Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1986: Results

5. Raul Julia in The Morning After- Julia is going against a terrible film, but he does rise enough above it to give some depth to a role.

Best Scene: The Revelation.

4. Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors- Martin may peak with his song, but that is one entertaining peak to reach.

Best Scene: "Dentist!"

3. Brian Cox in Manhunter- Cox gives us his own Hannibal that emphasizing the intelligence once again, but with with a very effective more down to earth style.

Best Scene: Hannibal's introduction.

2. Daniel Day-Lewis in A Room With A View- Day-Lewis gives a brilliant portrayal of the ultimate Edwardian man which he makes amusing in the extremity yet completely natural to his character.

Best Scene: Lucy breaks off the engagement with Cecil.

1. Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet- Good Predictions Psifonian, Lezlie, Maciej, RatedRStar,  and Michael McCarthy. Despite this year having several strong strong supporting performances I have no hesitations in rewarding Hopper the win here. He is absolutely amazing with his searing and completely unforgettable depiction of the twisted Frank Booth.

Best Scene: "In Dreams" 

Overall Rank

1. Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet
2. Daniel Day-Lewis in A Room With A View
3. Tom Berenger in Platoon
4. Willem Dafoe in Platoon
5. Dean Stockwell in Blue Velvet
6. Michael Caine in Hannah and Her Sisters
7. Brian Cox in Manhunter
8. Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors
9. Ray Liotta in Something Wild
10. Michael Caine in Mona Lisa
11. Tom Noonan in Manhunter
12. John C. McGinley in Platoon 
13. Raul Julia in The Morning After
14. Lance Henriksen in Aliens
15. Dennis Hopper in Hoosiers
16. Vincent Price in The Great Mouse Detective
17. Michael Biehn in Aliens
18. Bill Murray in Little Shop of Horrors
19. Corey Feldman in Stand By Me
20. Levi Stubbs in Little Shop of Horrors
21. Robbie Coltrane in Mona Lisa
22. Paul Reiser in Aliens
23. Clancy Brown in Highlander
24. Bill Paxton in Aliens
25. James Hong in Big Trouble in Little China 
26. Alan Ruck in Ferris Bueller's Day Off 
27. Helmut Qualtinger in The Name of the Rose 
28. Woody Allen in Hannah and Her Sisters 
29. Jeffrey Jones in Ferries Bueller's Day Off
30. Jerry O'Connell in Stand By Me
31. Vincent Gardenia in Little Shop of Horrors
32. George Dickerson in Blue Velvet
33. Forest Whitaker in Platoon
34. Dennis Dun in Big Trouble in Little China
35. Max von Sydow in Hannah and Her Sisters
36. Keith David in Platoon
37. William Hope in Aliens
38. Forest Whitaker in The Color of Money 
39. Conrad Roberts in The Mosquito Coast
40. Ray McNally in The Mission
41. Victory Wong in Big Trouble in Little China
42. Kevin Dillon in Platoon
43. F. Murray Abraham in The Name of the Rose
44. Francesco Quinn in Platoon
45. Val Bettin in The Great Mouse Detective
46. Liam Neeson in The Mission
47. Val Kilmer in Top Gun 
48. Sean Connery in Highlander
49. Anthony Edwards in Top Gun
50. Denholm Elliot in A Room With A View
51. Ron Perlman in The Name of the Rose
52. Charles Dance in The Golden Child
53. Simon Callow in A Room With A View
54. Philip Bosco in Children of a Lesser God
55. Brad Dourif in Blue Velvet
56. Tom Skerritt in Top Gun
57. Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
58. Michael Lonsdale in The Name of the Rose
59. DeForest Kelley in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
60. Victor Wong in The Golden Child
61. Dennis Farina in Manhunter
62. Rupert Graves in A Room With A View
63. John Turturro in The Color of Money
64. Michael Ironside in Top Gun
65. Reni Santoni in Cobra
66. Jim Belushi in Salvador
67. Yuj Okumoto in The Karate Kid Part II
68. Martin Scorsese in 'Round Midnight
69. Alan Young in The Great Mouse Detective
70. James Hong in The Golden Child 
71. Danny Kamekona in The Karate Kid Part II
72. John Savage in Salvador
73. Stephen Lang in Manhunter
74. Alfonso Arau in The Three Amigos
75. John Getz in The Fly
76. David Kagen in Friday the 13th Part VI
77. Andre Gregory in The Mosquito Coast
78. Andrew Schofield in Sid and Nancy
79. Austin Pendleton in Short Circuit
80. Fisher Stevens in Short Circuit
81. Tom Fridley in Friday the 13th Part VI
82. Brian Thompson in Cobra

