Best Supporting Actor 2006

1998 through 2007

Who do you think should have won?

Alin Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
12
29%
Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
13
32%
Djimon Hounsou - Blood Diamond
2
5%
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
5
12%
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed
9
22%
 
Total votes: 41

FilmFan720
Emeritus
Posts: 3650
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 3:57 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by FilmFan720 »

With all the talk, and flak I got, last year in regards to Jake Gyllenhaal, I am a little surprised to see Michael Sheen being pushed here so much. The Queen is the tale of how both Blair and Elizabeth deal with tragedy, and it is as much his story as it is hers. I can't see putting him here.

As for the actual nominees, my Top 3 are all nominated, which is very rare for me. This is a strong lineup.

Djimon Hounsou is the obvious one to get rid of first; a pretty horrible film that he couldn't escape out of.

Alan Arkin is one of my favorite actors, but I greatly despise most of what is Little Miss Sunshine, and his story is one of the worst aspects of that film. I am glad he has an Oscar, but can think of a dozen other times I wish he had won instead.

Mark Wahlberg is entertaining in The Departed, and if there isn't much to his role, he gives it such gusto that I gladly endorse a nomination here. A great nomination morning surprise, especially over Jack Nicholson.

Like Wahlberg, Eddie Murphy comes barreling through his movie with both guns blazing. Murphy gets many more colors to play with, though, and his work is a startling reminder that he still has what it takes to entertain and take the screen/stage by storm. The fact that he also fills that performance with some nice dramatic work is a plus, and he is my runner up.

I don't know how much of Jackie Earle Haley's performance is his own work, and how much is the look/writing of the character, but it is a freakishly startling piece of work, and I gladly endorse a win here. Sometimes the outcome is so great that I have to cite it, even if I am not sure how much of the work was done for the actor.
"Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good."
- Minor Myers, Jr.
User avatar
Precious Doll
Emeritus
Posts: 4453
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:20 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by Precious Doll »

Reza wrote:
Precious Doll wrote:1. Martin Sheen for The Queen
That's Michael.
Thanks for the pick-up Reza.

Too much wine tonight.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
Reza
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10031
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 11:14 am
Location: Islamabad, Pakistan

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by Reza »

Precious Doll wrote:1. Martin Sheen for The Queen
That's Michael.
User avatar
Precious Doll
Emeritus
Posts: 4453
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:20 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by Precious Doll »

1. Michael Sheen for The Queen
2. Jackie Earle Haley for Little Children
3. Andre Dussollier for Private Fears in Public Places
4. Stephen Fry for V for Vendetta
5. Jiri Schmitzer for Beauty in Trouble
Last edited by Precious Doll on Fri Jul 27, 2012 4:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
Bruce_Lavigne
Graduate
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 1:47 pm
Location: Boston

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by Bruce_Lavigne »

I quite like this year for this category, even if the Oscar lineup includes some clunkers, and Murphy is my pick for best of both the ballot and the year. Yes, there are a lot of familiar "Eddie Murphy-isms" in his Dreamgirls performance, but he uses them to a completely different effect than he ever has in any other role, and in a movie whose flaws generally kept its positive aspects from registering as strongly with me as they could have, he moved me to tears. He either revealed or created hidden depths in his familiar persona, and used them to make Jimmy Early a very moving tragic figure, even as the movie around him didn't seem to deserve that weight.

I would have been happy with a win for Haley or Wahlberg as well. There's a lot more to what Haley does in Little Children than just effective casting; and Wahlberg was, for me, the standout supporting player of the year's best ensemble (with the masterful Damon and the overly extroverted DiCaprio as leads), and the one who got all the best lines in the year's best adapted screenplay.

Arkin is good, but not nomination-worthy, in the thoroughly ordinary Little Miss Sunshine, though Steve Carell would have warranted a nod for the same film; Hounsou is a) lead and b) awful in Blood Diamond. As for the oft-bemoaned snubee Michael Sheen: I didn't think he was good enough to merit a nod -- either here, or in the lead category where he belonged.

