Supporting Actress Chatter: Alicia, Julie, Kristen, Judy, Etc...
Sunday, May 3, 2015 at 11:48AM 
Alicia Vikander as Gerta Wegener in "The Danish Girl": Supporting or Lead?2015 hasn't brought us much in the way of stellar supporting actressing quite yet, with the exception of César winning Kristen Stewart in Clouds of Sils Maria. It helps that it's practically a lead role and she holds her own with one of the world's most hypnotic talents (Juliette Binoche). The other possibly key player that's already been seen by the lucky ones who attended the Sundance Film Festival is Julie Walters from Brooklyn (reviewed). She's a scene stealing delight as the strict landlady of the girl's boarding house where the heroine (Saoirse Ronan) lives and definitely has enough screentime to make a play for a nomination should the film be well received in general release.
Otherwise for Oscar Predictions we have to venture into the great unknown.
Most Likely To Succeed, at least sight unseen, is 2015's 'it girl' Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina, The Danish Girl, Seventh Son, The Light Between Oceans, The Man From UNCLE, Testament of Youth, Adam Jones, Tulip Fever ...Yes, she has 8 movies slated for US release this year - take that Jessica Chastain!) It's tough to imagine her missing if The Danish Girl is any good because she's a terrific actress and the role is amazing, too. She's playing the erotica painter Gerda Wegener who supported her husband (Eddie Redmayne) as he became the titular character in the world's first sex reassignment surgery. Is the role large enough to campaign in Best Actress? This early in any film year most questions have no answers.
Early 'anything could happen' oscar predictions give us a unique opportunity to fantasize about comebacks too, should the films play and the reviews be kind. Which of these possible comeback queens will you be rooting hardest for: Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight; Judy Davis, The Dressmaker; Parker Posey, Irrational Man; Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs (well comeback to Oscar glory that is)?
Kate Winslet and Judy Davis on the set of "The Dressmaker". They play mother & daughter.
See the Supporting Actress Chart here and please do discuss EVERYONE in the comments. You know you want to and you know you you love this category almost or as much as Best Actress (which will be our grand finale to the April Foolish Predictions tomorrow).
Reader Comments (49)
I think Winslet will get her 7th nod this year in lead The Dressmaker or support Triple 9 OR Jobs,she'll be everywhere this season,mark my words
The real person who Natalie Press in Suffeagette has a very baity story that fits into how the movie's story is told. As you said this early on it's hard to pin down who will pop. But that is someone to look out for. Mulligan mentioned the real person, not Press, in several interviews.
I'm betting on olsen and kidman to so well this season, Olsen because she's somewhat overdue from MMMM and Kidman because I cannot imagine The Secret In Their Eyes to not get some oscar traction atleast and its being sold as a Julia Roberts vehicle so Kidman is most definitely supporting.
The Dressmaker seems les and less a strong contender to me as time goes by so I think Winslet has a good chance for Steve Jobs in the supporting category.
I'm also rooting for Dench in Tulip Fever because I always root for La Dench.
Thanks for the effort Nathaniel <3
I'm rooting for Posey and Leigh - they're pretty much opposites in style, but I came terms with my actressexuality in the 90s, and they're both very dear to me for their work at the time.
(And for the record, supporting actress is my favourite category.)
Nathaniel you should be protecting veteran actresses and not posting the least flattering photos of them possible. Judy Davis we love.
I with you Mike. I love Leigh (especially) and Parker Posey (who had the misfortune of believing Scream 3 and You've Got Mail were potential mainstream launching pads).
Tarantino's greatest triumph would be getting Jennifer Jason Leigh a nomination. Crossing my fingers starting now.
Nat: I'm not sure I buy that Page will be going quietly into the night and accepting category fraud and I certainly don't want her to, especially since if that happens WHEN THE ACTOR IS PRODUCING THEIR OWN MOVIE, we have lost ALL hope of an honesty reform as far as Oscar campaign ships go.
I would LOVE if Posey was nominated. Deserved it for House of Yes before.