Next Year: 2009 lead

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1986: Raul Julia in The Morning After

Raul Julia did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Joaquin "Jackie" Manero in The Morning After.

The Morning After is an awful is about an alcoholic actress Alex (Jane Fonda) who finds a murdered man in her bed one morning. Sidney Lumet does a terrible job directing it keeping it tonally inconsistent and making some of the oddest music choices ever seen in a mainstream film. It does not help that the two main characters are not interesting, and I have to admit I found Fonda's drunk scenes to be pretty awful. As for the quality of the central mystery well I might as start the review....

This is not really one of Julia's greatest performances and in fact  I'd even say he was in a better film when he was in Street Fighter, but I can't help myself when a Julia performance is recommended just to recognize the man who was taken from this life far too soon. Anyway the mystery of The Morning After does not seem much like a mystery at all as the killing obviously has something to do with Raul Julia who is the only other character in the film besides the male lead played by Jeff Bridges who is a hillbilly? ex-detective. It was obviously not going to be Jeff Bridges as Jagged Edge was only a year before so it had to be Julia, well did it not? Well actually it isn't really because it's this character you don't see until the revelation, which I guess can work, but not if it's written this poorly. Anyway Julia's Jackie still has something to do with it.

For most of the film though Julia comes in and out of the film as Alex's hairdresser and husband although they are apparently amiable in a separation. Julia even in a bad part still has plenty of energy to go around like an early scene where he tries to replay what it was that Alex had done the night before the murder. Julia does not have all that much screen time for him to build a character but he is effective in showing the undercurrent of deceit in Jackie, and the fact that he obviously knows far more about the murder than he let's on. What Julia does though is suggest what is later explained and that is that Jackie is contemplating far more than if he was merely the murdering. There is going on in Julia's portrayal and it would have been interesting to have explored his character more but the film is terrible so it has to focus on Fonda's disjointed performance and Bridges's inconsistent accent.

The revelation at the end of the film is that Jackie is actually trying to cover for his new fiancee who apparently was the one who committed the murder. He does handle the revelation scene well particularly when Jackie is trying to kill Alex. Although the camera angle Lumet chooses is hideous, Julia is effective in showing that Jackie is almost breaking his own heart well trying to do this. In that moment he actually brings far greater depth to the piece than can be found any where else. He is even quite moving when Jackie's fiancee tries to pin the murder on him as he shows Jackie to be so honestly distraught that the woman he tried so hard to save has just betrayed him in the end. This is a more than solid performance by Julia as I do think he rises above his terrible surroundings despite the extreme limitations of the role. I have to say I would have much rather have seen the film be completely about Julia's character moral contemplation over his actions to save his love. Unfortunately though there just is not enough Raul to go around in this case.

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1986

And the Nominees Were Not:

Daniel Day-Lewis in A Room With A View

Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet

Brian Cox in Manhunter

Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors

Raul Julia in The Morning After

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1994: Results

5. Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction- Willis utilizes his usual on screen persona effectively in a role that suits it.

Best Scene: Butch saves Marcellus.

4. Bob Gunton in The Shawshank Redemption- Gunton gives a terrific performance portraying the evil Warden viciously yet never comprising the "proper" manner of his character.