My ballot:
1. Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls)
2. Paul Giamatti (The Illusionist)
3. Adam Beach (Flags of Our Fathers)
4. Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children)
5. Steve Carell (Little Miss Sunshine)
----------------------------------------------------------------
6. Danny Huston (The Proposition)
7. Mark Wahlberg (The Departed)
8. Michael Caine (Children of Men)
9. Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada)
10. Donald Sutherland (Aurora Borealis)

Others I liked:
Robert Downey, Jr (A Scanner Darkly)
Nick Nolte (Clean)*
Jack Nicholson (The Departed)
Sacha Baron Cohen (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby)
William Hurt (The King)
Alec Baldwin (The Departed)
Michael Caine (The Prestige)
Bill Nighy (Notes on a Scandal)
Gael García Bernal (Babel)
David Bowie (The Prestige)

* – Not Oscar-eligible, apparently
Mister Tee
Tenured Laureate
Posts: 8637
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 2:57 pm
Location: NYC
Contact:

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by Mister Tee »

This year's slate brings me exceptionally close to abstention.

I thought Michael Sheen in The Queen was EASILY the best choice for the category. I've never understood why he got so little traction. given his film's otherwise stellar reception. Confusion about whether he was in lead or support? Even if the former, you'd have thought he'd rate above, say, Will Smith.

Also very fond of Michael Caine in Children of Men, but we all know how under-rewarded that great film went overall.

I'd echo what bizarre said below: I'd have preferred Noah Emmerich if there was to be a Little Children nominee, for making a character I couldn't stomach on the page into someone recognizably human. Jackie Earle Haley seemed to me just a case of effective casting: he LOOKS like the kind of creep one imagines a child molester to be. I didn't see anything special in performance terms.

I remember back at the time thinking Djimon Hounsou might win, given the prominence of his character and his film's damnably strong showing in the nominations. I don't think he's bad, but the movie left me so cold I can't honor it in any way.

As others have said, Alan Arkin in career terms deserved an Oscar well more than anyone else on the slate, so I couldn't exactly be unhappy about his win. But I thought so little of Little Miss Sunshine, I once again can't give my vote.

I had early on seen Eddie Murphy as a potential winner, given that Cleavant Derricks had kicked ass in the role and won a Tony for it onstage. But, when I finally saw the film, Murphy's rendition didn't hit me the way Derricks' had. I wasn't 100% surprised by his loss.

That leaves me with Mark Wahlberg, who only seems to play a relatively minor role in The Departed, but is consistently enjoyable in it. That normally wouldn't be enough to get my Oscar vote. But, as I say, I'm barely inclined to vote at all this year, and the minor pleasure Wahlberg offers is the best available. So, Wahlberg it is.

On to much better years.
Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10747
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by Sabin »

Another fairly unexceptional year lineup. The only performance I actively dislike is Jackie Earle Haley who is plays a child molester by way of Nosferatu in Little Children, which is perfectly in sync with the rest of that unpleasant film. I was hoping he and his film would just fade from memory, but how do you forget that?

I’ll say this for Djimon Hounsou in Blood Diamond…can’t really imagine anyone else in that film. It sounds pretty simplistic to say that he does the same thing that he did in Amistad, but a lot of the beats are actually pretty similar. Just a lotta anguished howling. He’s good, but I couldn’t believe it when he started to pick up precursor nominations. I saw an advanced screening of Blood Diamond and immediately wrote it off – nothin’ doing! And then it picked up five nominations. Just mystifying. Well, he’s certainly the best thing in the film, but that’s saying very little.

Similarly to Hounsou, of the remaining three performances, they do a pretty solid job with their roles. Arkin, Wahlberg, and Murphy are all fine. Going into the race I anticipated Murphy’s main competition to be either Brad Pitt in Babel and Jack Nicholson in The Departed. The fact that Pitt didn’t really do much in Babel besides have grey hair makes sense as to why he missed the cut, but it does warrant attention because it serves as a line in the sand between the bored Pitt of old and the steadily interesting Pitt being born, which only Ocean’s Thirteen eclipsed. Why Jack Nicholson wasn’t nominated is beyond me. Although the only supporting performer from The Departed I would have nominated would be Alec Baldwin, cries that Jack was too much ring false to me – when was the last time he didn’t do this exact thing? Jack not getting one [clearly] for the road is a bit odd even if I wasn’t a big fan of his performance.

