Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2021: Results

10. Andre Holland in Passing - Holland offers the right blunt quality that contrasts the more guarded performances of his co-stars.

Best Scene: Talking about a lynching.

9. David Strathairn in Nightmare Alley - Strathairn gives a brief but moving portrayal of a man with the slight spark of the former spiritualist, but now just a lost soul. 

Best Scene: A warning to Stan.

8. Tony Leung Chiu Wai in Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings - Though his film does not quite use him to his full potential, Leung brings so much depth and presence to what could've been a wholly stock villain.

Best Scene: The importance of names.

7. Jeffrey Wright in The French Dispatch - Wright gives a literal wonderful delivery of a story, but also gives a moving portrayal of the emotional woes behind the writer's work.

Best Scene: A new flavor.

6. Al Pacino in House of Gucci - Pacino once again delivers here bringing an endearing energy as the representation of the Gucci family empire, then a tragic power as the man sees that empire slip away.

Best Scene: Signing the company away.

5. Ben Affleck in The Last Duel - Affleck brings the right change of pace, that still fits within his film's tone, as the one man who seems to find joy in a mostly miserable world.

Best Scene: Discussing the rape charge.

4. Anders Danielsen Lie in The Worst Person in the World - The power of Lie's work slowly reveals itself in his portrait of a man defined by uncertainty who only finds certainty when it is too late.

Best Scene: Final scene.

3. Masaki Okada in Drive, My Car -  Okada's work crafts a proper enigma which slowly reveals itself in both nefarious and strangely poignant ways.

Best Scene: Backseat revelations.

2. Mike Faist in West Side Story - Faist puts his all into his performance that is exceptionally compelling and creates a deeply moving portrait of a man defined by hate.

Best Scene: The rumble.

1. Bradley Cooper in Licorice Pizza - Good predictions Aidan and 8000's. Although working with the least amount of screentime, no other performance in this category left a greater visceral impact on me than this one. I simply laughed every moment Cooper was on screen through every insane variation he brought in his portrayal of certifiable lunatic Jon Peters, and Cooper for me delivered one of the very best purely comic turns in some time. I loved every second of this turn, and even though there's only so many seconds he has total, I never thought there was anything lacking for it. If I were not to give him the win here it would be lying to myself, because my favorite scene in my favorite film of the year is his sequence in Licorice Pizza, a sequence built upon the glorious madness of his performance. Yes he essentially only has one scene, but the same is true for the challenge, of only having one scene to be as memorable as Cooper is here. Although this is a year with many worthy candidates, despite what the academy would lead you to believe, and I certainly easily see the logic in choosing really anyone in my top five, my choice goes to Cooper without reservation for his work of 24karat comedic gold.

Best Scene: Peters returns.

Overall:

1. Bradley Cooper in Licorice Pizza
2. Mike Faist in West Side Story
3. Kodi Smit-McPhee in The Power of the Dog
4. Masaki Okada in Drive, My Car
5. Anders Danielsen Lie in The Worst Person in the World
6. Ben Affleck in The Last Duel - 5
7. Alex Hassell in The Tragedy of Macbeth
8. Ciaran Hinds in Belfast
9. David Alvarez in West Side Story
10. Al Pacino in House of Gucci
11. Jeffrey Wright in The French Dispatch
12. Tony Leung Chiu Wai in Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings
13. David Strathairn in Nightmare Alley
14. Anthony LaPaglia in Nitram
15. Kelvin Harrison Jr. in Cyrano
16. Willem Dafoe in Nightmare Alley 
17. Richard Jenkins in Nightmare Alley
18. Andre Holland in Passing  - 4.5
19. Sean Penn in Licorice Pizza
20. Adrien Brody in The French Dispatch
21. Willem Dafoe in Spider-Man: No Way Home
    
22. Sean Harris in The Green Knight 
    
23. Jason Momoa in Dune
    
24. Tom Waits in Licorice Pizza 
25. Barry Keoghan in The Green Knight 
26. Benicio Del Toro in The French Dispatch  
27. Corey Hawkins in The Tragedy of Macbeth
    