Best Scene: Warden Norton threatens Andy in the hole.  

3. Gary Oldman in Leon: The Professional- Oldman is one fine ham here delivering a delicious performance as a corrupt DEA agent with almost no scruples.

Best Scene: Stansfield murders Mathilda's family. 

2. Raul Julia in Street Fighter- I give Julia the edge over Oldman as Julia seemed to give his performance all on his own accord since his film otherwise is pretty bad. Julia though is insanely entertaining in his brilliantly over the top turn as General M. Bison.

Best Scene: (This was a hard choice to make) The Bisonopolis Speech.

1. James Whitmore in The Shawshank Redemption- James Whitmore gives a very powerful and heartbreaking performance as a man whose been so institutionalized by prison that he fears the outside world.

Best Scene: Brooks's Letter

Overall Rank:

1. Martin Landau in Ed Wood
2. James Whitmore in The Shawshank Redemption
3. Raul Julia in Street Fighter
4. Gary Oldman in Leon: The Professional
5. Bob Gunton in The Shawshank Redemption
6. Christopher Walken in Pulp Fiction
7. Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction
8. Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction
9. Clancy Brown in The Shawshank Redemption 
10. Jeremy Irons in The Lion King 
11. Ian Holm in The Madness of King George
12. Gary Sinise in Forrest Gump
13. Paul Scofield in Quiz Show
14. Dennis Hopper in Speed
15. Ving Rhames in Pulp Fiction
16. Chazz Palminteri in Bullets Over Broadway
17. David Paymer in Quiz Show
18. Willem Dafoe in Clear and Present Danger
19. Jim Broadbent in Bullets Over Broadway
20. Bill Hunter in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
21. James Garner in Maverick
22. Tim Roth in Pulp Fiction
23. Bill Murray in Ed Wood
24. William Sadler in The Shawshank Redemption
25. Jeffrey Jones in Ed Wood
26. Kevin Spacey in Iron Will
27. Paul Newman in The Hudsucker Proxy
28. George Steele in Ed Wood
29. James Earl Jones in The Lion King
30. Danny Aiello in Leon: The Professional
31. Mark Rolston in The Shawshank Redemption 
32. Jack Palance in City Slickers II
33. Jeff Daniels in Speed
34. Jeffrey DeMunn in The Shawshank Redemption
35. Charles Durning in The Hudsucker Proxy
36. James Coburn in Maverick
37. Eric Stoltz in Pulp Fiction
38. Martin Scorsese in Quiz Show
39. Rupert Graves in The Madness of King George
40. Peter Greene in Pulp Fiction
41. Mike Starr in Dumb and Dumber
42. Joe Viterelli in Bullets Over Broadway
43. Robert Englund in Wes Craven's New Nightmare
44. Peter Riegert in The Mask
45. Frank Whaley in Pulp Fiction
46. Gill Bellows in The Shawshank Redemption
47. Mike Starr in Ed Wood
48. Bill Cobbs in The Hudsucker Proxy
49. Duane Whitaker in Pulp Fiction
50. Malcolm McDowell in Star Trek Generations
51. Judge Reinhold in The Santa Clause
52. Peter Green in The Mask
53. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Nobody's Fool
54. Jeroen Krabbé in Immortal Beloved
55. Christopher McDonald in Quiz Show 
56. Max Casella in Ed Wood
57. Roshan Seth in Street Fighter
58. Alfred Molina in Maverick 
59. David Krumholtz in The Santa Clause 
60. Brent Spiner in Star Trek Generations
61. Bruce Willis in Nobody's Fool
62. Bill Paxton in True Lies
63. Joaquim de Almeida in Clear and Present Danger
64. Tom Arnold in True Lies
65. Wes Studi in Street Fighter
66. Art Malik in True Lies
67. Hank Azaria in Quiz Show
68. Mykelti Williamson in Forrest Gump 
69. John Mahoney in The Hudsucker Proxy
70. Michael Ironside in The Next Karate Kid
71. Tone Loc in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
72. Pat Morita in The Next Karate Kid
73. Charles Rocket in Dumb and Dumber
74. Donald Moffat in Clear and Present Danger
75. Jim True-Frost in The Hudsucker Proxy
76. Dylan Walsh in Nobody's Fool
77. Jaye Davidson in Stargate
78. Eric Lloyd in The Santa Clause
79. The Rest of the Cast of Street Fighter
80. Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction
81. Michael Cavalieri in The Next Karate Kid