Although Eddie Murphy does have a few nice moments and Alan Arkin is pretty amusing in a role so thin I believe he may just be known as “Grandpa”, I’m going with Mark Wahlberg who gives easily the most one-dimensional turn of the bunch. But to glorious effect. Ultimately, I’m giving it to Wahlberg because pretty much everyone in The Departed is better than pretty much everyone in this lineup. I would just as happily go for Alec Baldwin or Martin Sheen as well. With a few exceptions, Mark Wahlberg in a leading role is the kiss of death for whatever movie he’s in. Boogie Nights, Ted, and The Fighter…and that’s because these roles take advantage of his pitched desperation rather than his boring stoicism. But in a supporting role, he can be pretty magical here, in Three Kings, and especially I (Heart) Huckabees.

Best Supporting Actor
1. Ray Winstone, The Proposition
2. Michael Caine, Children of Men
3. Michael Sheen, The Queen
4. Alec Baldwin, The Departed
5. Anthony Mackie, Half Nelson
"How's the despair?"
The Original BJ
Emeritus
Posts: 4312
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2003 8:49 pm

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by The Original BJ »

When I saw their films, I thought both Michael Sheen and Jack Nicholson would place in this category, and their omissions disappointed me, especially because I think this field is pretty weak overall.

But I thought the best excluded candidate was Daniel Craig in Infamous. I wonder if the film hadn't been seen as second helpings, then perhaps his fine dramatic work here (in a year when he also broke through in a big star way as James Bond) might have been a stronger candidate.

Djimon Hounsou is the first to go. I don't know that anyone could have survived the chore that is Blood Diamond, but his role just struck me as a lot of screaming and crying, not a lot of character.

In career terms, Alan Arkin obviously deserves an Oscar more than anyone else here, so when I divorce my feelings about Little Miss Sunshine from his win, it's hard for me to root against his victory. But I found Little Miss Sunshine alarmingly overrated, and didn't think Arkin was much more than curmudgeonly throughout. I don't even think he vaguely approaches nomination-level territory.

Mark Wahlberg was a hoot in The Departed, stealing every scene he's in like a classic supporting character type, only with a lot more foul language. I was glad he scored this nomination, especially for a role that adds so much color while genuinely existing on the sidelines. But it was more of a fun role than an especially deep one.

I think it's completely understandable why Eddie Murphy emerged as the frontrunner, and equally understandable why he lost. His Jimmy Early is probably the fullest performance of any of the nominees here -- he's very charismatic, funny, soulful in his musical moments, and powerful during his breakdown. But he also lacks a big moment -- an "I Am Telling You" powerhouse -- that understandably left a lot of voters willing to choose someone else.

My vote is with Jackie Earle Haley. I do think a lot of the effect of his performance has to do with his genuinely creepy presence rather than powerhouse acting moments...but he does manage to make his character both realistically disturbing and sympathetically human. And, in the regards to the latter, he doesn't beg for affection -- the "I just wanted to cool off" pool sequence is full of unhinged anger, yet it's this alarming social ineptitude that ultimately makes the viewer feel for his character. Similarly, Haley makes the date scene in the car with Jane Adams equally frightening and pathetic. He isn't an overwhelming choice for me, but I think he makes the strongest impression out of any of these candidates, in the film I find most interesting, despite its flaws.
flipp525
Laureate
Posts: 6163
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 7:44 am

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by flipp525 »

bizarre wrote:2. Simon McBurney / Friends with Money
I love that scene in the clothing store where the guy is trying to pick him up. A very authentic performance.
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."

-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Reza
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10031
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 11:14 am
Location: Islamabad, Pakistan

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by Reza »

Voted for Alan Arkin.

My picks for 2006:

1. Leslie Phillips, Venus
2. Michael Sheen, The Queen
3. Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
4. Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
5. Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls

The 6th Spot: Alec Baldwin, The Departed
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19318
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by Big Magilla »

This is probably the year I agreed least with the Academy than any other, with three of the year's five best films - Pan's Labyrinth, Children of Men and The Lives of Others - missing from the Best Picture slate and various strong performances, particularly in the Best Actor and Supporting Actor catgories completely ignored.

