Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1992: Results

5. Samuel West in Howard's End- West handles his part well, but he fails to leave that much of a lasting impression.

Best Scene: Bast first meets the Schlegel sisters. 

4. Steve Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs- Buscemi gives a good performance by giving a realistic depiction of a man who strives to be professional above all else.

Best Scene:  The Mexican standoff.

3. Richard Harris in Unforgiven- Harris gives a strong performance by nicely building up his character's prim pompousness just to have it cut down.

Best Scene: English Bob and Little Bill meet once again. 

2. Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross- Just one great monologue and he delivers it flawlessly.

1. Paul McGann in Alien 3- Good Predictions Michael McCarthy and Psifonian Although it was never in question who would take this year overall, it should be noted that McGann gives a great portrayal of uncontrollable madness.

Best Scene: Golic apologizes for a killing.

Overall Rank:

1. Gene Hackman in Unforgiven
2. Paul McGann in Alien 3
3. Al Pacino in Glengarry Glen Ross
4. Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross
5. Richard Harris in Unforgiven
6. Charles Dance in Alien 3 
7. Morgan Freeman in Unforgiven 
8. Charles S. Dutton in Alien 3
9. Fred Gwynne in My Cousin Vinny
10. Ed Harris in Glengarry Glen Ross
11. Kevin Spacey in Glengarry Glen Ross
12. Steve Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs
13. Jaye Davidson in The Crying Game
14. Kevin Kline in Chaplin
15. Saul Rubinek in Unforgiven
16. J.T. Walsh in A Few Good Men
17. Robin Williams in Aladdin
18. Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own
19. Alan Arkin in Glengarry Glen Ross
20. Michael Madsen in Reservoir Dogs
21. Jonathan Pryce in Glengarry Glen Ross
22. Samuel West in Howard's End
23. Lawrence Tierney in Reservoir Dogs
24. Anthony Wong in Hard Boiled
25. Pete Postlethwaite in Alien 3
26. Jeff Goldblum in Deep Cover
27. West Studi  in The Last of the Mohicans
28. Dana Carvey in Wayne's World
29. Chris Penn in Reservoir Dogs
30. Anthony Hopkins in Dracula
31. Ray Walston in Of Mice and Men
32. Tim Curry in Home Alone 2
33. Sidney Poitier in Sneakers
34. Russell Means in The Last of the Mohicans
35. Oliver Platt in Beethoven
36. Stanley Tucci in Beethoven
37. Al Freeman Jr. in Malcolm X
38. Fred Ward in The Player
39. James Earl Jones in Sneakers
40. James Woods in Chaplin
41. Jim Broadbent in The Crying Game 
42. Rob Campbell in Unforgiven
43. Kevin Bacon in A Few Good Men 
44. Stephen Tobolowsky in Sneakers
45. Delroy Lindo in Malcolm X
46. Billy Bob Thornton in One False Move
47. Tom Waits in Dracula
48. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Scent of a Woman 
49. Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men
50. Anthony James in Unforgiven
51. Rob Lowe in Wayne's World
52. Danny Webb in Alien 3
53. Joe Pesci in Home Alone 2
54. David Strathairn in Sneakers
55. Gilbert Gottfried in Aladdin 
56. River Phoenix in Sneakers
57. David Paymer in Mr. Saturday Night
58. Ralph Brown in Alien 3
59. Ian Watkin in Dead Alive
60. Philip Chan in HardBoiled
61. Eddie Bracken in Home Alone 2 
62. Edward Bunker in Reservoir Dogs
63. Eric Schweig in The Last of the Mohicans
64. Ben Kingsley in Sneakers
65. Vincent D'Onofrio in The Player
66. Jonathan Freeman in Aladdin
67. Richard E. Grant in The Player
68. Philip Kwok in Hard Boiled
69. Forest Whitaker in The Crying Game 
70. David Strathairn in A League of Their Own
71. Lance Henriksen in Alien 3
72. Robert Prosky in Far and Away
73. Mako in Sidekicks
74. Wayne Knight in Basic Instinct
75. James Rebhorn in Scent of a Woman
76. Richard E. Grant in Dracula
77. Peter Gallagher in The Player
78. Dan Aykroyd in Sneakers
79. Harvey Keitel in Sister Act
80. Brian Doyle-Murray in Wayne's World
81. Daniel Stern in Home Alone 2
82. Anthony Hopkins in Chaplin
83. Cary Elwes in Dracula
84. Christopher Walken in Batman Returns
85. George Dzundza in Basic Instinct
86. Michael Beach in One False Move
87. Wolfgang Bodison in A Few Good Men 
88. Jaimz Woolvett in Unforgiven 
89. James Wilsby in Howard's End
90. Kevin Pollack in A Few Good Men
91. Ralph Maccio in My Cousin Vinny
92. Ralph Brown in The Crying Game 
93. Maurice Roeves in The Last of the Mohicans
94. Billy Campbell in Dracula
95. Dean Jones in Beethoven
96. Dan Aykroyd in Chaplin
97. John Heard in Home Alone 2
98. Jonathan Brandis in Ladybugs 
99. Ron Silver in Mr. Saturday Night
100. Bradley Whitford in Scent of a Woman
101. Danny DeVito in Batman Returns
102. Casey Siemaszko in Of Mice and Men
103. Kiefer Sutherland in A Few Good Men
104. Chuck Norris in Sidekicks
105. Beau Bridges in Sidekicks 
106. Gregory Sierra in Deep Cover
107. Thomas Gibson in Far and Away
108. Quentin Tarantino in Reservoir Dogs 
109. Spike Lee in Malcolm X
110. Pauly Shore in Encino Man
111. Charles Martin Smith in Deep Cover
112. Michael DeLuise in Encino Man
113. Joe Piscopo in Sidekicks
114. Keanu Reeves in Dracula

