Best Supporting Actor in the 80s: An Alternative Oscar History
Tuesday, November 26, 2024 at 8:30PM 
As in real life, Jack Nicholson takes a Best Supporting Actor prize during the 1980s. But not for TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, however.
November is coming to an end and so is our 80s throwback celebration. That means I have to wrap-up these alternative Oscars posts. After sharing personal ballots for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, it’s time for the other acting categories, starting with the thespians who enrich their films from the sidelines. As ever, the ballots presented follow Oscar eligibility rules, all its quirks and oddities. There are also honorable mentions, some ineligible gems who weren’t up for the Oscar due to release date shenanigans or a lack of submission on their distributors’ part. Finally, I also added a number of titles on my watchlist and would appreciate all your recommendations to enrich these dream Oscars of mine…
1980
Rock Hudson, THE MIRROR CRACK’D
Tommy Lee Jones, COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER *winner*
Peter O’Toole, THE STUNT MAN
Joe Pesci, RAGING BULL
Tsutomu Yamazaki, KAGEMUSHA
Honorable Mentions: Brian Blessed in FLASH GORDON, Dabney Coleman in NINE TO FIVE, Harrison Ford in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, Leslie Nielsen in AIRPLANE!.
Ineligible: Heinz Bennent and Jean Poiret in THE LAST METRO, Christopher Plummer in THE SHADOW BOX.
On the Watchlist: Brian Brown in BREAKER MORANT, Rentaro Mikuni in VENGEANCE IS MINE, Jason Miller and Scott Wilson in THE NINTH CONFIGURATION, Harry Dean Stanton in WISE BLOOD.
1981
Wilford Brimley, ABSENCE OF MALICE
Michael Ironside, SCANNERS
Jack Nicholson, REDS *winner*
Robert Prosky, THIEF
Howard Rollins, RAGTIME
Honorable Mentions: Alan Bates in QUARTET, Eric Roberts in RAGGEDY MAN, Christopher Walken in HEAVEN’S GATE and PENNIES FROM HEAVEN, David Warner in TIME BANDITS.
Ineligible: Heinz Bennent in POSSESSION, Rolf Hoppe in MEPHISTO.
On the Watchlist: Lee Van Cleef in ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, Gene Hackman and Terence Stamp in SUPERMAN II, Rutger Hauer in NIGHTHAWKS, Jerry Orbach in PRINCE OF THE CITY, Oliver Reed in LION OF THE DESERT.
1982
Mario Adorf, LOLA
Rutger Hauer, BLADE RUNNER
David Keith, AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN
James Mason, THE VERDICT *winner*
Sydney Pollack, TOOTSIE
Honorable Mentions: Wilford Brimley and Keith David in THE THING, Louis Gossett Jr. in AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN, Robert Preston in VICTOR/VICTORIA.
Ineligible: Antonio Banderas in LABYRINTH OF PASSION, Spanky Manikan in HIMALA.
On the Watchlist: Charles Durning in THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, James Earl Jones in CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Ricardo Montalban in STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, Mickey Rourke in DINER, Ryudo Uzaki in STATION.
1983
Jeff Daniels, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
Jan Malmsjö, FANNY AND ALEXANDER *winner*
Mickey Rourke, RUMBLE FISH
Ryuichi Sakamoto, MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE
Rip Torn, CROSS CREEK
Honorable Mentions: Takeshi Kitano in MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE, Jerry Lewis in THE KING OF COMEDY, Martin Mull in MR. MOM, Kurt Russell in SILKWOOD.
Ineligible: Jean-Pierre Bacri and Guy Marchand in ENTRE NOUS, Erland Josephson in NOSTALGIA.
On the Watchlist: Matt Dillon in THE OUTSIDERS, Gene Hackman and Ed Harris in UNDER FIRE, Jonathan Pryce and Jason Robards in SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.
1984
Richard Burton, NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR *winner*
John Candy, SPLASH
Gregory Hines, THE COTTON CLUB
Kenneth McMillan, THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE
Anthony Perkins, CRIMES OF PASSION
Honorable Mentions: Adolph Caesar and Denzel Washington in A SOLDIER’S STORY, Robert Englund in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, Christopher Guest, Tony Hendra and Harry Shearer in THIS IS SPINAL TAP, Douta Seck in SUGAR CANE ALLEY, Dean Stockwell in PARIS, TEXAS, James Woods in ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA.
Ineligible: Michel Piccoli in SUCCESS IS THE BEST REVENGE.
On the Watchlist: François Cluzet in ONE DEADLY SUMMER, Daniel Day-Lewis in THE BOUNTY, Richard Edson in STRANGER THAN PARADISE, Fabrice Luchini in FULL MOON IN PARIS, Harry Dean Stanton in REPO MAN.
