Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2015: Results

10. Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation - Elba gives a charismatic performance as a godlike military commander, even if his character gets progressively less interesting as the film proceeds.

Best Scene: The Commandant prepares the men to attack. 

9. Stanley Tucci in Spotlight - Tucci, much like the majority of the cast of spotlight, gives a realistic portrayal of a man in the film's story, and only stands when it aids this story.

Best Scene: "You don't know the half of it"

8. Adam Driver in Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Driver creates a most unusual yet still very effective and complex villain

Best Scene: Kylo and Han.

7. Emory Cohen in Brooklyn - Cohen gives an extremely charming performance that is essential the film's success, as he flawlessly avoids the various potential pitfalls of his technically simplistic character.

Best Scene: Tony and Ellis the night after the dinner with Tony's family. 

6. Michael Sheen in Far From the Madding Crowd - Sheen gives a very moving performance in his portrayal of a man whose emotions reveal themselves, for better or worse, after being shown a hint of love.

Best Scene: Boldwood joins Bathsheba in song. 

5. Benicio Del Toro in Sicario - Del Toro is appropriately chilling in his depiction of a cold killer, yet is particularly compelling in revealing the man behind the actions.

Best Scene: A family dinner.

4. Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina - Isaac is wildly entertaining yet also appropriately enigmatic as his odd tech genius who he plays as though he's a real BRO at heart.

Best Scene: "Have you tried dancing with her?"

3. Walton Goggins in The Hateful Eight - Goggins gives quite the impressive performance, as he's hilarious, incisive, and somehow makes a friendship between a racist Sheriff and a black bounty hunter believable.

Best Scene: Reading the Lincoln Letter. 

2. Richard Jenkins in Bone Tomahawk - Jenkins is completely unrecognizable in his funny yet heartbreaking portrayal of a real old timer of the old west.

Best Scene: The flea circus. 

1. Nicholas Hoult in Mad Max: Fury Road - Good prediction Psifonian. This year is simply amazing, and having to choose between them is absurdly difficult. I could go so many different ways for my winner, since I love all these performances. I could go with any performance in my top 12 and they'd be deserving. My top two came down to the two performances that I've found myself quoting the most incidentally. I could easily switch at any time. Hoult is outstanding in his compelling and entertaining portrayal of zealotry, then is quite heartbreaking in his depiction of a loss of this blindness.  

Best Scene: A promised trip to Valhalla. 

Overall Rank:

1. Tom Hardy in The Revenant
2. Nicholas Hoult in Mad Max: Fury Road
3. Sylvester Stallone in Creed
4. Richard Jenkins in Bone Tomahawk
5. Walton Goggins in The Hateful Eight
6. Mark Rylance in Bridge of Spies
7. Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight
8. Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina
9. Benicio Del Toro in Sicario
10. Michael Sheen in Far From The Madding Crowd
11. Emory Cohen in Brooklyn
12. Kurt Russell in The Hateful Eight 
13. Bruce Dern in The Hateful Eight 
14. Michael Angarano in The Stanford Prison Experiment
15. Matthew Fox in Bone Tomahawk
16. Adam Driver in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
17. Harrison Ford in Star Wars: The Force Awakens 
18. Sam Elliot in Grandma
19. Stanley Tucci in Spotlight
20. Josh Brolin in Sicario
21. Matthias Schoenaerts in Far From The Madding Crowd
22. Liev Schreiber in Spotlight
23. Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation
24. Michael Keaton in Spotlight
25. Tim Roth in The Hateful Eight
26. Joel Edgerton in The Gift
27. Jeff Daniels in Steve Jobs
28. Roland Møller in Land of Mine
    
29. Ethan Hawke in 10,000 Saints
    
30. Jan Bijvoet in Embrace of the Serpent
    
31. Michael Shannon in 99 Homes 
32. Toby Jones in Tale of Tales
    
33. Tom Noonan in Anomalisa 
34. Jason Statham in Spy
35. Will Poulter in The Revenant 
36. Brian d'Arcy James in Spotlight 
    
37. Richard Kind in Inside Out
38. Louis C.K. in Trumbo
39. Domhnall Gleeson in The Revenant
40. Michael Madsen in The Hateful Eight 
41. Rory Cochrane in Black Mass 
    