Next Year: 1945 Lead

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1992: Samuel West in Howard's End

Samuel West did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for a Bafta, for portraying Leonard Bast in Howard's End.

Howard's End is a very fine adaptation of the novel which tells the story of three families through the exchanging of a house Howard's End that goes from person to person.

Each of the families in Howard's End represents a different class of Edwardian England. The Wilcox family being the very wealthy upper class, the Schlegel sisters being the bourgeoisie, and Bast being the lower class. Of course it is a relative lower class for Bast as he is a white collar lower class still as he does not look poor when you look right at him, but unlike those above him money seems to be an actual concern for him. West plays Bast very much in the appropriate style that most of the actors employ. The style being firmly in that Edwardian bent where emotions are to be very specifically expressed, and even when one's emotions become more volatile it's still to be done in a fairly repressed way that still must keep one's proper manner intact at all times.

The Edwardian confines are an interesting challenge for any actor because it is up to them to not simply be dull in his portraying this particular style of person, and as well attempt to see what they can do below the surface with the work. West technically gets a little more wiggle room with Bast as he is one of the more emotional characters, although still not that emotional. West definitely is good in coming up with that Edwardian reserve as he always seems at least slightly constrained in some way, as a good Edwardian should even though he is technically an emotional fellow. West is effective in always keeping that a mostly proper stance, and when there is something for him to be a little more emotional about West is effective in stressing a stronger intensity in these moments to basically show a strong repression.

Bast comes in and out of the film usually being roped along by the whims of the the Schlegel sisters who think they are helping Bast, but he continually finds himself off in slowly worse circumstances. There are few moments where Bast takes exception with them but they are played as very Edwardian by West which certainly is the way they should be played. For the most part though West plays Bast as a man who just is slowly getting more and more depressed over his situation. He plays it as a particularly inward bound depression as he just seems to sunken from the inside. This does not change even when he has an affair with one of the sisters as the film seems to play it that she does this in part because of his rather miserable state both financially and emotionally.

 West handles his dissolution of the man well enough to even the point that his sudden exit at the end of the film can even be believed rather easily. West's work here is a good performance which firmly stands within the realm of the Edwardian culture. I don't see this as a particularly great performance though as he never quite stands out really all that much with his performance. It's a good enough performance in that I have no real complaints and he definitely gets across exactly what should be gotten across in regards to Bast as a character. It's fine work but just fine. There is perhaps there could have been ground gained with the character it is hard to say, but either way I find that his performance is more than adequate but also pretty easy to forget.

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1992

And the Nominees Were Not:

Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross

Paul McGann in Alien 3

Richard Harris in Unforgiven

Steve Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs

Samuel West in Howard's End

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