Next Year: 1943 lead

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1994: Raul Julia in Street Fighter

Raul Julia did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying General M. Bison in Street Fighter.

I will admit I have a bit of a nostalgic soft spot for the stupid very light weight action movies of the early nineties like Street Fighter which is based on the fighting game, and depicts the Homeric struggle between the evil dictator General M. Bison and as the head of the not NATO forces Colonel Guile (Jean Claude Van Damme). Having admitted to the soft spot though this film has plenty of elements that can't be enjoyed even in a stupid movie sort of way particularly Ming-Na's cringe worthy performance, but there is one performance though that rises far above the rest of the film, you might be able to guess who gives this performance.

You know ham is a food one can mess up. It is easy to over cook a ham if you leave it in for far too long. Some ham also can just taste a little poorly say if it contains a little too much fat making it far too chewy. There is that treasured ham though that one will search through an endless desert, or traverse an imposing mountain to find. This ham has all the seasonings just right, it is cooked just the right amount of time, and that honey glaze is to die for. With a ham like that it does not matter if it is next to a pile of mush which must have been never alive, or some sort of odd Belgian dish that was invented in Brussels that always tastes a little strangely unless of course it happens to be served on a plate that shares the same name.

Enough about bizarre metaphors this is about Raul Julia whose work allows him to sit in two exclusive clubs. One of the clubs is the allowance to overact, something not all actors can do, but one can usually do if they make compensation with a great realistic performance like the one he gave in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Julia also finds himself in the club of actors who are able to thrive in a terrible film. Now its true there are those bad films that are made just for a performance which sometimes result in a good performance, but that is not what I mean. Julia thrives in an environment that has no real desire for a great performance within itself evidenced by horrendous line readings found in other cast members as well as the general tone of the picture.

 Sometimes it is a bit of test of good actors in how they work in bad movies some like say Robert De Niro don't even try, but some take what they do have and make the absolute most out of it. That is the case of Raul Julia who finds no reason not to have a good time when playing a wannabe dictator with a giant cape, an over the top symbol on his hat, and armor made from red leather. From his opening scene Julia makes it clear that the scenery will be eaten whole by his absurdly wide eyes, and that grin of some sort of maniacal brilliance. In many reviews this might sound like I am getting ready to critique but there is no reason to do this because everything that Raul Julia does in this performance is absurdly entertaining.

You know though this is not a case of Julia just going over the top because he just does not care, no he pains over great detail in this performance, and never does he let M. Bison be just a standard over the top villain in a bad action movie. Oh he'll be the villain sure, but Julia seems hard bent on making sure we as the audience are going to enjoy every scene that he is in because he just does not stop with the energy he brings in this amazingly over the top performance. Of course I don't want to peg him as just over the top though, as just being one note wouldn't quite work, no there is such dedication here that Julia will even quiet his performance down for the need of the character, and yes Julia does bother with character here.

One of my favorite moments of Julia's performance has to be when Bison delivers his Pax Bisonica speech about how and why he wants to rule the world. Honestly I could listen to the speech all day. Julia's delivery of it is so brilliant in his conviction he gives every line of it no matter how insane every line may be. The intensity of it all is outstanding, and the passion he gives every phrase he could almost sell you on that Pax Bisonica. The part I love the most is why he slows down at the end almost like he is Kiss of the Spider Woman and says "And peace will reign and all humanity shall bow to me in humble gratitude." is as Zangief says beautiful.