Pulling for Dunst too, she should have a couple by now. Also I hope Sarah Paulson will get in for Carol. I think Mamie Gummer could get a coattail nomination for Ricki and the Flash.
Yay actresses! I'm with you on Alicia Vikander and Ellen Page. Maybe Julie Walters.
If JJL couldn't get nominated for a biopic for which she had excellent reviews in a year considered one of the weakest on record for actresses, what can she get nominated for? It's ridiculous that she's never been recognized by the Academy.
Really hope HBC can get some traction for 'Suffragette.' She's generally fantastic and was easily my favorite part of the last awards season she was in.
I don't really have any opinions about these predictions. I think Olsen for I Saw the Light is probably a smart call because, you know, she's a wife to a famous man. But from what I know about the actual events of Hank's life she isn't the self-abdicating supportive wife that Oscar tends to love. It'll be curious to see how much the film plays up the hell Hank says she put him through and how her campaign plays out. Really, what I loved about your predictions is learning that some of my favorites are heading back to the screen this year. Kate Winslet! Nicole Kidman! JULIE WALTERS!
I would love to see Julie Walters be among the nominees.
While I didn't love the book, The Light Between Oceans offers three flashy roles, the spouses played by Fassbender and Alicia Vikander and Rachel Wiesz's widow. Hers is actually the part with the most externalized anguish-which she does very well so if her role isn't minimized for the sake of the other two and the film is reviewed well she should have a good chance of being a contender.
/3rtful - this is the only photo of her from the set. Judy doesn't care if you think she's pretty or not.
Mike - i hear you!
John -- we'll need all the fingers crossed but I'll wait to see the performance to decide if i'm rooting for it (since JJL isn't a personal favorite)
I think this is my favorite category in general (give or take Cinematography), but only when it doesn't get dominated by category fraud, so I'm hoping that Page can at least make an argument against that if she does go this route. Otherwise, I'm stoked by a Julie Walters comeback and that Meryl Streep may finally get nominated again (kidding, kidding-it's Oscar predicting, we all need a little Meryl ribbing).
Out of curiosity, was Judi Dench in Tulip Fever one you weren't really feeling or is she lead for that performance? That seems to be the oddest omission.
She looks like a sour face corpse.
Hope that Alicia Vikander gets in after liking her in A Royal Affair and Anna Karenina.
Helena Bonham Carter plays a Suffragette who does Jui-Jitsu! Hope she gets a nom.
I've heard that Naomi Watts is Supporting in Demolition, so I'm hoping gets a nom after starring in the Best Picture winner this year. Although she could also get nommed in Best Actress.
I'll be seeing Mr. Holmes in a few weeks here, but despite the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle news (pay those bills!), I really hope Laura Linney is a factor this year in it. She's near the top of my "Seriously, Where's the Oscar?" list.
Let's hope Jennifer Jason Leigh can rise above Tarantino's last attempt at creating a substantial female character (Kerry Washington's) in a male-driven story (both the role and the performance were big misfires in my opinion). I just hope he gives her the opportunity to display her range. JJL is one of my favorite actresses, being that "vainless" actresses are my favorite ones (Rowlands, Redgrave, Davis, Lewis, Binoche, etc in the same category).
Judy Davis still rocks. Should have won in '84 and '92. Wish Woody would consider her more often. Also loved her with Spacey in the under rated "Ref."
@Mr. Goodbar
Washington's role was a traditional damsel in distress.
I expect Sarah Paulson to do much better than you do, it seems. She seems ripe for an Oscar breakout, even despite her 12 Years a Slave snub.
Yes, but I believe Tarantino has the talent to spin the "damsel in distress" character and create something memorable, which he didn't bother to do. Look at what Samuel L. Jackson did with a "traditional" role as a servant. Absolutely memorable and the best performance in the movie.
@Mr. Goodbar
Jackson's servant character is a henchman to the villain. Django is some of the laziest writing of Tarantino's career. He did not subvert a thing.
