Alternate Best Actor 2003: Results

5. Alex Frost in Elephant - Frost does a lot of important walking while looking bored, then becomes an overt psychopath in the last few seconds of the film.

Best Scene: The special act of walking. 

4. Rémy Girard in The Barbarian Invasions - Girard's performance is often fairly one note as this stubborn and dying intellectual. He plays the role most often in an excessively broad way, as a caricature of a fussy intellectual. When he tones it down a bit he's fairly effective but such moments are rare.

Best Scene: Leaving his classroom.

3. Ivan Dobronravov in The Return - Dobronravov gives an appropriately raw portrayal of the mess of emotions of a boy when his absentee father suddenly appears.

Best Scene: Ivan "conquers" the tower.

2. Daniel Brühl in Goodbye, Lenin! - Brühl gives a charming and delightful portrayal that manages to make his character's most unusual actions not only believable but also deeply affecting. 

Best Scene: Meeting his father.

1. Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa - Good predictions Michael McCarthy, Tahmeed, Luke, RatedRStar, Jackiboyz, and Omar. Thornton gives a great performance as he manages to be absolutely hilarious by in no way softening the edges of his very crude criminal yet his approach also manages to earn the character's transition to a better man by the end of the film.

 Best Scene: "For God's sake it's Christmas"

Updated Overall

Next Year: 2003 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 2003

And the Nominees Were Not:

Alex Frost in Elephant

Rémy Girard in The Barbarian Invasions

Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa

Daniel Brühl in Good Bye Lenin!

Ivan Dobronravov in The Return

And a review of:

Russell Crowe in Master and Commander