Amin's ministers. This is scene is astounding because he convinces the doctor almost without words to do this. Both actors make this scene believable despite the challenge of it. Their strongest scene together is their final one. Their final conversation is incredible, Whitaker is extremely chilling and McAvoy is properly defiant both actors make the relationship's pivotal moment, especially powerful. Whitaker's role is an incredible challenge and he meets and surpasses the challenge. His performance is one of tremendous power, and at the same time is an incredibly entertaining performance too, simply a great performance.

Best Actor 2006

And the Nominees Were:

Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond

Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson

Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland

Peter O'Toole in Venus

Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness

So who do you pick, or predict? The mercenary, the teacher who has some problems, the Dictator with very severe problems, the old Actor, or the man who goes from rags to riches.