28. John Cena in The Suicide Squad
29. Andrew Garfield in Spider-Man: No Way Home
30. Toby Huss in Copshop
    
31. Javier Bardem in Dune
    
32. Simon Helberg in Annette
    
33. Troy Kotsur in CODA
34. Terence Stamp in Last Night in Soho
35. Timothy Spall in Spencer 
36. LaKeith Stanfield in The Harder They Fall
37. Richard Ayoade in The Souvenir Part II
    
38. Jamie Dornan in Belfast
39. Colman Domingo in Zola
    
40. Jon Bernthal in King Richard
    
41. Merab Ninidze in The Courier  
42. Oscar Isaac in Dune
43. Issey Ogata in Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle
    
44. David Harbour in Black Widow  
45. Robin De Jesus in Tick Tick...Boom
46. Fred Melamed in Shiva Baby 
47. Chaske Spencer in Wild Indian
    
48. Jason Flemyng in Boiling Point 
49. Mohsen Tanabandeh in A Hero
    
50. Richard Jenkins in The Humans 
51. Danny McBride in The Mitchells Vs. The Machines
    
52. Herbert Nodrum in The Worst Person in the World - 4
    
53. Stellan Skarsgard in Dune
    
54. Ralph Ineson in The Green Knight
55. David Knell in Pig
56. Taigo Nakano in 10,000 Nights in the Jungle
    
57. Joseph Cross in Licorice Pizza 
58. Ali Ranjibari in A Hero
    
59. Bill Murray in The French Dispatch
    
60. Corey Hawkins in In the Heights 
61. Joel Kinnaman in The Suicide Squad 
62. Brendan Gleeson in The Tragedy of Macbeth 
63. Alireza Jahandideh in A Hero
    
64. Vondie Curtis-Hall in The Night House
    
65. Benny Safdie in Licorice Pizza
    
66. Jared Leto in House of Gucci 
67. Timothee Chalamet in The French Dispatch
    
68. Jeremy Irons in House of Gucci
    
69. Jesse Plemons in The Power of the Dog
70. Steven Yeun in The Humans
    
71. Adam Arkin in Pig 
72. Josh Brolin in Dune
73. Josh Andrés Rivera in West Side Story
74. Lucian-River Chauhan in Encounter
    
75. Joel Edgerton in The Green Knight
76. Ben Affleck in The Tender Bar
    
77. Kiyohiko Shibukawa in Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
    
78. Lil Rel Howery in Judas and the Black Messiah 
79. Sean Harris in Spencer
    
80. Yousseff Kerkour in House of Gucci
81. Rajkummar Rao in The White Tiger
82. Colman Domingo in Candyman
    
83. David Dastmalchian in The Suicide Squad 
84. David Harbour in No Sudden Move
    
85. Peter Dinklage in I Care A Lot
86. Talid Ariss in After Love
    
87. Owen Wilson in The French Dispatch
    
88. Alex Lawther in The Last Duel
    
89. Peter Capaldi in The Suicide Squad 
90. Stephen Park in The French Dispatch
91. Brian Tyree Henry in Eternals
    
92. John Leguizamo in Encanto
    
93. Toni Servillo in The Hand of God
    
94. Ben Kingsley in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
95. Tobey Maguire in Spider-man: No Way Home
    
96. Ray Chase in Malignant
97. Fred Armisen in The Mitchells vs. The Machines
98. Beck Bennett in The Mitchells vs. The Machines
    
99. Babs Olusanmkun in Dune
100. Bertie Carvel in The Tragedy of Macbeth
     
101. Ray Liotta in The Many Saints of Newark
102. Mel Gibson in Boss Level
     
103. Skyler Gisondo in Licorice Pizza
     
104. Hiroyuki Sanada in Mortal Kombat
105. Paul Anderson in Nightmare Alley 
106. Holt McCallany in Wrath of Man
     
107. Jack Huston in House of Gucci 
108. Mahesh Manjrekar in The White Tiger
109. Michael Gandolfini in The Many Saints of Newark
     
