Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1992: Results

5. Samuel West in Howard's End- West handles his part well, but he fails to leave that much of a lasting impression.

Best Scene: Bast first meets the Schlegel sisters. 

4. Steve Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs- Buscemi gives a good performance by giving a realistic depiction of a man who strives to be professional above all else.

Best Scene:  The Mexican standoff.

3. Richard Harris in Unforgiven- Harris gives a strong performance by nicely building up his character's prim pompousness just to have it cut down.

Best Scene: English Bob and Little Bill meet once again. 

2. Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross- Just one great monologue and he delivers it flawlessly.

1. Paul McGann in Alien 3- Good Predictions Michael McCarthy and Psifonian Although it was never in question who would take this year overall, it should be noted that McGann gives a great portrayal of uncontrollable madness.

Best Scene: Golic apologizes for a killing.

Overall Rank:

1. Gene Hackman in Unforgiven
2. Paul McGann in Alien 3
3. Ray Wise in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
4. Al Pacino in Glengarry Glen Ross
5. Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross
6. Richard Harris in Unforgiven
7. Charles Dance in Alien 3 
8. Morgan Freeman in Unforgiven 
9. Fred Gwynne in My Cousin Vinny
10. Ed Harris in Glengarry Glen Ross 
11. Jeff Goldblum in Deep Cover
12. Charles S. Dutton in Alien 3
13. Wesley Snipes in The Waterdance
14. Robin Williams in Aladdin 
15. Kevin Spacey in Glengarry Glen Ross 
16. William Forsythe in The Waterdance 
17. Gary Sinise in A Midnight Clear
18. David Bowie in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
19. Steve Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs
20. Harry Dean Stanton in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me 
21. Tom Skerritt in A River Runs Through It
22. Sydney Pollack in Husbands and Wives
23. Graham Greene in Thunderheart
24. Stephen Fry in Peter's Friends
25. Frank Silva in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
26. Jaye Davidson in The Crying Game
27. Kevin Kline in Chaplin
28. Saul Rubinek in Unforgiven
29. J.T. Walsh in A Few Good Men 
30. Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own
31. Michael Beach in One False Move
32. Alan Arkin in Glengarry Glen Ross 
33. Ray Wise in Bob Roberts 
34. Kenneth Branagh in Peter's Friends
35. Michael Madsen in Reservoir Dogs 
36. Kyle MacLachlan in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
37. Jonathan Pryce in Glengarry Glen Ross
38. Samuel West in Howard's End
39. Lawrence Tierney in Reservoir Dogs 
40. Frank Whaley in A Midnight Clear
41. Tony Todd in Candyman
42. Anthony Wong in Hard Boiled
43. Pete Postlethwaite in Alien 3 
44. Liam Neeson in Husbands and Wives
45. Hugh Laurie in Peter's Friends
46. Richard E. Grant in The Player
47. Giancarlo Esposito in Bob Roberts
48. Sam Shepard in Thunderheart
49. Kiefer Sutherland in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me 
50. Matt Damon in School Ties
51. West Studi  in The Last of the Mohicans
52. Sully Boyar in In the Soup
53. Dana Ashbrook in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
54. Anthony Hopkins in Dracula
55. Dana Carvey in Wayne's World 
56. Lenny von Dohlen in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me 
57. Alan Rickman in Bob Roberts
58. Chris Penn in Reservoir Dogs
59. Ray Walston in Of Mice and Men
60. Tom Waits in Dracula 
61. Chris Isaak in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
62. Tim Curry in Home Alone 2
63. Sidney Poitier in Sneakers
64. Russell Means in The Last of the Mohicans 
65. Oliver Platt in Beethoven
66. Stanley Tucci in Beethoven 
67. Al Freeman Jr. in Malcolm X
68. Fred Ward in The Player 
69. Peter Berg in A Midnight Clear
70. James Earl Jones in Sneakers
71. James Woods in Chaplin
72. Jim Broadbent in The Crying Game  
73. Will Patton in In the Soup
74. Peter Ustinov in Lorenzo's Oil
75. Rob Campbell in Unforgiven 
76. Kevin Bacon in A Few Good Men  
77. Woody Allen in Husbands and Wives
78. Kevin Dillon in A Midnight Clear
79. Stephen Tobolowsky in Sneakers
80. Delroy Lindo in Malcolm X
81. Billy Bob Thornton in One False Move
82. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Scent of a Woman 
83. Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men
84. Anthony James in Unforgiven
85. Rob Lowe in Wayne's World 
86. David Lynch in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me 
87. Stanley Tucci in In the Soup
88. J.T. Walsh in Hoffa
89. Donald Sutherland in Buffy The Vampire Slayer
90. Danny Webb in Alien 3
91. Joe Pesci in Home Alone 2 
92. Rutger Hauer in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
93. David Strathairn in Sneakers
94. Gilbert Gottfried in Aladdin  
95. River Phoenix in Sneakers 
96. Paul Reubens in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
97. David Paymer in Mr. Saturday Night 
98. Frank Whaley in Hoffa
99. Ralph Brown in Alien 3 
100. Jared Harris in The Public Eye
101. Ian Watkin in Dead Alive
102. Philip Chan in HardBoiled
103. Eddie Bracken in Home Alone 2 
104. Edward Bunker in Reservoir Dogs
105. Eric Schweig in The Last of the Mohicans
106. Ben Kingsley in Sneakers
107. Vincent D'Onofrio in The Player
108. Jonathan Freeman in Aladdin
109. Philip Kwok in Hard Boiled
110. Forest Whitaker in The Crying Game 
111. David Strathairn in A League of Their Own
112. Lance Henriksen in Alien 3
113. Robert Prosky in Far and Away
114. Mako in Sidekicks
115. Wayne Knight in Basic Instinct 
116. Zeljko Ivanek in School Ties
     