This movie can be pretty bad at points, but whenever Raul Julia is on screen a smile runs across my face instantly. Now its true sometimes one can get a kick out of a bad performance because it is just so bad, but Raul Julia knows exactly what he is doing here. He knows exactly how to play every scene to just be incredibly enjoyable. If a line is as cheesy as proclaiming "GAME OVER!" when defeating his enemy, Julia doesn't care he'll make it awesome just because he can. Something else that is just spectacular is that he will steal scene, just for the fun of it. The best example of this being when Ming-Na has a long speech about her father being killed and Julia shuts her up completely through that so perfectly self indulgent delivery of the immortal line "For Me it was Tuesday".

To all the actors looking for a quick pay check in a stupid movie by playing the villain of the picture, they should all examine this performance to see how its done. They should know that when you have a line like "This is merely superconductor electromagnetism" you don't half-ass it, not you sell to back seats. Or if you have just plain fantastic lines like his last set of lines about Bison viewing himself as god, but will allow one to keep your own god since you should probably pray to him soon, you better give them all the epic qualities that they deserve as Julia does. He takes every line to eleven, and he never stops entertaining when doing so. 

Like the rest of the film Bison, even if had been played by an actor who usually is good, could have been dull or just kinda boring. Julia will not allow that and I don't have any hesitations in saying Raul Julia gives the greatest performance ever in a movie like this. I know this is a performance that is not mentioned often or at all when people mention the great swan song performances, but you know that's just being stuffy. Sure the film is no Kiss of the Spider Woman, or even The Addams Family, but so what Julia's performance shows he did not care that he was in Street Fighter the movie of the game. He was going to give a great performance no matter what the film was about. Now I could complain that Julia has no one to work with here as well as technically speaking he doesn't save the film. But why do that, although he does not make the film worth watching he does make an element within the film worth watching for all its glory. 

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1994

And The Nominees Were Not:

Raul Julia in Street Fighter

Gary Oldman in Leon: The Professional

James Whitmore in The Shawshank Redemption

Bob Gunton in The Shawshank Redemption

Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction

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Alternate Best Actor 1991: Results

5. River Phoenix in My Own Private Idaho- Phoenix gives a good performance even if it is somewhat muted by the film's direction and his co-star.

Best Scene:  Mike thinks about his mother.

4. Raul Julia in The Addams Family- Julia gives an entertaining enjoyable performance which shows that an actor can overplay and underplay a role.

Best Scene: The Mamushka.

3. Viggo Mortensen in The Indian Runner- Mortensen gives an effective intense performance that brings to life the unpredictable nature of his character.

Best Scene: Joe tries to convince Frank to turn his life around.

2. Val Kilmer in The Doors- Kilmer gives an excellent performance by becoming the role of Jim Morrison through his brief highs and his considerable downs.

Best Scene:  Any of Morrison's performances.

1. John Turturro in Barton Fink- Although Kilmer was great my favorite of year goes to John Turturro's portrayal of Barton Fink. Turturro leads through his incredible film in a brilliant fashion in both realizing his particular character but as well stands as an honest humane portrait of a normal man in this strange world as well.

Best Scene: The Life of the Mind.