1985
Cameron English, A CHORUS LINE
Danny Glover, THE COLOR PURPLE
John Lone, YEAR OF THE DRAGON
M. Emmet Walsh, BLOOD SIMPLE *winner*
Victor Wong, DIM SUM: A LITTLE BIT OF HEART
Honorable Mentions: Héctor Alterio in THE OFFICIAL STORY, Klaus Maria Brandauer in OUT OF AFRICA, Crispin Glover and Christopher Lloyd in BACK TO THE FUTURE, Louis Gossett Jr. in ENEMY MINE, Anthony Michael Hall in THE BREAKFAST CLUB, Roddy McDowall in FRIGHT NIGHT.
Ineligible: David Gale in RE-ANIMATOR.
On the Watchlist: Brian Dennehy in TWICE IN A LIFETIME, Ian Holm in DREAMCHILD, Armin Mueller-Stahl in COLONEL REDL, Tim Roth in THE HIT.
1986
Daniel Day-Lewis, A ROOM WITH A VIEW
James Hong, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA
Dennis Hopper, BLUE VELVET
Harry Dean Stanton, PRETTY IN PINK *winner*
Forest Whitaker, THE COLOR OF MONEY
Honorable Mentions: Brian Cox in MANHUNTER, Ray Liotta in SOMETHING WILD, Steve Martin in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, Alan Ruck in FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, Dean Stockwell in BLUE VELVET, Max von Sydow in HANNAH AND HER SISTERS.
Ineligible: Tom Towles in HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER.
On the Watchlist: Gabriel Arcand and Yves Jacques in THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE, Charles Dance in THE GOLDEN CHILD, Gérard Darmon in BETTY BLUE.
1987
Antonio Banderas, LAW OF DESIRE *winner*
Morgan Freeman, STREET SMART
Hugh Grant, MAURICE
Vincent D’Onofrio, FULL METAL JACKET
Mandy Patinkin, THE PRINCESS BRIDE
Honorable Mentions: R. Lee Ermey in FULL METAL JACKET, Bob Hoskins in THE LONELY PASSION OF JUDITH HEARNE, Donald McCann in THE DEAD, David Strathairn in MATEWAN.
Ineligible: Peter Falk and Otto Sander in WINGS OF DESIRE, Balla Moussa Keita in YEELEN, Jarl Kulle in BABETTE’S FEAST, Marcello Mastroianni in INTERVISTA.
On the Watchlist: Daniel Auteuil in JEAN DE FLORETTE, Robert Downey Jr. in LESS THAN ZERO, Richard Griffiths in WITHNAIL AND I, Dennis Hopper in RIVER’S EDGE.
1988
Alec Guinness, LITTLE DORRIT *winner*
Christopher Lloyd, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?
John Omirah Miluwi, GORILLAS IN THE MIST
Michael Palin, A FISH CALLED WANDA
Alan Rickman, DIE HARD
Honorable Mentions: Michael Keaton in BEETLEJUICE, Kevin Kline in A FISH CALLED WANDA, Sam Neil in A CRY IN THE DARK, Tim Robbins in BULL DURHAM.
Ineligible: Bernard Hill in DROWNING BY NUMBERS, Philippe Noiret in CINEMA PARADISO.
On the Watchlist: Raul Julia in MOON OVER PARADOR and TEQUILLA SUNRISE, John Lone in THE MODERNS, Raghur YAday in SALAAM BOMBAY!.
1989
Isaach De Bankolé, CHOCOLAT
Ossie Davis, DO THE RIGHT THING
Armin Mueller-Stahl, MUSIC BOX
Pete Postlethwaite, DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES *winner*
Christian Slater, HEATHERS
Honorable Mentions: Beau Bridges in THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS, Fred Gwynne in PET SEMATARY, Derek Jacobi in HENRY V, Hugh O’Connor in MY LEFT FOOT.
Ineligible: Jack Kao in A CITY OF SADNESS, Sam Neil and Andrzej Seweryn in THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
On the Watchlist: Bruce Dern in THE ‘BURBS, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster and Ray Liotta in FIELD OF DREAMS, John Leguizamo in CASUALTIES OF WAR.
Who would be your Best Supporting Actor winners in the 1980s?
Reader Comments (20)
I'm a Charles Durning fan, but Dom DeLuise runs rings around him in Best Little Whorehouse. Saw that for the first time a few years ago and was gobsmacked that DD didn't get any recognition for his wonderfully insane performance when Durning is fine in his one scene.
SOME THOUGHTS ON YOUR WATCH LISTS...
1981 Terence Stamp in SUPERMAN II
such a treat. Terence Stamp is *chefs kiss* today's supervillain actors only wish!
1982 Charles Durning in THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS / Ricardo Montalban in STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN
Both are campy delights! It's still strange to me that Durning was nominated for this one, though, when Tootsie and a far more substantial was right there.
