Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2000: Results

5. Billy Crudup in Almost Famous- Crudup gives a good performance by showing both the good and the bad qualities which make a rock star.

Best Scene: Russell takes William to a party.

4. Joe Pantoliano in Memento- Pantoliano unfortunately overacts a bit, but he makes up for much of it by giving a complex portrayal of a man who knows much more than what he says he knows.

Best Scene: Teddy tells Leonard the truth.

3. Oliver Reed in Gladiator- Reed gives a compelling performance as a former gladiator champion although his performance is weakened by the fact that it remains an unfinished work.

Best Scene: Proximo tells Maximus how he achieved his freedom.

2. Takeshi Kitano in Battle Royale- Takeshi Kitano gives an effective turn by being the evil teacher he should be, but as well by showing why this man has come to be this way.

Best Scene: Kitano reveals his dream.

1. Jason Isaacs in The Patriot- This part asks one thing of Isaacs which is to be evil, and boy is he. Isaacs gives a striking performance by being unrelenting in his portrayal of the sadism of his character, while never once using the nature of his character as an excuse to overact.

Best Scene: Gabriel's attack on the dragoons.

Overall Rank:

1. Malcolm McDowell in Gangster No. 1
2. Jason Isaacs in The Patriot
3. Takeshi Kitano in Battle Royale
4. Oliver Reed in Gladiator
5. Stephen Tobolowsky in Memento 
6. Benicio Del Toro in Traffic
7. Tim Blake Nelson in O Brother Where Art Thou?
8. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Almost Famous
   
9. Michael Douglas in Traffic 
10. Joe Pantoliano in Memento
11. Billy Crudup in Almost Famous
12. Taro Yamamoto in Battle Royale
13. Eddie Marsan in Gangster No. 1
14. Don Cheadle in Traffic
15. David Thewlis in Gangster No. 1
16. Sousuke Takaoka in Battle Royale 
17. Larry Holden in Memento
18. John Turturro in O Brother Where Art Thou?
19. Jeffrey Wright in Shaft
20. Heath Ledger in The Patriot
21. Gary Oldman in The Contender 
22. John Goodman in O Brother Where Art Thou?
23. Chris Cooper in The Patriot
24. Takashi Tsukamoto in Battle Royale
25. Richard Harris in Gladiator
26. Michael Badalucco in O Brother Where Art Thou?
27. Christian Bale in Shaft
28. Charles Durning in O Brother Where Art Thou?
29. Michael Caine in Quills
30. Robert Downey Jr. in Wonder Boys
31. Steven Culp in Thirteen Days
32. Daniel Van Bargen in O Brother Where Art Thou?
33. Masnobu Ando in Battle Royale 
34. Tom Wilkinson in The Patriot 
35. Gary Lewis in Billy Elliot
36. Kevin Conway in Thirteen Days
37. Miguel Ferrer in Traffic
38. Frank Wood in Thirteen Days
39. Gene Hackman in The Replacements
40. Robert Duvall in The 6th Day
41. René Auberjonois in The Patriot
42. Dylan Baker in Thirteen Days 
43. Don Cheadle in Mission to Mars 
44. Bruce Davison in X-Men
45. Willem Dafoe in American Psycho
46. David Hemmings in Gladiator
47. Ian McKellen in X-Men
48. Tchéky Karyo in The Patriot
49. Ray Park in X-Men 
50. Dennis Quaid in Traffic 
51. Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator
52. Udo Kier in Shadow of the Vampire
53. Patrick Stewart in X-Men
54. Terence Stamp in Red Planet
55. Will Patton in Remember the Titans
56. Albert Finney in Erin Brockovich
57. Luis Guzman in Traffic
58. Djimon Honsou in Gladiator 
59. Leon Rippy in The Patriot
60. Jeff Bridges in The Contender
61. Noah Taylor in Almost Famous 
62. Giovanni Ribsi in Gone in 60 Seconds
63. Derek Jacobi in Gladiator 
64. James Brolin in Traffic
65. Jack Lemmon in The Legend of Beggar Vance 
66. David Paymer in Bait
67. Mark Boone Junior in Memento
68. Paul Giamatti in Big Momma's House
69. Peter Woodward in The Patriot
70. Xander Berkeley in Shanghai Noon
71. Albert Finney in Traffic
72. David Morse in Bait 
73. Owen Wilson in Meet the Parents
74. Eddie Izzard in Shadow of the Vampire
75. Donnie Yen in Highlander Endgame 
76. James Mardsen in X-Men
77. Sam Elliot in The Contender
78. Michael Clarke Duncan in The Whole Nine Yards
79. Roger Yuan in Shanghai Noon
80. Change Chen in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
81. James Rebhorn in Meet the Parents 
82. Adam Baldwin in The Patriot 
83. Kevin Pollak in The Whole Nine Yards
84. Carey Elwes in Shadow of the Vampire
85. Topher Grace in Traffic
86. Joey D. Vieira in The Patriot 
87. Christian Slater in The Contender
88. Jay Arlen Jones in The Patriot
89. Tom Sizemore in Red Planet 
90. Tobey Maguire in Wonder Boys
91. Johnny Depp in Before Night Falls 
92. Donal Logue in The Patriot 
93. Johnny Depp in Chocolat
94. Aaron Eckhart in Erin Brockovich
95. Jason Lee in Almost Famous
96. Doug Hutchison in Bait
97. Gregory Smith in The Patriot
98. Orland Jones in Bedazzled
99. Christopher Eccleston in Gone in 60 Seconds
100. Jerry O'Connell in Mission to Mars
101. Rainn Wilson in Almost Famous
102. Toby Huss in Bedazzled
103. Will Smith in The Legend of Beggar Vance
104. Shawn Ashmore in X-Men
105. The Cast of The Grinch
106. Larry Miller in The Nutty Professor II
107. John Ales in The Nutty Professor II
108. Cast of Little Nicky
109. Cast of Road Trip
110. Tyler Mane in X-Men
111. Bruce Payne in Highlander Endgame