110. Jimmi Smits in In the Heights 
111. Izaac Wang in Raya and the Last Dragon
     
112. Stephen Henderson in Dune
113. Christopher Lloyd in Nobody
114. Sylvester Stallone in The Suicide Squad
115. Jon Favreau in Spider-man: No Way Home 
116. Ethan Darbone in Red Rocket
     
117. Bill Camp in Passing
     
118. Jesse Plemons in Judas and the Black Messiah  
119. Trace Adkins in Old Henry
120. Barry Keoghan in Eternals
     
121. Leslie Odom Jr. in The Many Saints of Newark
     
122. Danny Deferrari in Shiva Baby
     
123. David Dastmalchian in Dune
124. Alfred Molina in Spider-man No Way Home
     
125. Dan Aykroyd in Ghostbusters: Afterlife
126. Scoot McNairy in C'mon C'mon
     
127. Gregory Diaz IV in In the Heights 
128. Benedict Cumberbatch in Spider-man No Way Home 
129. Holt McCallany in Nightmare Alley 
130. Enrico Natale in The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain 
131. Farrokh Nourbakht in A Hero
     
132. Stephen Root in The Tragedy of Macbeth 
133. Stephen Dorff in Old Henry 
134. Delroy Lindo in The Harder They Fall 
135. Aditya Geddada in Encounter
136. Woody Harrelson in Venom Let There Be Carnage
137. Paddy Considine in Wolf
     
138. Benedict Wong in Raya and the Last Dragon
     
139. Ed Harris in The Lost Daughter - 3.5
140. Christopher Lloyd in The Tender Bar
     
141. Harry Melling in The Tragedy of Macbeth
     
142. Jim Beaver in Nightmare Alley
     
143. Joe Taslim in Mortal Kombat 
144. Tony Goldwyn in King Richard 
145. Tim Blake Nelson in Nightmare Alley
     
146. Taika Waititi in The Suicide Squad
     
147. Jon Bernthal in Those Who Wish Me Dead
148. Ron Perlman in Nightmare Alley
     
149. John Amos in Coming 2 America 
150. Chris Messina in I Care a Lot
151. Jeffrey Wright in No Time to Die
152. J.K. Simmons in Being the Ricardos 
153. Brian d'Arcy James in West Side Story
154. Don Lee in Eternals
     
155. Mathieu Almaric in The French Dispatch
     
156. Michael Smiley in Censor
     
157. Paul Walter Hauser in Cruella
158. Jesse Plemons in Jungle Cruise
159. Corey Stoll in West Side Story
     
160. Nathaniel Parker in the Last Duel
161. Ray Panthaki in Boiling Point
     
162. Macon Blair in I Care a Lot 
163. Andrew Garfield in The Eyes of Tammy Faye 
164. Matthias Schweighöfer in Army of the Dead
165. Jamie Foxx in No Way Home
     
166. Zeljko Ivanek in The Last Duel
     
167. James Earl Jones in Coming 2 America
168. Joel Fry in Cruella 
169. Ethan Hawke in The Guilty 
170. Bradley Whitford in Tick Tick...Boom
     
171. Ralph Fiennes in No Time to Die
     
172. Flula Borg in The Suicide Squad
     
173. Algee Smith in Judas and the Black Messiah 
174. Mark Strong in Cruella 
175. Brendan Fraser in No Sudden Move
     
176. Joshua Henry in Tick Tick...Boom 
177. Joe Alwyn in The Souvenir Part II
     
178. Michael Rooker in The Suicide Squad
179. Matt Smith in Last Night in Soho
     
180. Garret Dillahunt in Army of the Dead  
     
181. Jon Bernthal in The Many Saints of Newark
182. Ben Whishaw in No Time to Die
183. Matt Damon in No Sudden Move 
184. Joe Keery in Free Guy 
185. Matthew Goode in The Duke
     
186. Lambert Wilson in Benedetta
     
187. Vondie Curtis-Hall in Blue Bayou 
188. Eric Andre in The Mitchells vs. The Machines
     
189. Bill Murray in Ghostbusters: Afterlife
190. Ernie Hudson in Ghostbusters: Afterlife 
191. Rob Morgan in Don't Look Up
192. Harris Dickinson in The Souvenir Part II
     