I liked Jack Nicholson's over-the-top performance in The Departed more than most here. I thought his was the veteran performance that should have been nominated, not Alan Arkin's in Little Miss Sunshine, which made my top ten list, but not my top five. Mark Wahlberg's nomination I could have done without.

Jackie Earle Haley's nomination was well-deserved, but I never saw him as more than an also-ran for Little Children. Eddie Murphy was strong in Dreamgirls, but not as strong as the newcomer who won in the other supporting category.

I barely recall Djimon Hounsou in Blood Diamond and I've already given him my vote for In America.

Missing are the two best supporting actor performancs of the year - Michael Sheen's Tony Blair in The Queen and my particular favorite, Adam Beach as Ira Hayes in Flags of Our Fathers.

With those two and Nicholson out of the race, there really isn't anyone left I really feel happy about voting for, but I'll cast one for Arkin because he's an actor who probably should have won something somewhere alogn the line, but didn't.
ksrymy
Adjunct
Posts: 1164
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 1:10 am
Location: Wichita, KS
Contact:

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by ksrymy »

Much like I did with the Best Actor 1999 thread, koook got eager when he joined and created this poll. So here's to a successful resurfacing!

I don't have anything against Mark Wahlberg's nomination. It was a fun role, but Wahlberg could have played it in his sleep seeing as he'd been arrested by the same kinds of Boston cops in his youth. I would have prefered Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin, or Martin Sheen here.

Speaking of Sheens, Michael Sheen was criminally robbed for his work in The Queen. He didn't do a standard imitation of Tony Blair; we actually got to see an emotional side. There's actually more acting and subtly and whatnot going on than there is imitation. Sheen was able to take a not-too-well-liked leader and generate sympathy for him through his subtlety. He's the go-to guy for Tony Blair roles and this is now even moreso because of this role. He previously played Blair in The Deal which rang more true because he looks like the man. Michael Sheen deserved to win this year. This may be the one and only thing bizarre and I have agreed on during our times here.

Eddie Murphy nails his musical scenes because he's got the persona and charisma to lend to such an outlandish character, but I don't think he's really doing anything other than being Eddie Murphy. There's a scene where Murphy's character talks about how he invented, if I recall correctly, hot pants. It still reeked of that "Eddie Murphy" persona. I'm glad he has a nomination because stand-up comedians don't ever get them, but his performance was too idiosyncratic for me.

Djimon Hounsou is not someone I have really cared for especially when it comes to his nominated roles and there is nothing different with this role than there is in In America for me. He's given a bigger chance to chew up screen time especially due to the political nature of the film and him being the focus of the atrocities at hand.

I may have been at the right age when I saw Little Miss Sunshine, but I absolutely adore this film. I remember wanting Arkin to win at the time (because I hadn't seen another nominee) because he was the bright spot of the film. I look at it now and realize the entire cast is a-one. Arkin is great as the curmudgeon without becoming the Walter Matthau definition of curmudgeonly. He's the sassy old man and he nails it. His uproar at the chicken dinner, his tender scenes with Abigail Breslin, his non-PC moments with Carell, God, he is funny in them. The thing, though, is that he's more memorable when he's not in the film. His corpse becomes an even funnier character. Was Arkin due for a career Oscar?: absolutely. Was this the best performance of the year or from these nominees?: no.

So I go for Jackie Earle Haley. Is Little Children a bit of a typical suburban melodrama?: yes. Was it written by Tom Perrotta though?: yes. And while I'm in no way, shape, or form saying Perrotta is on the levels of an R.K. Narayan, Sidhwa, Dostoyevsky, or Fitzgerald, I'm saying that he is the reason the film succeeds. The direction is rather bland and trifling, there are two great things about the film, Kate Winslet and Jackie Earle Haley and the latter obviously steals the show. Was it a stunt to cast a former child actor as a pedophile?: possibly. Was it effective?: you bet your ass it was. He's tender and sweet all while being absolutely unnerving. His post-date scene in the car with that blank expression on his face is haunting and even moreso when the fade out into the playground is revealed. And of course there's the end scene that everyone remembers. I like how nightwing puts it: "he dredge[s] chasms of repressed shame." His one brief scene with Winslet is also extremely effective.