Next Year: 1981 Lead

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2000: Oliver Reed in Gladiator

Oliver Reed did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for BAFTA, for portraying Proximo in Gladiator.

Oliver Reed plays Proximo the man who buys Maximus Decimus (Russell Crowe) after he has had his family murdered by the evil Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Proximo is a gladiator manager and owner, although he is a bit different in that he himself was a former Gladiator. Reed was an excellent choice to play the part having played many tough guy roles throughout his career and here he brings that sort of presence to this role. Although Proximo is aged, and most certainly past his prime, with Reed we can see what made him the great warrior he once was, and possibly how exactly how he once came to be the true champion of the Colosseum.

Reed plays both sides of the role very well. As the outer side, Reed shows Proximo to be a shrewd businessman. Reed brings the right sly attitude with a certain strong force of personality as Proximo showing him to be a man well versed in the nature of his trade. Proximo though does have the deeper connection with Gladiator's then just the money. Reed has one great scene where he tries to inspire his men to victory giving a hint of his own mastery of the arena. Reed is terrific as he thrusts with a knife portraying the powerful technique in Proximo, and suggesting exactly who Proximo once was when he had to save his life by ending another simply for entertainment purposes.

Oliver Reed's best scene though is when he encourages Maximus to be more than a killer, and be a showman who the crowd adores. In the scene Proximo describes when he was made free by the former emperor after becoming the champion of the arena. Reed handles the scene beautifully because it is not like he is just giving a lecture to Maximus. Reed instills the moment with a tremendous nostalgic pride and shows Proximo almost relive the moment as he gives the sense of the joy Proximo held when he finally achieved freedom so many years ago. It is a wonderfully acted scene by Reed, and it also properly alludes to why Proximo would be willing to give up his own livelihood to help Maximus late in the film.

This film was Reed's last one, and unfortunately he actually died during filming. All of Proximo's scenes were not completed and this is noticeable in the film. When everyone is captured in Proximo's compound the Roman guards for whatever reason kill Proximo even though they don't do the same to the slaves even the ones who have fought back. Of course this is a pretty obvious rewrite to compensate for Reed's untimely end. The required changes cuts Proximo short really. If Reed had lived it is pretty easy to see that Proximo probably would have had one more scene that would have given a more fitting end to his character, rather than the very quick exit his character receives in the film.

In my view Oliver Reed once again gives the best performance in a best picture winning film, even though once again his character is far from being even the most important supporting character in the film. Reed even with the fact that he really did not get to portray the actual conclusion of the character before his death makes Proximo a compelling character. I only wish there had been more of Proximo in the film as Reed makes him a fascinating part of the film even though the character could very well have made absolutely no impact on the film whatsoever. Oliver Reed brings out the complexities of the part incredibly well, and creates an interesting portrait of a gladiator after he has put away his sword.

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2000

And the Nominees Were Not:

Billy Crudup in Almost Famous

Takeshi Kitano in Battle Royale

Oliver Reed in Gladiator

Jason Isaacs in The Patriot

Joe Pantoliano in Memento

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1968

5. Oliver Reed in Oliver!- Reed despite not singing actually gives the best performance in his film never failing to bring the menace with his performance.

Best Scene: Bill returns to Fagin after the murder. 

4. Michael York in Romeo and Juliet- York plays Tybalt as well as he really could be through his portrayal of the role with his pompous flamboyant delivery, and his success in bringing more weight to the role than one would expect.

Best Scene: Tybalt and Mercutio sword fight. 

3. Timothy Dalton in The Lion in Winter- Dalton despite having possibly the least screen time of the important characters in the film has one of the strongest impacts giving a powerful portrayal of the vengeful French King.

Best Scene: Henry is shown his children's secrets by Philip. 

2. Anthony Hopkins in The Lion in Winter- The hardest part of this ranking was determining between the two Lion in Winter supporting men who should have been nominated over Jack Wild and especially Daniel Massey. Hopkins is terrific in his role as Richard bringing across the power of the King in the man, but also being very powerful in his depiction of his vulnerabilities as well.

Best Scene: Philip manipulates Richard.

1. Jason Robards in Once Upon A Time in The West- Good Prediction Koook160. Robards gives a great performance in his very important supporting role in this film. He manages to be a humorous presence, an imposing one with some mystery, and even a tender one.