193. Chang Chen in Dune
194. Tony Hale in Being the Ricardos 
     
195. J.K. Simmons in Spider-man No Way Home
196. John Krasinski in A Quiet Place Part II
     
197. Willem Dafoe in The Card Counter
     
198. Jacob Batalon in Spider-man No Way Home  
199. Yahya Abdul-Manteen II in The Matrix Resurrections
200. Idris Elba in The Harder They Fall
201. Djimon Hounsou in A Quiet Place Part II 
202. Josh Hartnett in Wrath of Man
     
203. Bashir Salahuddin in Cyrano
204. Jamie Dornan in Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar
205. Anders Danielsen Lie in Bergman Island
     
206. Max von Sydow in Echoes of the Past
207. Israel Elejalde in Parallel Mother
     
208. Jeffrey Donovan in Wrath of Man
     
209. Dave Bautista in Dune 
     
210. Fionn Whitehead in The Duke
211. Eddie Marsan in Wrath of Man
212. Mike Rianda in The Mitchells vs. The Machines
     
213. Forrest Whitaker in Respect - 3  
214. Ben Mendelsohn in Cyrano
     
215. Channing Tatum in Free Guy
     
216. Ray Liotta in No Sudden Move
     
217. Scott Haze in Old Henry
218. Casey Affleck in The World to Come
     
219. Scott Eastwood in Wrath of Man
     
220. Kit Harington in Eternals 
221. Tyler Perry in Don't Look Up
222. Peter Sarsgaard in The Lost Daughter
223. Wyatt Russell in The Woman in the Window
     
224. Kyle Chandler in Godzilla vs. Kong 
225. Cliff Curtis in Reminiscence 
226. Stephen Graham in Venom Let There Be Carnage
     
227. Wesley Snipes in Coming 2 America
     
228. Rob Morgan in The United States vs. Billie Holiday 
229. Benedict Cumberbatch in The Mauritanian 
230. Brian Tyree Henry in Godzilla vs. Kong
231. Aleksei Serebryakov in Nobody
232. Paul Rudd in Ghostbusters: Afterlife 
233. Haris Patel in Eternals
     
234. Nicholas Hoult in Those Who Wish Me Dead
235. Lil Rel Howery in Free Guy
236. Martin Sheen in Judas and the Black Messiah 
237. Florian Munteanu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings 
238. Billy Magnussen in No Time To Die
     
239. Arsenio Hall in Coming 2 America 
240. Demian Bichir in Godzilla vs. Kong 
241. Ludi Lin in Mortal Kombat
242. Logan Kim in Ghostbusters: Afterlife
243. Thomas Haden Church in Spider-man: No Way Home
     
244. Michael Gandolfini in Cherry  
245. Daniel Durant in CODA 
246. Billy Magnussen in The Many Saints of Newark
     
247. Omari Hardwick in Army of the Dead
248. Ferdia Walsh-Peelo in CODA
249. Will Patton in Halloween Kills
     
250. Dwight Yoakam in Cry Macho
251. Timothee Chalamet in Don't Look Up
     
252. Michael Ajao in Last Night in Soho
253. Steve O'Connell in The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
254. Finn Wolfhard in Ghostbusters: Afterlife
255. Anthony Michael Hall in Halloween Kills
     