42. James Parks in The Hateful Eight 
43. Brendan Gleeson in In The Heart of the Sea
44. Billy Crudup in The Stanford Prison Experiment
45. Peter Sarsgaard in Black Mass
46. Sean Harris in Macbeth 
47. Demian Bichir in The Hateful Eight 
48. Louis Hofmann in Land of Mine
    
49. W. Earl Brown in Black Mass
50. Hugo Weaving in The Dressmaker
    
51. David Morse in Concussion
52. Liev Schreiber in Pawn Sacrifice 
53. Paul Giamatti in Straight Outta Compton
    
54. Tye Sheridan in The Stanford Prison Experiment
55. Hugh Keays-Byrne in Mad Max: Fury Road
56. John Cusack in Chi-Raq
    
57. Chiwetel Ejiofor in The Martian 
58. Dave Bautista in Spectre
59. Jeremy Renner in Avengers: Age of Ultron
60. Seth Rogen in Steve Jobs 
61. Peter Sarsgaard in Pawn Sacrifice
62. Michael Douglas in Ant-Man
63. David Harbour in Black Mass
64. Forrest Goodluck in The Revenant
65. Oscar Isaac in Star Wars: The Force Awakens  
66. Billy Crudup in Spotlight
67. Domhnall Gleeson in Brooklyn
68. Sean Bean in The Martian
69. Paul Dano in Youth
70. Luigi Sciamanna in Embrace of the Serpent
    
71. Mark Strong in Kingsman: The Secret Service 
72. Jeff Daniels in The Martian
73. Nathan Jones in Mad Max: Fury Road
74. Richard Jenkins in Spotlight
75. Tom Hardy in London Road 
76. Jack Reynor in Macbeth
77. Jim Beaver in Crimson Peak
78. Jim Broadbent in Brooklyn
79. John Goodman in Trumbo
80. Josh Helman in Mad Max: Fury Road 
81. Lewis Black in Inside Out 
82. Brendan Gleeson in Suffragette 
    
83. Peter Mullan in Sunset Song
    
84. Michael Stuhlbarg in Trumbo
85. Bill Camp in Love & Mercy
86. Jon Gries in Faults
87. Arthur Redcloud in The Revenant
88. Lourenço Mutarelli in The Second Mother
    
89. Mikhail Gorevoy in Bridge of Spies
90. Tom McCamus in Room
91. Mark Rylance in The Gunman
92. Corey Stoll in Black Mass 
93. Samuel L. Jackson in Chi-Raq
    
94. Domhnall Gleeson in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
95. Neal Huff in Spotlight  
    
96. Chris Ellis in Faults
97. Jurgen Prochnow in Remember
    
98. Kit Harington in Testament of Youth
99. Vincent Cassel in Tale of Tales
100. Paddy Considine in Macbeth
101. Ben Whishaw in Spectre
102. Bruno Ganz in Remember
     
103. Jude Law in Spy
104. Simon Pegg in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
105. Kurt Russell in Furious 7
106. Harvey Keitel in Youth 
107. Martin Landau in Remember
     
108. Cory Michael Smith in Carol
109. Sylvester Groth in The Man From Uncle
110. Chris O'Dowd in The Program
111. Albert Brooks in Concussion
112. Brionne Davis in Embrace of the Serpent
     
113. James Spader in Avengers: Age of Ultron
114. John Slattery in Spotlight
     
115. Ben Whishaw in The Lobster 
116. Franz Rogowski in Victoria
     
117. Michael Cyril Creighton in Spotlight 
118. Milo Parker in Mr. Holmes 
119. Paddy Considine in Child 44
120. David Arquette in Bone Tomahawk
121. Colin Morgan in Testament of Youth 
122. Colin Quinn in Trainwreck
123. Benedict Wong in The Martian 
124. Alan Rickman in A Little Chaos
     
125. Kurt Egyiawan in Beasts of No Nation 
126. Jeffrey Donovan in Sicario 
127. Josh Brolin Everest
128. Christian Berkel in Trumbo
129. Tom Holland in In The Heart of the Sea 
130. Forest Whitaker in Southpaw
131. Angus Sampson in Mad Max: Fury Road
132. Ralph Fiennes in Spectre
133. Kobina Amissa-Sam in Beasts of No Nation
134. Ryan Gosling in the Big Short
135. Ron Livingston in James White
     
