2011 Oscar Preview

by Adam Chitwood    Posted:November 26th, 2010

Best Supporting Actor

Frontrunners:
Christian Bale – The Fighter
Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech
Likely to be nominated:
Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right
Sam Rockwell – Conviction
Michael Douglas – Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Outside contenders:
Armie Hammer – The Social Network
Andrew Garfield – The Social Network
Ed Harris – The Way Back
This could finally be Bale’s year, after incredible performances in just about every role he takes on (I think we can safely pretend like Terminator: Salvation never happened now, right?). His work in The Fighter has everyone talking, and at the moment this category looks like his to lose.  However, Rush could very well pull an upset. He hasn’t won since Shine and his role in The King’s Speech seems right up the Academy’s alley. Douglas’ cancer scare will more than likely have the Academy thinking of him, though whether he gets nominated for Wall Street or Solitary Man is a bit of a toss-up. Given the nostalgia for the role, and the resonance with today’s economic times, Wall Street may be the better bet. Rockwell does some great work in Conviction, but he most likely has a better role in him somewhere down the line that the Academy will reward him for (that guilt for snubbing him for Moon has to catch up sometime).  Hammer and Garfield turned in fine performances in Social Network, but they may be a bit too young. However, the Supporting categories always seem to be where the out-of-left-field nominee comes from every year, so Hammer or Garfield (or even Timberlake) could still be a possibility.
http://www.collider.com/2010/11/26/2011-oscar-preview/#more-62096