256. Julian Dennison in Godzilla vs. Kong 
257. Gary Oldman in The Woman in the Window
     
258. Jonah Hill in Don't Look Up - 2.5
259. Danny Pino in Dear Evan Hansen
     
260. Eduardo Minett in Cry Macho
     
261. RZA in Nobody
262. Neil Patrick Harris in The Matrix Resurrections
     
263. Josh Lawson in Mortal Kombat
     
264. Ben Chaplin in The Dig 
     
265. Tracy Morgan in Coming 2 America
     
266. Johnny Flynn in The Dig
     
267. Zachary Levi in The Mauritanian
268. Himesh Patel in Don't Look Up
     
269. Christoph Waltz in No Time to Die 
270. Christopher Abbott in The World to Come
     
271. Cedric Joe in Space Jam: A New Legacy
     
272. Raul Castillo in Army of the Dead 
273. Jonathan Groff in The Matrix Resurrections
     
274. Peter Sarsgaard in The Guilty
     
275. Alexander Skarsgard in Godzilla vs. Kong 
276. Max Huang in Mortal Kombat
277. Kumail Nanjiani in Eternals
     
278. Finn Little in Those Who Wish Me Dead
279. George Young in Malignant
     
280. Tadanobu Asano in Mortal Kombat
281. John Michael Higgins in Licorice Pizza
     
282. Jake Lacy in Being the Ricardos
     
283. Colton Ryan in Dear Evan Hansen
     
284. Leslie Odom Jr. in Music  
285. Emory Cohen in Blue Bayou
286. Charlie Heaton in The Souvenir Part II
     
287. Don Cheadle in Space Jam: A New Legacy 
288. Mark O'Brien in Blue Bayou
     
289. Theo Rossi in Army of the Dead - 2
290. Jared Leto in The Little Things
291. Michael McDonald in Halloween Kills
     
292. Scott MacArthur in Halloween Kills
     
293. Chin Han in Mortal Kombat
     
294. Jack Reynor in Cherry 
295. Douglas Booth in My Salinger Year
     
296. Ray Winstone in Black Widow 
297. Tye Sheridan in The Card Counter
     
298. Jack Whitehall in The Jungle Cruise
299. Eugenio Derbez in CODA
     
300. John McCrea in Cruella
301. Ben Marten in The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
302. Fred Hechinger in The Woman in the Window
     
303. Mark Rylance in Don't Look Up - 1.5
     
304. Daniel Wu in Reminiscence  
305. Taika Waititi in Free Guy
     
306. Max Martini in The Tender Bar
     
307. Garrett Hedlund in The United States vs. Billie Holiday 
308. John Magaro in The Many Saints of Newark
     
309. Ben Schwartz in Music - 1 
310. Rami Malek in No Time to Die - Wiseau
311. David Dencik in No Time to Die - 0
     

Next: 2021 Alternate Lead

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2021: Masaki Okada in Drive My Car

Masaki Okada did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Kōji Takatsuki in Drive My Car. 

Drive My Car follows theater actor/director Yūsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) as he deals with the untimely death of his wife while putting on a multilingual production of Uncle Vanya. This situation is complicated by the fact that just before his wife's death he had walked in on her having sex with another man. The other man being Masaki Okada's Kōji Takatsuki, a man who appears initially in the film in an innocuous enough way, as an up and coming television actor. Okada's performance emphasizing in this first scene a naivety, and really an over eagerness to please and be pleasing towards Kafuku and his wife. Okada is just purely respectful to the point, if one were Kafuku they probably wouldn't think much about him. Okada is seen having sex with Kafuku's wife before we don't see him again, until he appears to audition for Kafuku's production of Vanya. The first bit of greatness in Okada's performance is quickly seen just through his entirely different presence of the man we see after a passage of time and in a new setting. Okada exudes just now this pompous confidence of a young man who was at the top of his field, and just throws around the sense of celebrity through his every pour. Even the way he walks into the audition room now the man spreads his body around in his gait, as someone who wants everyone to see him, not that more internalized respectful young man of before. 

Okada's Takatsuki arrives auditioning for the role of Dr. Astrov, who within the scheme of that play is basically the most cunning and confident man, who many of the women within the play desire. Okada's audition is a great bit of acting from Okada by portraying Takatsuki's way of performing the role of Dr. Astrov. Okada portrays Dr. Astrov npot as someone who intrigues others into his presence, rather he is an intensely aggressively sort, if not, really breaking the appropriate bounds of even the audition space as he invades his scene partner's physical space multiple times. Okada presenting Dr. Astrov as this forceful man, not far from forcing himself upon her. Although it is within the play itself that Astrov takes his liberties, Okada portrayal shows Takatsuki going much further than that in the level of intensity he brings to it, and really this sort of callousness. Okada presents nothing in his Astrov as really listening to the woman, rather showing in his version a man looking for his own pleasure first and foremost. Kafuku ends up casting him in the play, and though ambiguous, as almost this kind of revenge by instead of casting him as the most desired man in the play, Astrov, he casts him a the least desired man, the titular Uncle Vanya. Although perhaps it is just some wise casting on Kafuku's part, as the one thing Vanya is, is a bit of a sexual aggressor even when feelings are mutual, as was the way Okada as Takatsuki played Astrov. 