Haley is the only winner in this poll.

My picks
_____________________
1. Michael Sheen - The Queen
2. Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
3. Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
4. Steve Carell - Little Miss Sunshine
5. Jack Nicholson - The Departed

6. Stephen Fry - V for Vendetta
"Men get to be a mixture of the charming mannerisms of the women they have known." - F. Scott Fitzgerald
nightwingnova
Assistant
Posts: 516
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2011 4:48 pm

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by nightwingnova »

Wahlberg was decent but not outstanding.

Hounsou was quite good, but nothing memorable.

Arkin? Fine.

Now the tough choice.

Eddie Murphy was excellent - spot-on, nuanced and subtle when appropriate.

Jackie Earle Haley was spooky but nothing special for most of the film - then came his breakdown scene where he dredged chasms of repressed shame and pain to reveal to us. Shocking. Slight edge to Haley.
bizarre
Assistant
Posts: 566
Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:35 am

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by bizarre »

I think this is a pretty weak lineup, especially considering the multiple names that didn't make the shortlist (I still find Jack Nicholson's and Brad Pitt's snubs confusing, and there were many other people in the conversation to be considered - Michael Sheen, Ben Affleck, two superior cast members from Little Miss Sunshine - Steve Carell and Paul Dano, Sergi López, Adam Beach, Kazunari Ninomiya, Stanley Tucci, and even the fraud-y Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed whose last minute Supporting campaign rang the death knell for a lead nomination).

I'd rank them like this:

1. Djimon Hounsou
-
2. Eddie Murphy
3. Jackie Earle Haley
4. Alan Arkin
5. Mark Wahlberg

Hounsou wins for me by default although I would hardly consider nominating him myself. His performance is over-the-top and uncontrolled but he effectively limns a primal sort of desperation, fear and outrage and his intensity gets my vote here. He's probably the only thing approaching a recognisably human presence in this synthetic Diamond.

The other four nominees I outright dislike. I'd give Eddie Murphy the edge for his spirited and infectious musical numbers, but off-stage his playing is as clichéd and pedestrian as the rest of the cast. I guess it says something about the acting here that I'd give MVP honours to Beyoncé?

Haley was the critics' pick and the underdog choice that most were glad to see nominated. He was making a comeback despite being hardly famous in his 'prime'. So it hurts me a little to say that I find his performance shockingly uneven. He, and the film itself, seem scared to give this character any real depth, backstory or motivation, so the PC wishy-washiness results in (Act 1) a cartoon creep, (Act 2) a damaged mama's boy worthy of a 50s B-thriller, (Act 3) a gibbering idiot. I would have supported a Noah Emmerich nomination instead - hardly perfect, but far better at both essaying contradictory impulses in-character and ignoring those in-script.

Arkin is likeable but to be so demands no effort from him. This sort of light-hearted veteran's 'day off' is the sort of nomination I thought the Academy had gotten tired of after the 1980s. I'm hardly a fan of the film but Dano's implosion of identity or Carell's touching melancholy should have received the honours instead.

Wahlberg is an obnoxiously self-aggrandising, bullheaded screen presence even when he doesn't need to be. Here he needs to be, but that doesn't make his shtick any less annoying. Jack Nicholson's performance was indulgent but provided some moments of true horror. DiCaprio and Damon would have been carpetbagging had they been nominated here, but they both gave excellent, searching performances. Even with far less screentime Martin Sheen ably telegraphed an entire life of fear and sadness and would have made a better and more appropriate nominee than Wahlberg.

My nominees:

1. Michael Sheen / The Queen
2. Simon McBurney / Friends with Money
3. Boubker Ait El Caid / Babel
4. Mustapha Rachidi / Babel
5. Jim Broadbent / Art School Confidential
(6. Brad Pitt / Babel)
mojoe92
Graduate
Posts: 159
Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:27 am

Re: Best Supporting Actor 2006

Post by mojoe92 »

I remember hearing that Eddie Murphy was the clear winner up until Norbit came out. Can a performance from another movie really affect the result? That seems farfetched to me. Maybe it was just "that time" for Arkin. I don't know how to feel about that theory. But for me Murphy was the clear winner
Post Reply

Return to “The 8th Decade”