136. Stacy Keach in Truth 
137. Christopher Plummer in Danny Collins
     
138. Bradley Cooper in Joy 
     
139. Jesse Plemons in Black Mass
140. John Hawkes in Everest
141. Bobby Cannavale in Danny Collins
     
142. Taron Egerton in Testament of Youth
143. Sebastian Koch in Bridge of Spies 
144. Paul Giamatti in Love & Mercy
145. Brad Pitt in The Big Short 
146. James Badge Dale in The Walk 
147. Ben Mendelsohn in Slow West
148. Corey Stoll in Ant-Man
149. Stephen Root in Trumbo
150. Wesley Snipes in Chi-Raq
     
151. John C. Reilly in The Lobster
152. Robert Downey Jr. in Avengers: Age of Ultron
153. Alec Baldwin in Concussion
154. Jamey Sheridan in Spotlight
155. Christian Bale in The Big Short
156. Taron Egerton in Legend 
157. Jason Statham in Furious 7
158. Sid Haig in Bone Tomahawk 
159. Jeremy Strong in The Big Short 
160. Scott Shepherd in Bridge of Spies
161. Kyle Chandler in Carol 
162. Steve Carell in The Big Short
163. Derek Jacobi in Cinderella 
     
164. Jake Weary in It Follows
165. Jake Gyllenhaal in Everest
166. Kevin Bacon in Black Mass
     
167. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in Trumbo
168. Hugh Grant in The Man From Uncle 
169. Ving Rhames in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
170. Jeremy Renner in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
171. Bill Hader in Inside Out 
172. Bobby Cannavale in Spy 
173. Harry Lennix in Chi-Raq
     
174. Dwayne Johnson in Furious 7
175. Jesse Plemons in The Program
176. Javier Bardem in The Gunman
177. Ed Harris in Run All Night 
178. Dave Chappelle in Chi-Raq
     
179. Chris Evans in Avengers: Age of Ultron
180. Sean Bridgers in Room 
181. Kid Cudi in James White 
182. Jim Broadbent in The Woman in the Van
     
183. Michael Stuhlbarg in Steve Jobs 
184. Norman Lloyd in Trainwreck 
     
185. Robert Redford in Truth
186. Nonso Anozie in Cinderella
187. Bobby Cannavale in Ant-Man
188. Mark Ruffalo in Avengers: Age of Ultron
189. Graham McTavish in Creed 
190. Ben Whishaw in In the Heart of the Sea
191. Rory McCann in Slow West
192. David Thewlis in Legend
193. David Thewlis in Macbeth
194. Ben Whishaw in The Danish Girl
195. Keir Gilchrist in It Follows 
196. John C. Reilly in Tale of Tales
     
197. Channing Tatum in The Hateful Eight
198. Jon Bernthal in Sicario
199. John Magaro in The Big Short
200. Finn Wittrock in The Big Short
201. Chris Hemsworth in Avengers: Age of Ultron 
     
202. Hiroyuki Sanada in Mr. Holmes
203. Ezra Miller in The Stanford Prison Experiment
204. Matthias Schoenaerts in The Danish Girl
205. Daniel Bruhl in Woman in Gold
     
206. William H. Macy in Room 
207. Michael Stuhlbarg in Pawn Sacrifice
208. Edgar Ramirez in Joy
209. Dennis Quaid in Truth
210. Michael Caine in Kingsman: The Secret Service 
211. Charlie Hunnam in Crimson Peak 
     
212. Benedict Cumberbatch in Black Mass 
213. Donald Glover in The Martian 
214. Sean Bean in Jupiter Ascending
215. Sean Harris in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
216. Ty Simpkins Jurassic World 
217. Michael Pena in Ant-Man
218. Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Avengers: Age of Ultron
219. Ben Kingsley in The Walk
220. Adam Scott in Black Mass
221. Ben Whishaw in Suffragette
222. Alexander Skarsgard in The Diary of a Teenage Girl
223. Andy Serkis in Star Wars: The Force Awakens 
224. Common in Run All Night
225. Robert De Niro in Joy
226. Mark Ruffalo in Spotlight 
227. Samuel L. Jackson in Kingsman: The Secret Service 
228. Michael Pena in The Martian 
229. John Cena in Trainwreck
230. Tony Bellew in Creed
231. John Magaro in Carol
232. Nick Robinson in Jurassic World
233. Lebron James in Trainwreck 
234. Curtis Jackson in Southpaw
235. Anthony Bourdain in The Big Short
236. Hugh Jackman in Chappie 
237. Barry Otto in The Dressmaker
     