Mara is in. You're downplaying Carol everywhere and pimping Freeheld, which looks atrocious from that leaked reel btw, but Cate and Rooney are happening, take it to the bank.
Prediction: Alicia will get traction for the most oscar friendly of her roles/films even if she is much better in others like Ex Machina because that is how oscar works.
Mr. Goodbar - when Tarantino is TRYING to create three dimensional female characters he is very successfull (see the kill bills, Jackie browns and pulp fictions of his career). So not rely fair to paint him as a director that is not good with actresses because that couldn't be further from the truth.
Helen Mirren playing Hedda Hopper sounds like a sure thing unless the film is terrible.
This is my favorite category, too, but Leigh and Page are the only major contenders who seem very interesting. (I highly doubt Posey is happening - even I, a lifelong Woody fan, was rolling my eyes at that trite Irrational Man trailer.) At this point, I'm really hoping some unexpected films rise to the forefront in this year's race.
Tarantino has always been good with acting as iconography, less so with the nuts and bolts of performance. I think he and JJL (whom I used to refer to as "The Black Hole of Actressing") are a match made in Hell. So yeah, she's probably in, like (sigh) Uma back in the day.
Can we all agree that no matter how bad Irrational Man turns out to be, Parker Posey should win this Oscar just because she is Parker Posey? Can we start the campaign now?
@cal roth
Although we're allies when it comes to Parker Posery winning the category for Irrational Man---I'll forever resent you for your very vocal Glenn Close agnosticism.
What Freeheld reel.
I just watched Georgia for the first time, and JJL blew my mind, as did Mare Winningham. A nomination for any performance as retribution for that 1995 snub (the Joan-Allen-in-Upside-of-Anger of that decade?) would be fine with me.
I also think Mara is in if Cate is in. Possible category fraud notwithstanding.
ReJ Dench and Tulip Fever. The role she is cast in is very small, so unless they have changed the arc of the story, I don't know if I would expect much there.
I would be happy to see Walters noticed again.
I also expect Mara (unless the film sucks) to score.
John -- i think the key difference is that 1995 was incredibly competitive for Best Actress whereas 2005... there was just no excuse for leaving Joan Allen out.
@Annony - I never said Tarantino was not good with actresses. My disappointment in the whole Washington thing is based on the greatness he has been able to achieve with actresses (from Uma to Grier to Uma to Laurent). I want to trust that Tarantino has seen most of JJL's filmography and knows what to do with her.
Hopefully no category fraud this year, seems to be a few potentials. :(
Irrational Man trailer was trash, Posey looked great but when isn't she? I think she'll need the film to do well to get that boost. Would LOVE to see the legendary Judy Davis back in the fold (she shoulda won for Eye of the Storm a few years ago). But will she even do any interviews? Oscar season is looong and she's insanely private. I've read the source novel and her part as the mother is outrageous and quite baity, but she needs a strong distributor and to get out of the house more often. Not buying Olsen at all, nor Paulson. Fingers crossed for Dunst as well.
god, the delusion. if there's any oscar traction for secret in their eyes, it will be for julia roberts. she is playing a detective whose daughter is murdered. detective. daughter. murdered. learn it.
I kind of love Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs, for the record.
I'm on side with both Mr. Goodbar and 3rtful in being highly hesitant about Hateful Eight - one thing I always relied on Tarantino for was a large array of characters that allowed actors to shine. Django Unchained is a glaring exception to this rule - aside from Jackson, DiCaprio, Waltz and Foxx, no one in that movie (aside from Don Johnson's amusing role) had much at all to work with. It was generically enjoyable and the above actors all made stock characters more fun than they could be expected to - Washington, however, had next to nothing to work with and had to shoulder every awkward change in tone through the movie. Such a shame.
Julie Walters has had a very poor last decade in terms of output (in her 00s heyday she seemed to win the BAFTA TV Award for about 8 consecutive years), though it now seems that she's back working full-time - finally!
