Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1987: Results

6. Robert De Niro in Angel Heart- De Niro being the weakest of this bunch doesn't really say much of anything as he gives a very eerie turn as the ultimate evil.

Best Scene: Cyphre prepares an egg for consumption.

5. Vincent D'Onofrio in Full Metal Jacket- D'Onofrio gives a great performance first being rather moving as man not capable enough in the rough boot camp, then downright terrifying once he gets into the swing of things.

Best Scene: Late at night in the latrine.

4. Dennis Hopper in River's Edge- Hopper gives a cohesive portrait of a complex man and despite playing a drug dealer murderer somehow becomes the moral center of the film.

Best Scene: Feck's confession. 

3. R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket- Ermey gives a relentlessly brutal as well as slyly satirical performance as the drill sergeant that would make an average drill sergeant squirm.

Best Scene: Hartman's introduction.

2. Richard Dawson in The Running Man- Richard Dawson turns his work on Family Feud askew brilliantly in making a menacing and entertaining 80's action movie villain who steals his film without question.

Best Scene: "Only in a Rerun"

1. Mandy Patinkin in The Princess Bride- This year is one of the all time greats for supporting performances that goes even beyond the six I reviewed here and the fairly solid line up offered by the academy. My favorite performance from the year though has to go to Mandy Patinkin's extremely endearing, very funny, and even quite moving portrayal of Ingio Montoya.

Best Scene: "Hello my name is Inigo Montoya you killed my father prepare to die."

Overall Rank:

1. Mandy Patinkin in The Princess Bride
2. Richard Dawson in The Running Man
3. Morgan Freeman in Street Smart
4. R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket
5. Alec Guinness in Little Dorrit
6. Dennis Hopper in River's Edge
7. Will Patton in No Way Out 
8. Vincent D'Onofrio in Full Metal Jacket
9. Robert Downey Jr. in Less Than Zero
10. Robert De Niro in Angel Heart
11. Peter Falk in Wings of Desire
12. Peter O'Toole in The Last Emperor
13. Daniel Roebuck in River's Edge
14. George Wyner in Spaceballs
15. Kurtwood Smith in Robocop
16. David Strathairn in Matewan
17. Christopher Guest in The Princess Bride 
18. Andre The Giant in The Princess Bride 
19. Ying Ruocheng in The Last Emperor
20. Chris Sarandon in The Princess Bride
21. James Earl Jones in Matewan
22. Wallace Shawn in The Princess Bride 
23. Bill Paxton in Near Dark
24. Richard Griffiths in Withnail and I
25. Ian Bannen in Hope and Glory
26. Vincent Gardenia in Moonstruck
27. Bob Gunton in Matewan
28. Billy Crystal in The Princess Bride 
29. James Spader in Less Than Zero
30. Denzel Washington in Cry Freedom 
31. Lance Henriksen in Near Dark
32. Gene Hackman in No Way Out 
33. Ralph Brown in Withnail and I
34. John Goodman in Raising Arizona  
35. Mel Smith in The Princess Bride
36. Erik King in Street Smart
37. Danny Aiello in Moonstruck 
38. Roy Cheung in Prison on Fire 
39. Miguel Ferrer in Robocop 
40. John Malkovich in Empire of the Sun
41. Robert Prosky in Broadcast News
42. Mel Brooks in Spaceballs
43. Tom Waits in Ironweed
44. John Candy in Spaceballs 
45. Peter Falk in The Princess Bride 
46. Otto Sander in Wings of Desire
47. Kiefer Sutherland in The Lost Boys
48. William Forsythe in Raising Arizona
49. Gary Busey in Lethal Weapon 
50. Ned Beatty in The Big Easy
51. Forest Whitaker in Good Morning, Vietnam
52. Dick Van Patten in Spaceballs 
53. Ronny Cox in RoboCop
54. Jack Nicholson in Broadcast News
55. Hal Holbrook in Wall Street
56. Bill Duke in Predator 
57. Bruno Kirby in Good Morning, Vietnam
58. John Mahoney in Moonstruck 
59. Barnard Hughes in The Lost Boys 
60. Danny Aiello in Radio Days 
61. Vincent Price in Whales of August
62. Frank Langella in Masters of the Universe
63. Richard Jenkins in The Witches of Eastwick 
64. Donald Pleasence in Prince of Darkness
65. John Mahoney in Tin Men
66. William Ho in Prison on Fire 
67. Leslie Nielsen in Nuts
68. Fred Savage in The Princess Bride
69. Robert Englund in Nightmare on Elm Street 3 
70. Esai Morales in La Bamba
71. Victor Wong in Prince of Darkness
72. Ian Charleson in Opera
73. Joshua John Miller in Near Dark 
74. Robert Picardo in Innerspace 
75. Dennis Dun in Prince of Darkness
76. Gene Hackman in Superman IV  
77. Corey Feldman in The Lost Boys
78. Sean Connery in The Untouchables
79. J.C. Quinn in Barfly  
80. Yaphet Kotto in The Running Man 
81. Fred Gwynne in Ironweed
82. Ben Mendelsohn in The Year My Voice Broke
83. John Goodman in The Big Easy
84. Andy Garcia in The Untouchables
85. Nigel Havers in Empire of the Sun
86. J.T. Walsh in Good Morning Vietnam
87. Dean Stockwell in Beverly Hills Cop 2 
88. Kevin McCarthy in Innerspace
89. Laurence Tierney in Tough Guys Don't Dance
90. Joshua John Miller in River's Edge 
91. Ricky Jay in House of Games
92. Robert De Niro in The Untouchables
93. John Rhys-Davies in The Living Daylights  
94. Liam Neeson in A Prayer for the Dying 
95. Karl Malden in Nuts
96. Victor Wong in The Last Emperor
97. Judge Reinhold in Beverly Hills Cop 2
98. Mick Fleetwood in The Running Man
99. Terence Stamp in Wall Street
100. Carl Weathers Predator  
101. James Naughton in The Glass Menagerie
102. John Ashton in Beverly Hills Cop 2
103. Noble Willingham in Good Morning, Vietnam
104. Trey Wilson in Raising Arizona
105. Brownie McGhee in Angel Heart
106. Michael O'Keefe in Ironweed 
107. Arliss Howard in Full Metal Jacket
108. Martin Sheen in Wall Street
109. Dann Florek in Angel Heart
110. Billy Drago in The Untouchables
111. Joe Don Baker in The Living Daylights  
112. Jason Robards in Square Dance
113. John C. McGinley in Wall Street
114. Kurt Fuller in The Running Man
115. Randall Cobb in Raising Arizona
116. Charles Martin Smith in The Untouchables
117. Will Oldham in Matewan
118. Christopher Connelly in Strike Commando
119. Andreas Wisniewski in The Living Daylights
120. Wallace Shawn in Prick Up Your Ears   
121. Michael J. Pollard in Roxanne
122. James Tolkan in Masters of the Universe
123. Jeroen Krabbe in The Living Daylights
124. Jesse Ventura in The Running Man
125. Frank Stallone in Barfly
126. Jay Patterson in Street Smart
127. Marvin J. McIntyre in The Running Man
128. Sam McMurray in Raising Arizona
129. Jim Metzler in River's Edge 
130. Alan Bates in A Prayer for the Dying
131. Andre Gregory in Street Smart
132. David Hayman in Hope and Glory
133. Jesse Ventura in Predator
134. Alex Vitale in Strike Commando 
135. Rick Rossovich in Roxanne
136. Jon Cryer in Superman IV
137. Billy Barty in Masters of the Universe
138. Wings Hauser in Tough Guys Don't Dance
139. Rob Lowe in Square Dance

Next Year: 1978 Lead

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1987: R. Lee Ermey and Vincent D'Onofrio in Full Metal Jacket

R. Lee Ermey did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for a Golden Globe, for portraying Gunnery Sergeant Hartman.

Full Metal Jacket is an effective film, although I've always felt it peaks with the boot camp, about a group marines as they go from boot camp to Vietnam.

Although Matthew Modine as Private Joker is technically the lead of the film as a whole R. Lee Ermey is the star of its first third as the men go through boot camp. Ermey owns the picture and for most of the first third it is a constant stream of his voice in the role of the drill Sergeant who intends to shape every man his way. R. Lee Ermey actually helped Lou Gossett Jr. prepare for his Oscar winning role in An Officer and A Gentleman as a drill Sergeant. Ermey though doesn't repeat Gossett's performance, Goessett's character had a heart, Ermey plays Sergeant Hartman as the penultimate soulless drill Sergeant who will make killing machines at any cost.