238. Vincent D'Onofrio in Jurassic World
239. Liam Hemsworth in the Dressmaker
     
240. Richard Thaler in The Big Short 
241. Miguel Gomez in Southpaw
242. Austin Stowell in Bridge of Spies
243. David Dastmalchian in Ant-Man 
244. Christoph Waltz in Spectre
245. David James Elliot in Trumbo
246. Dean O'Gorman in Trumbo 
247. Adam DeVine in The Intern
248. Nat Wolff in The Intern
249. Anders Holm in The Intern
250. Caleb Landry Jones in Heaven Knows What
     
251. Andrew Rannells in The Intern
252. B.D. Wong in Jurassic World
253. Douglas Booth in Jupiter Ascending
254. Nat Wolff in Grandma 
255. Emile Hirsch in 10,000 Saints
     
256. Tom Sturridge in Far From the Madding Crowd 
257. Jose Pablo Cantillo in Chappie
258. Ninja in Chappie 
259. Joel Kinnaman in Child 44
260. Topher Grace in Truth
261. Guillaume Canet in The Program
262. Quentin Tarantino in The Hateful Eight
263. Eddie Redmayne in Jupiter Ascending

Next Year: 2015 Lead (Please name and rank the top three you'd like to see reviewed)

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2015: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell and Walton Goggins in The Hateful Eight

Samuel L. Jackson did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Major Marquis Warren in The Hateful Eight.

The Hateful Eight is an excellent western by Quentin Tarantino about a group strangers, which includes a bounty hunter and his high priced prisoner, stuck in a lonely mountain cabin during a blizzard.

Samuel L. Jackson is the first of the titular eight that we meet as he sits on a lonely road in the snow on top of three frozen bodies. Jackson is of course a mainstay of the films of Quentin Tarantino appearing in all except one and a half of his films, though a few of these appearances are mere cameos. This is a substantial role though as Major Warren is a bounty hunter who we already know has slain three men, who were at least bad enough to be worth some amount of money. In just the most general sense of the part, Jackson is already perfectly cast as the badass bounty hunter, since few do that as well as Jackson does. This should not be hand waved as a given though, as he did formerly in his original collaboration with Tarantino, Pulp Fiction, Jackson commands a definite presence, and the fact that his character is dangerous certainly is a given. We are only given a brief moment though with Marquis as he has to inquire about a way to get through the snow towards shelter, after losing his own horse, and with that we meet the next two members of the titular eight including a fellow bounty hunter.

Kurt Russell did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying John Ruth "The Hangman" in The Hateful Eight.

Major Warren is forced to deal with the man who paid for a wagon coming along that snowy road and that is John Ruth. He is chained along with his captive one Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who he intends to bring to the nearest town by the name of Red Rock, to collect the ten thousand dollar bounty on her head. Now we go from one cinematic badass to another, as Russell also fits the bill quite nicely. If there's someone who could go toe to toe with Jackson in this it definitely is Kurt Russell. He also know how to command a scene in a way in which the nature of his character is quite evident without even needing to do anything particularly notable. Russell evidently to add to this decides to do a bit of John Wayne impression. Now this is actually a fairly common occurrence with Russell, he also did this in Big Trouble in Little China and in parts of Death Proof, though here he downplays it a bit in that his voice feels really just that of Wayne's rather than an obvious imitation. It could not be more fitting for the Hangman John Ruth, or especially the film as Russell seems like a true man of the old west here, speaking of men of the old west.

Walton Goggins did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Sheriff Chris Mannix in The Hateful Eight.

Walton Goggins, the reliable character actor who tends to add something to his film even when his roles are thin, is the fourth member of the eight to make his appearance. Like Major Warren, Chris also chances upon Ruth's wagon after being caught in the blizzard after losing his horse. Mannix though is on the opposite ends of things opposed to Major Warren, being an ardent confederate, whereas Warren was a cavalry officer in the Union army. Now Mannix, the youngest son of a Reb outlaw, claims to be the Sheriff of the town of Red Rock, which Ruth instantly calls out as false, yet the claim still gets him a place in the wagon. Now the cursory view of Mannix is that one might describe him as a bit of hillbilly. It is fitting that Goggins plays a character who looks up to Bruce Dern's character in this film, because Goggins brings a similair energy to his role that Dern does in his comedic performance. There is with such unabashed enthusiasm that Goggins brings as Mannix so excitedly introduces himself, and its great because of the way he embraces the "he-haw" nature of the character in just the right fashion. As Goggins is downright hilarious in just playing up this, well, southern hospitality of sorts as Mannix does his best to apparently seem like just the right good old boy that he should be.