1983 Jonathan Pryce and Jason Robards in SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.
I'm not a Jason Robards fan in general but I remember loving Jonathan Pryce (and Pam Grier his right hand woman) in this.
1984 Daniel Day-Lewis in THE BOUNTY
I have seen this movie and I do not remember DDL in it.
1985 Ian Holm in DREAMCHILD
this movie is fantastic with very fine performances.
1986 Gérard Darmon in BETTY BLUE.
somehow I thought you'd seen BETTY BLUE. You must! (though I don't remember any actors beyond the very horny leads.
1987 Daniel Auteuil in JEAN DE FLORETTE, Robert Downey Jr. in LESS THAN ZERO
Love your choices for nominees this year but these two are really noteworthy!
1988 Raul Julia in MOON OVER PARADOR and TEQUILLA SUNRISE, Raghur YAday in SALAAM BOMBAY!.
Raul Julia is always good but I'm mystified that I don't remember him ibeing n Tequlia Sunrise.I think i was so caught up in Kurt Russell (who really does not get enough credit for his hotness in the 80s) & all things PFeiffer. As for Salaam Bombay. It;s such a fantastic movie but i haven't seen it in so many years that I must confess I dont remember the actors much. But what a calling card for Mira Nair.
Performances you "nominated" that I haven't seen and now I'm so curious...
1980 Rock Hudson, THE MIRROR CRACK’D
1983 Ryuichi Sakamoto, MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE
It' sconfusing to me that I haven't seen this one.
1984 Gregory Hines, THE COTTON CLUB
The amount of times I remember almost renting this in the days of video stores. And yet somehow i have never seen it.
1985 John Lone, YEAR OF THE DRAGON
I thought people hated this movie. But I love John Lone so now I have to see it.
1989 Isaach De Bankolé, CHOCOLAT
I am embarrassed to have somehow never seen this Claire Denis picture but I'm happy to report that Isaach De Bankole is good in a small role in THE BRUTALIST.
I still have so much to see from the 80s (i was young so i wasn't seeing a lot of the "adult" movies. but my winners (at the moment) probably go like so...
1980 Dabney Coleman in NINE TO FIVE
1981 Jack Nicholson, REDS is it weird that this is my all time favourite performance of his?
1982 Rutger Hauer, BLADE RUNNER - this performannce just never gets old. every once in a while genre bias gets in the way of honoring obviously legendary work.
1983 Kurt Russell in SILKWOOD but really i don't know that this would hold if i saw more movies.
1984 Adolph Caesar A SOLDIER’S STORY ... maybe but i haven't seen it since the 80s, so...
1985 Klaus Maria Brandauer in OUT OF AFRICA
1986 Daniel Day-Lewis, A ROOM WITH A VIEW... but so glad Denholm Elliott was nominated for that picture (since DDL was obviously never going to be)
1987 Morgan Freeman, STREET SMART or Robert Downey Jr LESS THAN ZERO
1988 Tim Robbins BULL DURHAM fairly easily. so upsetting that he won for a bad performance when he was so stellar seven years earlier
1989 Beau Bridges THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS this was a good movie year in some ways but i don't think it was necessarily a good movie year for supporting actors. Still so annoying that he wasn't Oscar nominated since they obviously loved the movie. (4 well deserved nominations even if it also deserved a Picture nomination and a cinematography win.
Actually, it isn't. I'd place it in or near the Top 5, along with Chinatown, The Last Detail, A Few Good Men and Five Easy Pieces.
Nathaniel: agreed about Durning - so weird that he was nominated in 1982, and it wasn't for Tootsie - i adore him in it.
I love reading through these and reminiscing on so many performances I love like Liotta, Patinkin, Lloyd, Banderas, Walsh and von Sydow.
Michael Biehn for Aliens.
The comedic gems of the 1980s both Oscar and TFE snubbed.
1981 Griffin Dunne in An American Werewolf in London
1982 Bill Murray in Tootsie and Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High
1985 Jan Rubeš in Witness
1986 Simon Callow in A Room With a View
1987 Feodor Chaliapin, Jr., in Moonstruck and Peter Falk in The Princess Bride
1988 Sean Connery in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
One final surprising omission is Mel Gibson in the Aussie import Gallipoli. His physical beauty and earnest performance offered the promise of a genuine movie star.
my 80s winners in this category:
80 - donald sutherland - ordinary people [hutton was lead]
81 - bill hunter - gallipoli
82 - john lithgow - the world according to garp
83 - jack nicholson - terms of endearment
84 - colin firth - another country
85 - crispin glover - back to the future
86 - steve buscemi - parting glances
87 - albert brooks - broadcast news
88 - pete postlethwaite - distant voices, still lives
89 - hugh o'conor - my left foot
1985 Best line for a Supporting actor nominee, and best line reading:
The late great Robert Loggia in “Jagged Edge” says tenderly to Glenn Close:
“F*** him. He was trash”.
