The Spire

Jake Ruderman ’26

Staff Writer

With the Oscars only a little more than a week away, let’s take a rapidfire look at the Supporting Acting categories, offering a brief overview and some predictions.

Starting this week with the Best Supporting Actor category, it’s helmed by far and away the biggest lock of the acting awards. From the second I walked out of the theater after seeing Oppenheimer, I said to myself that RDJ would win this Oscar, and I haven’t swayed since. Robert Downey Jr. dominates the screen, completely transforms himself, and operates perfectly within the confines of Nolan’s masterpiece. He has checked every single box, and has dominated the awards trail, winning the Best Supporting Actor award at the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards, the BAFTAs, and most recently, the SAG awards. Robert Downey Jr. will win this Oscar, and deserves to. 

Despite Downey’s absolute dominance, the other nominees in this category are stacked, and are just catching it in a tough year. Robert De Niro, one of the greatest actors of all time, is up for his performance in Killers of the Flower Moon. Playing a despicable yet charming character, De Niro puts on a masterclass of acting, dazzling as the muse of Director Martin Scorsese – the pair’s tenth film together.

Also nominated is perhaps the most relatable nominee, Ryan Gosling. Gosling’s portrayal as Ken in Barbie catapulted his career into a new stratosphere, as the film went on to earn over $1.4 billion worldwide. Gosling is charming, hysterical, and represents what’s wrong with the world in a sincere, yet naive way. Gosling’s fantastic, but not quite to the same level as Downey Jr. and De Niro. 

Aside from the clearcut ‘top-3’, Sterling K. Brown is nominated for his performance in American Fiction. Brown plays the protagonist’s emotionally distant younger brother, who’s lack of acceptance from his parents has left him with a cold shoulder for the whole family. While Brown is riveting in every scene he’s in, he’s simply not in the movie enough! Coming out of American Fiction, I found myself wishing it had been 20 minutes longer, just so I could have seen more of Brown’s character; maybe that deserves an award in and of itself, but it’s hard to justify Brown out-performed his co-nominees, when he’s barely in the movie.

Finally, rounding out the category is Mark Ruffalo, who’s nominated for his performance in Poor Things. Ruffalo gives, perhaps, the most comedic performance of the entire year, delivering outlandish lines alongside co-star Emma Stone, all with a goofy accent and absurd mustache. Ruffalo and Stone’s dynamic alone is enough to understand his nomination, but his displays of emotion add to his case as well. He has almost no shot of winning, but Ruffalo is reason enough to see Poor Things (if everything else about it has you unconvinced). 

And, while they’re not nominated, it’s worth mentioning some other incredible supporting performances from 2023’s stacked slate: Willem Dafoe for Poor Things, Charles Melton for May December, Paul Mescal for All of Us Strangers, Milo Machado-Graner for Anatomy of a Fall, Dominic Sessa for The Holdovers, Jacob Elordi for Priscilla, John Magaro for Past Lives, Antoine Reinartz for Anatomy of a Fall, and Jeremy Allen White for The Iron Claw. 

Turning now to the Best Supporting Actress category, it’s once again a runaway. Da’Vine Joy Randolph will win the Oscar for her performance in The Holdovers, having come on extremely strong during awards season. Like Downey Jr., Randolph has won the Best Supporting Actress award at the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards, the BAFTAs, and most recently, the SAG awards. Randolph’s portrayal of a grieving mother, private school chef, and semi-companion to Paul Giamatti’s oddball character is gut wrenching, genuine, and brimming with emotion. Randolph absolutely deserves to win the Oscar, and I can’t wait to see how her career pans out as a result.

Aside from Randolph, the rest of the category is incredibly balanced. It’s likely that Danielle Brooks is Randolph’s closest competition, for her performance in The Color Purple. Brooks was nominated for a Tony for her performance as Sofia, the same character, in the Broadway version of The Color Purple, and also won a Grammy for her portrayal. It’s no surprise years later that she’s nominated for an Oscar now for the role she was so clearly born to play. Brooks is phenomenal and absolutely steals the show every time she’s on screen, bringing life to a challenging part and conveying deep emotion.

America Ferrera is also nominated for her performance in Barbie. Ferrera’s role as the Barbie-loving mother of a daughter who wants nothing to do with her moved millions of people to tears, especially with her key speech, late in the film. Ferrera, like Gosling, doesn’t give a traditionally ‘Oscar-worthy’ performance, but fits her role within Barbie perfectly, grounding that movie and reminding viewers that it’s not just a fun trip to Barbieland, but a serious message about feminism and patriarchy. While Ferrera likely won’t win, she is awesome, even amidst a sea of awesome performances in Barbie.

In a year that seems destined to be defined by the Oppenheimer sweep, (much like Everything Everywhere All At Once last year) Emily Blunt is likely one of the few nominations that Oppenheimer won’t take home. While Blunt is remarkable in her limited screen time, it’s a performance that’s most impressive in its subtleties – qualities that take multiple watch-throughs to properly appreciate. And while obsessed fans may have seen the movie multiple times (like I have!), it’s very likely that the Academy simply doesn’t have time to effortlessly rewatch a three hour epic in the heart of voting season. Regardless, Blunt should be incredibly proud of her work and her ability to blend so effectively into one of the greatest casts ever assembled; her chemistry with Cillian Murphy is unrivaled, and their dynamic stands at the forefront of dominating performances from 2023.

Finally, comes Jodie Foster for her performance in Nyad. Foster plays the longtime best friend and coach of Diana Nyad, the 64 year old woman who successfully swam from Cuba to Florida. While the movie is a fairly mundane biopic, Foster is electric, and provides essential vigor where the movie needs it most. Aside from the specifics of her performance, Foster is one of the most talented actresses of the last 30 years and continues to dazzle audiences, most recently with her performance in True Detective: Night Country. While her rapport with the Academy certainly doesn’t hurt, it’s seriously unlikely that it will be enough to put her in contention for this award. 

And, like I did above, here’s a list of additional, outstanding supporting actress performances that deserve to be recognized: Sandar Hüller for The Zone of Interest, Viola Davis for Air, Rosamund Pike for Saltburn, Scarlett Johansson for Asteroid City, Rachel McAdams for Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Myra Lucretia Taylor for American Fiction, Julianne Moore for May December, Penélope Cruz for Ferrari, and Taraji P. Henson for The Color Purple.

Featured image courtesy of NME