117. James Rebhorn in Scent of a Woman 
118. Miguel Ferrer in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
119. Richard E. Grant in Dracula
120. Peter Gallagher in The Player 
121. Dan Aykroyd in Sneakers
122. Harvey Keitel in Sister Act 
123. William Forsythe in American Me
124. Brian Doyle-Murray in Wayne's World
125. Daniel Stern in Home Alone 2
126. Anthony Hopkins in Chaplin 
127. Rupert Graves in Damage
128. Stephen Weber in Single White Female
129. Cary Elwes in Dracula
130. Christopher Walken in Batman Returns
131. George Dzundza in Basic Instinct 
132. Chris O'Donnell in School Ties
     
133. Michael Beach in One False Move
134. Wolfgang Bodison in A Few Good Men 
135. Jaimz Woolvett in Unforgiven 
136. James Wilsby in Howard's End
137. Kevin Pollack in A Few Good Men
138. Ralph Maccio in My Cousin Vinny
139. Ralph Brown in The Crying Game 
140. Fernando Rey in 1492 Conquest of Paradise
141. Maurice Roeves in The Last of the Mohicans
142. Billy Campbell in Dracula
143. Dean Jones in Beethoven
144. Dan Aykroyd in Chaplin
145. John Heard in Home Alone 2
146. Jonathan Brandis in Ladybugs 
147. Ron Silver in Mr. Saturday Night
148. Armand Assante in 1492 Conquest of Paradise 
149. Bradley Whitford in Scent of a Woman 
150. Steven Bauer in Raising Cain
151. Casey Siemaszko in Of Mice and Men
152. Kiefer Sutherland in A Few Good Men
153. Victor Garber in Light Sleeper
154. Stephen Tobolowsky in Single White Female
155. Chuck Norris in Sidekicks
156. Beau Bridges in Sidekicks 
157. Gregory Sierra in Deep Cover
158. Thomas Gibson in Far and Away
159. Quentin Tarantino in Reservoir Dogs 
160. Spike Lee in Malcolm X
161. Pauly Shore in Encino Man
162. Charles Martin Smith in Deep Cover 
163. Danny DeVito in Batman Returns
164. Michael DeLuise in Encino Man
165. Joe Piscopo in Sidekicks
166. Keanu Reeves in Dracula

Next Year: 1945 Lead

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1992: Paul McGann in Alien 3

Paul McGann did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Golic in Alien 3.