Overall Rank:

1. John Turturro in Barton Fink
2. Val Kilmer in The Doors
3. Viggo Mortensen in The Indian Runner
4. Albert Brooks in Defending Your Life
5. Raul Julia in The Addams Family
6. David Morse in The Indian Runner
7. Kevin Costner in JFK
8. River Phoenix in My Own Private Idaho 
9. Jeff Bridges in The Fisher King
10. Peter Weller in Naked Lunch
11. Robby Benson in Beauty and the Beast
12. Christopher Lloyd in The Addams Family
13. Richard Dreyfuss in What About Bob 
14. Nick Nolte in Cape Fear
15. Steve Martin in L.A. Story
16. Leslie Nielsen in Naked Gun 2 1/2
17. Steve Martin in Father of the Bride
18. Keanu Reeves in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (His role of a lifetime)
19. Alex Winter in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey
20. Billy Crystal in City Slickers 
21. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2  
22. Robin Williams in The Fisher King
23. Robert De Niro in Cape Fear
24. Robin Williams in Hook
25. Bruce Willis in The Last Boy Scout
26. Nick Nolte in The Prince of Tides
27. Warren Beatty in Bugsy
28. Damon Wayans in The Last Boy Scout
29. Charlie Sheen in Hot Shots!
30. Bill Campbell in The Rocketeer
31. Bill Murray in What About Bob
32. Keanu Reeves in Point Break
33. William Shatner in Star Trek VI
34. Edward Furlong in Terminator 2 
35. Keanu Reeves in My Own Private Idaho
36. Wesley Snipes in Jungle Fever 
37. Loren Dean in Billy Bathgate
38. Christopher Lambert in Highlander II
39. Chevy Chase in Nothing But Trouble
40. Jim Varney in Ernest Scared Stupid 
41. Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: The Prince of Thieves

Next Year: 1991 Supporting

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Alternate Best Actor 1991: Raul Julia in The Addams Family

Raul Julia did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Gomez Addams in The Addams Family.

The Addams Family certainly is a film that takes me back and has a considerable nostalgic factor for me. Discounting that, it is a visually memorable and enjoyable film version of the strange family fascinated with macabre.

The last time I looked at a Raul Julia performance it was for his powerful turn in the very dramatic Kiss of the Spider Woman. This is a very different film for Julia but shows his great range as a performer as now he takes on a comedic turn as the patriarch of the Addams Family. Julia takes the approach that Gomez is pretty much certifiably insane although he does this quite uniquely in both downplaying the part and overplaying it at the same time for the best effect for the film. This sort of technique to go about a role certainly would be troublesome, but Julia knows how to handle such a role with the proper conviction.

In his scenes of downplaying Julia is great in being the overload of his manner in his quiet dignified manner, but always with a sly sense of humor at the same time. That is really what Julia does in every aspect of playing Gomez which is easily fulfill the dramatic requirements of the role when they are required but more importantly always stays quite humorous in the role. What works so well about this approach is how much conviction Julia has in a role like this, just because he is a comedy that is of the Addams Family never gives him a reason to give a halfhearted performance no matter what he is quite passionate and throws himself completely in the role.

Julia is enjoyable in playing morose quality of Gomez but for my money he is even better when he goes wild which Julia has a tremendous amount of fun with. His expressions are always have the utmost glee in them and he makes watching his behavior quite enjoyable. Although he could not be more different than when he is downplaying somehow Julia manages to make it all part of the Gomez. Hard to explain how other than we see him go from quiet to loud in the same scene and Julia does it so naturally even if it seems completely insane. Julia is always entertaining although he goes overboard technically speaking it always fits the character even when he goes all the way mamushka which is very enjoyable thanks to Julia.

Gomez obviously is not the most complex performance that Raul Julia ever gave but it does show his considerable talent as an actor. Julia shows his great ability as a comedic actor, although part of the reason his performance works as well as it does is in a certain way he portrays the role just like he would a serious role. He has great moments throughout the film, and my personal favorite would have to be when Gomez goes into a depression and forgets his duties as a father stating that he could not go on a drive with his family because it would cause him to miss Gilligan's Island. This might not be Julia's greatest role or his greatest performance but it is a fun one just to watch.

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Alternate Best Actor 1991

And the Nominees Were Not:

John Turturro in Barton Fink

River Phoenix in My Own Private Idaho

Val Kilmer in The Doors

Viggo Mortensen in The Indian Runner

Raul Julia in The Addams Family

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