Ermey's performance is a non stop charge of intensity as he rips out every insult known to man to demean and break down each man to meet his firm requirements. Ermey doesn't hold back and his performance has a visceral sting like few performances ever have. Ermey string the film along through his, mostly ad-libbed, insults he lobs toward each recruit. Ermey does not even seem to blink in his unending intensity that is perpetual in every scene that he is in. Each of Ermey's results cut right down to each matter and the way each man falls directly in line is not even a slight question because Ermey absolutely controls all in every single scene he is in, besides his final scene of course.

This performance would see one that is one note in that Hartman really does not change nor should he, but Ermey brings so much in the yelling of the drill Sergeant. He always brings that violent threat and a forced dehumanization in his almost sometimes demonic eyes. In that though Ermey even manages a very odd yet extremely effective pitch black comedy in his performance too. Ermey never does wink even slightly in his performance and his extreme nature of his character is always kept intact. Within the unquestionable drive of his performance Ermey technically does have a satirical take by being the drill Sergeant that would cause most drill Sergeants to cower in fear.

One of Ermey's best moments is when he gives a lecture to his men about the Kennedy assassination as well as well as a sniper massacre. He talks about both and Ermey has Hartman speak of them with the utmost pride as he basically praises both events simply because the men who did the killing were both trained by the marines. Ermey's delivery of it is flawless because he allows the absurdity to be there without paying any direct attention to it himself. He keeps an absolute conviction in his performance and even though the statement is completely insane Ermey is great because obviously it is perfectly sensible to his deranged idea of pride. 

The man given the worst treatment of all is Private Leonard "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence played by Vincent D'Onofrio. Leonard starts out the film as clearly the weakest of the recruits who is just one big softie who does not seem ideal to become the killing machine that Hartman wants. D'Onofrio is quite good in being the softie at first and gains quite a bit of sympathy just being the guy who just should not be where he is. D'Onofrio is very earnest just in his portrayal of the ineptitude. D'Onofrio's keeps it fairly simple but he is rather moving because he always makes it obvious that Leonard is trying and that he does feel terrible about every one of his failures.

Leonard's ill treatment never stops as Hartman's ridicule always continues and eventually he is hazed by the other men when Hartman decides that the other men will have to suffer for every mistake Leonard makes. This results in a change in him that is rather extreme and sudden. This is not D'Onofrio's fault as he does have slight indications that this could happen beforehand, but once he changes there is no going back. D'Onofrio becomes almost entirely silent for most of his remaining scenes as Pyle is left by everyone and internalizes everything into himself. D'Onofrio is excellent showing the closed off Pyle and the insanity clearly building within him as he goes by himself to complete the task of becoming a killing machine.

This leads to the final scene where Ermey's and D'Onofrio's performances converge. D'Onofrio is amazing in the scene showing a full changed Pyle as he finally bursts out into his emotions in a truly frightening scene. D'Onofrio is chilling as he shows the formerly soft Pyle a man driven by insanity as Pyle loads and prepares his gun with actual ammunition. D'Onofrio explosion is only made more startling by the way he build in the proceeding scenes in which Pyle was clearly repressing something as he went about his duties to finally pass the trials of the marines by being the monster Hartman always wanted him to be.

Ermey comes in this scene and is also great as he dials back on the intensity of Hartman for just a moment when he notices what Pyle is planning. It is a very subtle moment as Hartman perhaps sees what he has created before he tries one more time to return to his intimidation that results very poorly for both Hartman and Pyle. It is a fantastic scene as Ermey and D'Onofrio basically play Frankenstein and his monster with Hartman having to face what he created. Both actors are brilliant in their uncompromising performances that go all the way with their characters right to their very bitter end. They both give performances that are madness incarnate, one controlled one not, and both succeed in creating the unforgettable opening act of this film.

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1987

And the Nominees Were Not:

R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket

Vincent D'Onofrio in Full Metal Jacket

Dennis Hopper in River's Edge

Mandy Patinkin in The Princess Bride

Richard Dawson in The Running Man

Robert De Niro in Angel Heart

For prediction purposes I'll give the honor to Ermey out of the two Full Metal Jacket men.