Alien 3 tends to be a heavily bashed film, but I rather dug it even if some of the visual effects are quite poor. I suppose maybe if you've seen Aliens first though you probably will take exception to the instant demise of the characters from Aliens, but Sigourney Weaver's great performance alone should stop this film from being instantly dismissed. Then again I've only watched the apparently superior assembly cut.

The film though should not be dismissed anyway though as I was surprised by the strong performances from most of the supporting actors particularly Charles Dance's kind yet troubled doctor, Charles S. Dutton's strong willed spiritual leader of the prisoners, and of course Paul McGann as Golic one of the most troublesome inmates on the planet. At the beginning of the film Golic is a formerly deranged killer, although he has since mellowed out through the religion of the men, but even with that he still seems a bit off to say the least and the other inn mates still do not exactly jump to have to be around him. The role of Golic is technically one of pure insanity even when he is saner at the beginning of the film as he is completely mentally unhinged man, since even among killers and rapists he seems crazy.

This type of role is a ripe one for all sorts of overacting and in most cases it probably would not help that it is also a sci-fi horror film where sometimes actors take an excuse to act extremely poorly. McGann's performance though is a revelation as I think he gives better portrayal of insanity and mental disability than many actors who play those sort of roles in more "serious minded" films. McGann is only ever Golic with this performance as he resists any moment to overact, and even though his portrayal is technically speaking acting at its most extreme you really won't notice it because of  how good McGann is in the role. The way he moves, the way he talks, and all of his little physical tics all are made by McGann as part of Golic and it is quite a fascinating performance to watch.

The Alien makes mince meat out of a few of the prisoners with Golic being the only survivor out of the small group of men, and we get a bit of a different horror reaction out of McGann. It's still a reaction of fear, but McGann is remarkable in showing an already deranged man become more deranged. The scene technically is pretty simple as it is just a few men getting killed with Golic having to react and then run away as fast as possible can after seeing the monster. It is made incredibly memorable by McGann keeping with his character in the moment. When Golic runs in from fright it is quite different as the man also reverts at the same time. It's an outstanding moment for McGann as it is fascinating to see him pull off the mental decay of Golic so exceptionally well in his portrayal of the change of Golic.

In the early scene McGann made Golic as quite insane but properly reflected the effect of the prison in him which made him a repressed insanity although still insane. Once Golic sees the alien though McGann holds nothing back in turning Golic into a man completely controlled by his derangement and it is something to behold. McGann turns Golic into a mostly gibbering mess though its amazing because he actually goes to edge without faulting once giving a startling depiction that honestly makes the idea of the alien more frightening through his performance than the alien really is in this film. Golic only continues in the wrong direction when he once again witnesses the monster, who does not kill him and something sets off in him as he seems to worship the alien which McGann is completely convincing in Golic's captivation.

Ripley and the other convicts manage to trap the Alien but Golic sets to free what he sees as his savior of sorts. Again Golic's whole scene could have been nothing but it is astonishing because of McGann's fervent depiction of the uncontrollable craziness. McGann never becomes one note even the character is technically one element but McGann never gives into one set attitude but rather is compelling through the randomness of Golic's mind. One of the most disturbing moments is just before Golic releases the alien as he kills the man guarding the door. McGann does not do cold, but is more disconcerting by showing Golic genuinely repentant toward the act. It might seem bizarre but McGann only leaves it as part of who Golic is.

The role of Golic is actually pretty much a throwaway part, and I find it very easy to see how a lesser performance would have treated the character as just an excuse to act wacky for awhile or really been a completely forgettable character all together. This is particularly noticeable in that apparently in the theatrical release it is just assumed that he dies off screen, and even in the version I saw Golic still is fairly quickly done away with and off screen but with an actual reason. I frankly would have wished for Golic to continue into the film as McGann's performance is such an interesting portrait of insanity to watch. He gives it his all and he only succeeds in giving vivid life to his character's madness.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1992

And the Nominees Were Not:

Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross

Paul McGann in Alien 3

Richard Harris in Unforgiven

Steve Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs

Samuel West in Howard's End