Now a spoiler warning should be noted just in case. The Hateful Eight could have been called the deceitful Eight as much of the film is the lies of appearances, and the lies people tell. We get the first impression of Mannix, John Ruth, and Major Warren, but in a way we are warned from the start about this by Ruth as he is constantly questioning everyone, even Major Warren who seems like an obvious ally. Now the first impression seems a comfortable enough one to make and all three actors certainly help to try to make us accept them. Jackson and Russell are both the imposing forces they should be. Russell carrying the right casual intensity as John Ruth goes about his own business of protecting his interests, while Jackson carries it in a more direct fashion, though understated, yet never in question. Jackson knows how to hold a scene like few others. On the other hand Goggins is consistently enjoyable in his delivery of Mannix's perhaps overeager sentiments. One would be wrong to believe that this is the truth with any of them, and that is not to say that this is even them lying, yet. None of them are a simple archetype which is brilliantly revealed by each of these performances.

Now starting with Russell, who should seem simple enough as a cool hero channeling John Wayne, what more could there be to him? Well as we soon see Ruth is very quick to discipline his captive Daisy, as he does not hesitate to physically assault her whenever she makes an insult at his expense or even at Major Warren's. Russell actually plays these scenes in a purposefully unappealing way, as it is not a direct rage he portrays when Ruth hits Daisy, but rather he shows that Ruth does enjoy it a bit. Now this is not quite as damning as it could be considering the extreme nature of Daisy's racism as well as the fact that she's a murderer, however Ruth's status as a great hero is instantly challenged as Russell shows a definite personal pleasure in the suffering he makes Daisy endure. The certain strip down of Ruth continues though as Ruth tries to make himself safe, which involves trusting absolutely no one, which is smart considering they end up in a cabin of strangers, though he does not do this in the most intelligent way. Although Russell keeps a definite confidence most of the time, there are moments where he demands something related to his paranoia, there is a desperation in the man that alludes to a weakness in him.

Now with Jackson it's rather interesting that he's as many of his characters usually are, which is that he's cool and confident even when he's talking about killing people. Jackson indeed pulls off the cool killer to the point that we in fact like him, rather than hate for technically a callousness towards life, however even this idea is played with by Jackson's performance. When it is stated that Major Warren's war record included so many killings that he seemed more interested in killing than any cause, Jackson portrays absolutely no denial in Warren in related to this. In fact when asked about the people he's killed, Jackson carries a certain pride when speaking about it, and is not even hesitate in it. Again Jackson does have that cool that let's him get away with it, but he goes even further to almost cause a bit of discomfort for us when wholly accepting Warren. A pivotal moment revolves around Jackson confronting one of the strangers a Confederate General Smithers (Dern), a general who had killed surrendering black soldiers. To goad Smithers into doing something rash Warren relates a story of not only killing the General's son, but also raping the man. The scene is no simple revenge moment, not only because of Dern giving so much humanity in his reaction, but also the vicious, though earned, hatred that Jackson brings to it. Jackson portrays it that Warren absolutely relished in the act, though it very well might have been partially made up to get the General to strike first.

Now how about Chris Mannix, what else does he have to show for himself. Well this is interesting as Mannix, despite seeming like he might not exactly be genius, actually is the one who reveals much of the truth relating to Major Warren's deeds. Goggins is terrific as he reveals the needed incisiveness in Mannix's words as he speaks about Warren's killing of men. What Goggins does is also challenging in a very effective way, in that Mannix is a racist yet a straw man he is not, thanks in part due to Goggins's performance. What's so special about what Goggins manages to do is in a way suggests, even though it certainly never stated, that the racism of Mannix is mostly something ingrained. It is never something that Goggins gives an earnestness to, not that Mannix does not believe his words, but when such words come from his mouth it is made often like a recitation by Mannix, as though he is repeating what he's heard his whole life. Goggins only reinforces this idea through giving a strong passion still in Mannix when he talks about the lives lost at Warren's hands, as well as when he tries to give an idea of just trying to find a certain respect in defeat. Goggins is excellent as he is able to actually almost force you to see where Mannix is coming from, since there is only a genuine empathy in his words when he speaks of the dead including the Union soldiers that were killed, accidentally, as well from a fire started by Warren.