Ian Holm and Robert De Niro in Brazil
Spike Lee in She’s Gotta Have It
(Wow, the ‘80s were not good to Harvey Keitel btw)
I just love this alternate set of nominees and winners.
But a special thanks for remembering a small film with GREAT performances such as 1987's "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne"
Often called the most boring or most lazy category but it does have some gems,here's my ballot for each year,love to hear any comments,winner comes first.
1980
Timothy Hutton Ordinary People
Levon Helm Coal Miner's Daughter
Michael O'Keefe The Great Santini
Joe Pesci Raging Bull
Freddie Jones The Elephant Man
6th Leslie Nielsen Airplane
1981
Jack Nicholson Reds
Howard E Rollins Ragtime
Wilford Brimley Absence Of Malice
John Giegud Arthur
Griffin Dunne An American Werewolf In London
6th Jerry Orbach Prince Of The City
1982
Charles Durning Tootsie
Louis Gossett Jr An Officer And A Gentleman
James Mason The Verdict
David Keith An Officer And A Gentleman
Joseph Bologna My Favourite Year
6th John Lithgow The World According To Garp
1983
Jerry Lewis The King Of Comedy
Jack Nicholson Terms Of Endearment
Rip Torn Cross Creek
Ed Harris The Right Stuff
Don Ameche Trading Places
6th Ian McDiarmid Return Of The Jedi
1984
Haing S Ngor The Killing Fields
Adolph Caesar A Soldier's Story
Danny Glover Places In The Heart
Ricard Burton Nineteen Eighty Four
Hector Elizondo The Flamingo Kid
6th Rick Moranis Ghostbusters
1985
Eric Stoltz Mask
William Hickey Prizzi's Honor
John Gielgud Plenty
James Mason The Shooting Party
John Lone Year Of The Dragon
6th Charles Dance Plenty
1986
Michael Caine Hannah And Her Sisters
Tom Berenger Platoon
Max Von Sydow Hannah An Her Sisters
Alan Ruck Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Dennis Hopper Blue Velvet
6th Bill Paxton Aliens
1987
Morgan Freeman Street Smart
Albert Brooks Broadcast News
Sean Connery the Untouchables
Richard Dreyfuss Nuts
Will Patton No Way Out
6th R.
Lee Ermey Full Metal Jacket
1988
Kevin Kline A Fish Called Wanda
River Phoenix Running On Empty
Alec Guinness Little Dorritt
John Omirah Miluwi Gorillas In The Mist
Martin Landau Tucker The Man And His Dream
6th Tim Robbins Bull Durham
1989
Martin Landau Crimes And Misdemeanors
Robert Sean Leonard Dead Poets Society
Marlon Brando A Dry White Season
Denzel Washington Glory
Danny Aiello Do The Right Thing
6th Ray McAnally My Left Foot
Wow Claudo John Omirah Miluwi in 88,never saw that coming.
Not sure i'd consider Rock worthy in that silly but enjoyable film.
Durning is much better in Tootsie,such a shame he wasn't nominated for it.
Stamp was just outside my Top 6 in 81.
You consider O'Toole and Jones supporting in 1980?
I think John Lone was worthy 3 times in the 80s.85,87 and 88 for The Moderns.
Love the mentions for MacMillan,Brimley,Stanton,Keith and Burton
Nat why was DDL never going to be nominated for ARWAV,is it due to split votes with My Beautiful Laudrette which he is equally great in it and so opposite,he is barely in The Bounty so not much to see Claiudio.
Lots of good alternate choices being mentioned here. The one "outside-the-box" performance that was never going to get nominated but that I'll go to bat for every time is Frank Oz for Empire Strikes Back. I'm sure you could argue whether or not puppeteering is comparable to conventional screen acting to no end, but there's no debate that he delivered a memorable and enduring characterization.
Lovely choices, especially Posthewaite in 89.
Curious if you just don't like Nicholson in Terms of Endearment or if you thought (as Gene Siskel did) that he belonged in the lead category?
Speaking of, the great M. Emmet in Blood Simple is unquestionably, unequivocally the lead actor in that movie.
I especially love your choice of Harry Dean Stanton in ‘86. While I wouldn’t quite give him the win, I’d definitely have nominated him, and I haven’t seen many other people highlight that performance. I think he’s the heart of that movie.
If I thought of Christopher Guest as a supporting actor in This is Spinal Tap, he’d probably be my winner that year, but I’ve always thought of him and Michael McKean as co-leads.
And on that subject, I also see Alan Rickman in Die Hard as a co-lead, but I get that villains typically get categorized as supporting even when their role is basically as big as the hero’s.
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