I would love Natalie Press to enter the conversation so much - ever since My Summer Of Love (with Emily Blunt - the film debut of both?) she seems to have struggled for roles. Lest we forget, she starred in Andrea Arnold's Oscar-winning short, Wasp, many years ago? (I forget whether it actually won!)
I'll be interested to see whether Page and Mara are both campaigned as Supporting - if both films (and performances) are in contention and both are co-leads, will this be the tipping point when 'Category Fraud' becomes a mainstream media topic. The fact that it's actresses (and not actors) who will be vilified? The icing on the cake for journalists, surely?
I am befuddled over the Kristen Stewart love. I appreciate that, post-Twilight, she seems to be gravitating towards more "meaningful" work. I appreciate that she can get smaller projects greenlit. I appreciate that she's dating a lady now. And she's fine in Clouds of Sils Maria. It seems to be the same performance that she gives in every single movie. But ... Oscar nominee? Seriously? I mean ... come on. It would be the single most embarrassing nomination in my lifetime. After unleashing untold amounts of bad acting on the world in that Twilight garbage, she needs at least 10-15 more years of solid work before anyone should take her seriously.
As much as I would love to see J Davis back in the convo, I fear Dressmaker is going to have a rough time getting traction.
kermit -- WASP won short film, yes. And Press is a great actress so here's to hoping her role is good.
henry -- maybe. moorhouse hasn't been a topic in forever
charlie g -- i dont actually think a nomination will happen but the response to Clouds of Sils Maria sure helps for whenever she pulls a great performance out.
mark re: jows -- apparently 12 minutes of freeheld meant to attract buyers or something (totally industry specific) or what not got leaked (it's since been pulled) but i always think it's silly to judge movies on things that aren't meant for public consumption. (I didn't see it). But JOWS, we can't take anything to the bank this early when literally no contenders have yet open. So much can happen. and the categories look very competitive this year. (and i'm not pimping anything. these are just predictions based on hunches. I gotta make calls or predictions aren't possible... and I just dont see why CAROL is a sure thing when none of Todd Haynes movies are as popular with Oscar voters as they are with his fans... of which I most certainly am one.)
3rtful -- wait so i should protect actresses you like by not posting photos but you are free to belittle the same actresses in the comments based on how they look? Your rules are very confusing to me.
I thought Kristen Stewart in Sils Maria was just... searing?
She's never given THAT performance.
In a way, it was very much a Binoche performance. You don't see much, but, effortlessly, she kept saying a lot of things about that particular person without having to say expositive dialogue or to express literal feelings.
Curiously, Binoche was much less subtle this time, and her acting was much more showier than usual, and I don't mean that as a diss.
(We really need to talk about this movie, you know?)
Cal Roth...I agree with you about Stewart in Sils Maria...and I agree that we need to talk about the film. (How about in the next podcast?)
One more addition to the Tier 4 category would be Tatiana Maslany in Woman in Gold. It all depends, though, on how much Harvey campaigns for the film, at least beyond Mirren in Best Actress.
RE: The Vikander. She's a stellar talent, an actress of formidable technical skill and supreme naturalism/reactivity, but she seems to have a slight issue with press at the moment. It's early going and she'll have lots of time to practice in the next six months, but she really shouldn't be coming across as calculated as she does in some interviews. There is shade all over her recent NYTimes profile. Not a complete disaster, but I kind of went "oof" while reading it.
wait so i should protect actresses you like by not posting photos but you are free to belittle the same actresses in the comments based on how they look? Your rules are very confusing to me
Remember when everyone was making a thing about Renee Zellweger's appearance these days. And you decided to not post photos of her new look out of respectful protest? I do not understand why this unflattering photo of Judy Davis was worth posting just to have Winslet and her side by side? Since every commentator who takes me to task for having an unflattering opinion about an actress for any reason insist on saying she does not care what I think---I will simply state the obvious. I think she (in this case Davis) would agree.
I am a broken record, I realized, but Brie Larson in Room. Film rests on her performance, high degree of difficulty, baity arc. A24-don't eff this up.