I love how all three actors go so far past the first impressions of the character revealing far more complicated men then you might expect from the outset. Now even though there might be many lies told in the story the one man we seem to know is telling the truth is John Ruth. Even this is used to show more of the man when it is revealed that Major Warren has been lying the whole time about having received a personal letter by Abraham Lincoln. The earlier scene where this was brought up Russell brought out a considerable warmth in his examination of the letter, presenting Ruth as overjoyed by this truth. This makes it all the more disconcerting when it is said to be false, and Russell is actually rather heartbreaking by once again revealing a vulnerable side to Ruth, as this break of trust is made devastating by Russell as though Ruth has lost some solace since one of the men he thought he could trust had been lying to him the whole time. It should also be noted that Jackson is equally good in the moment because he so bluntly states the truth behind Warren's lie, to the point you completely understand why he would have lied. Unfortunately everything only turns against Ruth more as he is poisoned through some tainted coffee. This scene is brilliantly performed by Russell as he brings such a combination of rage and pain in Ruth's final screams. My favorite moment of the scene though is when his captive finally has a gun drawn on him. Russell again is surprisingly moving through his hangdog expression as though Ruth in the moment realizes not only that he's finished but also perhaps thinking about where his abuses of Daisy have left him.

This leaves us with Warren obviously, and in turn gets Jackson a perfect Hercule Poirot moment as he dresses down one of the stranger's stories. Jackson unquestionably owns the moment as he should, and its just so captivating to watch him uncover the mystery as well as delivering some quick justice. Warren though is not alone against Daisy and her co-conspirators as he finds an unlikely ally in Mannix. Now this does seem impossible, it shouldn't work, but it does. Now the key behind Goggins's portrayal of Mannix is that he never lies, he's a man who always is seeking the truth, and will break down a lie if he hears it. Now even though the "hee-haw" side is there, it's not facade, rather Goggins finds Mannix as a measured man who will be more dour if he's speaking words he believes in but is just well a rather jolly chap by nature. Goggins is fabulous in the way he calls upon the certain charm of Mannix. Not only is it funny, but it also shows Mannix doing his best to try to disarm people in some way. One of my favorite moments of his performance, which saying something (something I must say for many performances in this category this year), is in his argument with Ruth and Warren which gets so heated that Warren pulls his gun on Mannix. Goggins is comedic gold as he switches gears, and apologizes so sweetly for talking politics. Goggins importantly establishes that there is never a hate in his heart. He speaks racist words in a way that does not reveal the true man, and it is only when life is concerned that he brings out real vigor to his words. Goggins, even in a moment where he's about to shoot someone, brings the greater emphasis on the man he's avenging. Goggins is a delight when shooting breaks out, because again he suggests a man out of his element really, as he just seems to be winging it. The fact that the consistent quality Goggins focuses upon is decency, despite not sugar coating his uses of racial epithets, he makes the alliance between Warren and Mannix believable. The best part is both actors go past this, as they manage to even develop a bit of a friendship. Both Jackson and Goggins have such marvelous chemistry that this is completely convincing. Not even much is said yet it is never questioned as the two suggest in their glances really an understanding and mutual respect between the two. The two manage to make their final scene together so poignant as the two men of opposing armies, sit together alone with no interference of the outside world, and just quietly enjoy what might be one their last moments, side by side. I don't want to diminish Russell's work as he unfortunately must exit early as well as plays the one man with nothing to hide, yet finds something remarkable in revealing perhaps too much of who the "badass" bounty hunter really is. Jackson and Goggins not only create such memorable characters they also have a challenge, a seemingly unfeasible one, yet they pull it off to bring about such a powerful conclusion. 

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2015

And the Nominees Were Not:

Stanley Tucci in Spotlight

Liev Schreiber in Spotlight

Michael Keaton in Spotlight

Nicholas Hoult in Mad Max: Fury Road

Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation

Emory Cohen in Brooklyn

Benicio Del Toro in Sicario

Josh Brolin in Sicario

Walton Goggins in The Hateful Eight

Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight

Kurt Russell in The Hateful Eight

Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina

Richard Jenkins in Bone Tomahawk

Adam Driver in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Michael Sheen in Far From The Madding Crowd

Matthias Schoenaerts in Far From The Madding Crowd

For Prediction purposes:

Tucci

Hoult

Elba

Cohen

Del Toro

and/or

Goggins

Isaac

Jenkins

Driver

Sheen