Takatsuki reveals he was intentional in seeking out Kafuku, and also it is revealed his state of exile from some unspecified charge likely related to his aggressive sexual manner. Okada's performance is fascinating in this scene because he plays with the idea of the ambiguity of the character, while also being very direct. Okada speaks without shame towards the character's sexual aggression, showing a man really without personal hesitation towards exploiting his position or celebrity. When Takatsuki praises Kafuku's wife, the woman he had an affair with, there is this pestering quality about Okada's performance, a kind of undercurrent of this strange sort of sadism in his praising even as so many words are about his respect towards the older actor. This scene ends up being interrupted by someone taking Takatsuki's picture who he quickly confronts over the action. Okada in the moment perhaps revealing the bluntest form of the man behind the seeming confidence with this more directly sinister intensity as he demands answers from the person and an ease towards violence seems evident in the man. What Takatsuki remains is this enigma however, and perhaps Kafuku's choice to keep around is to try to solve his mystery, and what Okada excels with is basically creating clues within a man who perhaps most frequently is a liar though the most pain he can inflict is by telling the truth. 

A long sequence then becomes the revelation of Takatsuki as Kafuku and he spend a long night together talking to one another. Where in some ways we see a meeker Takatsuki as his aggressive approach of confidence seems ill fitting for Vanya, and Takatsuki seems ill fitting within the production. Okada portrays, when speaking about the production, this almost kind of castration within his work as Takatsuki struggles to brandish himself, which is his usual technique, as Kafuku does appear to school him on the power of this particular drama. The final ride home though is when the two men seemingly finally speak openly to one another about their mutual lover in Kafuku's wife, even with the minor guise of keeping it seemingly just about her and her writing. In this scene we see Kafuku seemingly revealing his "ace" of his deeper connection with his wife by speaking of the way she would develop her stories while having sex with him. Okada's great in the initial reaction of his acting as he takes in the words as someone genuinely until Kafuku speaks towards nearly a direct accusation. The shift in Okada's face from a caring student to blithe adulterer is almost demonic. His eyes no longer looking to learn, but rather looking back with intensity as directly as though he is ready to speak his own "ace" that is a painful truth. Okada is amazing in his monologue of telling the tale Kafuku thought was his last true intimacy from his wife, yet not only does Takatsuki know it, he actually knows more of it. Okada's performance takes on the worst of the aggressor as he now recounts the story fully with this pride in himself that carries with it this despicable undercurrent of personal glee. What is perhaps most penetrating about it is the way Okada speaks the words almost with this selfish possession of something he has over Kafuku, rather than something he's truly sharing with him. That is before one more final shift, a hopeful shift as he finishes the tale, and Okada's performance naturally shifts one more time as faint glint of tears form in his eyes. Finally it seems less a possession but some sympathy if not empathy in trying to appreciate the woman they both loved. To the point Okada is very powerful in revealing a true vulnerability in a man, who has just technically screwed his own life over by attacking another person who took pictures of him, and that even within his confidence there too is a man wounded by loss just as Kafuku is. This is an exceptional performance by Masaki Okada, as he importantly crafts the enigma, by being the different forms the man takes in Kafuku's mind, while also still exploring the role as his own tangible being who both seems to pester the man and provide some kind of final introspection for him.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2021

And the Nominees Were Not:

Bradley Cooper in Licorice Pizza

 

Jeffrey Wright in The French Dispatch

Al Pacino in House of Gucci

 

Ben Affleck in The Last Duel 

David Strathairn in Nightmare Alley

 

Predict these five, those five or both:

Anders Danielsen Lie in The Worst Person in the World

 

Masaki Okada in Drive My Car

 

Tony Leung Chiu Wai in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

 

Mike Faist in West Side Story

 

Andre Holland in Passing