Best Scene: Cheyenne talks about his mother. 

Overall Rank:

1. Jason Robards in Once Upon a Time in The West
2. Anthony Hopkins in The Lion in Winter
3. Timothy Dalton in The Lion in Winter
4. Gene Wilder in The Producers
5. Seymour Cassel in Faces
6. Gabriele Ferzetti in Once Upon a Time in The West
7. Dick Shawn in The Producers 
8. John McEnery in Romeo and Juliet 
9. Oliver Reed in Oliver!
10. Michael York in Romeo and Juliet
11. Milo O'Shea in Romeo and Juliet
12. Dirk Bogarde in The Fixer
13. Kenneth Mars in The Producers
14. Patrick Wymark in Where Eagles Dare
15. Percy Rodriguez in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter 
16. Ian Holm in The Fixer
17. Douglas Rain in 2001: A Space Odyssey
18. John Castle in The Lion in Winter
19. Derren Nesbitt in Where Eagles Dare
20. Woody Strode in Once Upon a Time in The West
21. Maurice Evans in Planet of the Apes
22. Jack Elam in Once Upon a Time in The West
23. Robert Vaughn in Bullitt
24. Stacy Keach in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
25. Michael Hordern in Where Eagles Dare
26. Harry Secombe in Oliver! 
27. Roddy McDowall in Planet of the Apes
28. Anton Diffring in Where Eagles Dare
29. Jack Wild in Oliver!
30. Gary Lockwood in 2001: A Space Odyssey 
31. Keenan Wynn in Once Upon a Time in The West
32. Herb Edelman in The Odd Couple
33. Karl Hardman in Night of The Living Dead
34. Robert Beatty in Where Eagles Dare
35. John Fiedler in The Odd Couple
36. Donald Houston in Where Eagles Dare 
37. Hugh Griffith in Oliver!
38. Christopher Hewett in The Producers
39. Frank Wolff in Once Upon a Time in The West
40. Paolo Stoppa in Once Upon A Time in The West
41. Daniel Massey in Star
42. Lionel Stander in Once Upon a Time in The West
43. Joseph O'Conor in Oliver!
44. Peter Bogdanovich in Targets
45. Nigel Terry in The Lion in Winter

Next Year: 1951 Leading

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1968: Oliver Reed in Oliver!

Oliver Reed did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Bill Sikes in Oliver!.

Oliver Reed plays Bill Sikes in this musical version of Oliver Twist, and although the film won best picture he was never going to be nominated as he plays what might be the least favorite type of Oscar character. Bill Sikes is just a despicable character, but without any "redeeming" style in the way he goes about being despicable. Although this is a musical adaptation and many of the characters are fairly lightened up through this adaption particularly Fagin and Artful Dodger, Oliver Reed's portrayal of Sikes makes no concessions for the fact that there is all sorts of singing and dancing around him.

Sikes actually had a song in the original musical, but it was removed from the film. This might have been done because Reed could not sing, but it was probably a good idea to remove Sikes singing making him stand out as a character who does not have a song in his heart. Reed plays Sikes insanely straight, and his portrayal of Sikes would have worked in a down and dirty adaptation of Oliver Twist. He goes for playing the character as Charles Dickens envisioned him. Reed portrayal of him does not ever try to avoid creating the extreme brutality that lies right within the character.

Oliver Reed is quite effective in his performance as Sikes as he brings a quite menace to the part that works for two reasons. One is that he shows the great possibility of violence that Sikes is capable of, and does indeed act upon later in the film. The silence also works because although the menace is there Reed manages to make it believable that the good hearted Nancy (Shani Wallis) would stay with him at all. The reason is in his silence it seems that very well she could easily accept him, and even believes that she loves him as the vicious criminal is not always rapidly apparent.

Reed though carries his menace well into when he talks as well and we see the full extent of the killer inside. He is particularly chilling in the scene where he threatens Fagin by telling what chickens do when their necks are rung off. Reed delivery of this scene is incredibly good, and shows exactly what there is to Sikes. Reed is good in the role because how base evil he is as Sikes who is just a criminal thug, not a mastermind, but capable of horrible deeds anyway. Reed is great as Sikes in the quiet scenes, but he also succeeds at the end of the film when Sikes is a man on the run after having murdered someone.

Reed succeeds well in his last scenes showing Sikes lose his more restrained demeanor at the end, as he becomes almost like an animal in corner as he is chased. Reed is quite good in this scene because after he does the murder it would have been easy enough to show Sikes just keep his demeanor from before. Reed does much more by showing that Sikes definitely knows what he has done.  He might not show remorse exactly for his action he expresses that Sikes understands there is no turning back from what he is done. Reed gives this moment a lot more weight by doing this, and does far more here than was honestly required of Sikes as character. It is a good performance, and despite being the one character who does not sing in this musical he honestly gives the best performance in the film.

Read More

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1968

And the Nominees Were Not:

Anthony Hopkins in The Lion in Winter

Timothy Dalton in The Lion in Winter

Jason Robards in Once Upon a Time in The West

Oliver Reed in Oliver!

Michael York in Romeo and Juliet

Read More