Best Supporting Actor 1979: Results

5. Melvyn Douglas in Being There- Melvyn Douglas is not bad ever in Being There but he never really does anything in the film. He has some nice talks and he plays the part as it should be but his character really requires nothing of him.

4. Mickey Rooney in The Black Stallion- Mickey Rooney is a very nice presence in this film. He plays a standard mentor/teacher role much better actually than he needed to. I like how he stayed quiet and just was a good part of the film.

3. Frederic Forrest in The Rose- Forrest is very good here and adds a lot to the film. I like how he underplays his role and shows a realistic portrait of a man who has gotten in a relationship with a women he cannot fully understand.

2. Justin Henry in Kramer Vs. Kramer-  He is always real and seems really like a kid in this situation not some false movie kid. It's an important role for the film and Henry is completely up to his task.

1. Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now- Robert Duvall takes a risky approach to an odd ball of a character and his risk completely pays off. Duvall is perfect as Col. Killgore. He some how never seems false in a role of pure insanity. He is excellent because he makes Kilgore the most fascinating part of Apocalypse Now despite the shortness of his part. Robert Duvall therefore joins Laurence Olivier, Rod Stieger and Walter Huston as actors with two wins from me.

Best Supporting Actor 1979: Justin Henry in Kramer vs. Kramer

Justin Henry received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Billy Kramer in Kramer.

Justin Henry is the youngest nominated actor in this category and is child actor performance. Now a child actor can have a few problem, one thing is they can be bad and it seemed like no one had the heart to tell them, or they can just try to be cutesy all the time. Luckily Justin Henry has neither of these problems. He plays the very important role of the child whose life changes when his parents divorce and his father (Dustin Hoffman) now must take care of him.

I like his performances because Henry just seems like a real kid in this situation rather than some movie kid. He mostly is not used for cuteness except one brief scene involving a Woman Hoffman has a one night stand with. But other than Henry really plays it straight and realistically. He shows that this kid is not the perfect child but has his own flaws and anger at his mother for leaving and at his father for some of their fights they have. One especially strong scene that shows this is when the Kramer and his son fight at the dinner table and Henry's character stops listening to his father. I like how naturally he shows his characters brief bratty behavior that really makes Billy Kramer a three dimensional child. Then his crying at his father's angry reaction to him disobedient behavior is equally as important, and then finally their scene where they make up is outstanding. There barely ever is a false note in his performance, and he and Hoffman are good together. Their relationship is essential to the power of the film and they succeed in creating it honestly.

Best Supporting Actor 1979

 And the Nominees Were:

Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now

Frederic Forrest in The Rose

Melvyn Douglas in Being There

Justin Henry in Kramer Vs. Kramer

Mickey Rooney in The Black Stallion

 Who do you Pick? What do you predict my ranking will be?