Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2001: Results

5. Steve Buscemi in Ghost World- This is an entirely solid performance by Steve Buscemi, but for me it is just that.

4. Viggo Mortensen in The Fellowship of the Ring- Mortensen gives a strong performance balancing well both the strength and underlying weakness in his character. He never becomes the highlight of any of the individual films, but his Aragorn is a highlight of the trilogy as a whole.

3. Brian Cox in L.I.E- Brian Cox plays a very risky role to say the least and Cox maybe plays it too well being a complete creep, but still a charming and very down to earth sort of creep.

2. Jude Law in A.I. Artificial Intelligence- Law is very effective here being quite artificial in his showman's manner. but still having a decent amount of humanity that brings out in his character's warmth and wisdom.

1. Sean Bean in The Fellowship of the Ring- When I watched this film for the first time over ten years ago Bean probably would not have been the first actor I would have mentioned when speaking about the strengths of the film. It was not that I did not like him, I liked him but I took what he did in the role for granted. Bean goes beyond his call of duty here in his portrayal of Boromir who could have easily just been a prideful dupe. Instead he brings a great deal of honest emotion to the role and turns Boromir's folly into the tragic portrait of a patriotic career soldier whose emotions slowly overwhelm and get the best of him.

Overall Rank:

1. Sean Bean in The Fellowship of the Ring
2. Jude Law in A.I. Artificial Intelligence
3. Ian McKellen in The Fellowship of the Ring
4. Brian Cox in L.I.E.
5. Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast
6. Justin Theroux in Mulholland Drive
7. Tsutomu Yamazaki in Go
8. Viggo Mortensen in The Fellowship of the Ring
9. Luke Wilson in The Royal Tenenbaums
10. Ben Stiller in The Royal Tenenbaums
11. Tony Shalhoub in The Man Who Wasn't There
12. Steve Buscemi in Ghost World
13. Ed Harris in A Beautiful Mind
14. Sean Astin in The Fellowship of the Ring
15. Robbie Coltrane in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
16. Paul Bettany in A Beautiful Mind
17. Clive Owen in Gosford Park
18. Ian McShane in Sexy Beast
19. Christopher Lee in The Fellowship of the Ring
20. Peter Boyle in Monster's Ball
21. James Gandolfini in The Man Who Wasn't There
22. Mickey Rourke in The Pledge
23. Heath Ledger in Monster's Ball
24. Jim Broadbent in Moulin Rouge!
25. Richard Harris in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
26. Owen Wilson in The Royal Tenenbaums
27. Basically the cast of Black Hawk Down
28. Bill Murray in The Royal Tenenbaums
29. Hugh Bonneville in Iris
30. Jon Polito in The Man Who Wasn't There
31. Andy Garcia in Ocean's Eleven
32. John Lone in Rush Hour 2
33. John Rhys-Davies in The Fellowship of the Ring
34. Nick Stahl in In The Bedroom
35. William Hurt in A.I. Artificial Intelligence
36. Hugo Weaving in The Fellowship of the Ring
37. Patrick Swayze in Donnie Darko
38. Kurt Russell in Vanilla Sky
39. Alan Bates in Gosford Park
40. Billy Boyd in The Fellowship of the Ring
41. Noah Taylor in Vanilla Sky
42. David Duchovny in Zoolander
43. Mario Van Peebles in Ali
44. Seymour Cassel in The Royal Tenenbaums
45. Ian Holm in The Fellowship of the Ring
46. Alan Rickman in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
47. John Hurt in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
48. Ed Harris in Enemy at the Gates
49. Richard Jenkins in The Man Who Wasn't There
50. Brendan Gleeson in A.I. Artificial Intelligence
51. Holmes Osborne in Donnie Darko
52. Christopher Plummer in A Beautiful Mind
53. Will Ferrell in Zoolander
54. Richard Griffiths in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
55. Tom Noonan in The Pledge
56. Owen Wilson in Zoolander
57. Cavan Kendall in Sexy Beast
58. Carl Reiner in Ocean's Eleven
59. Jason Lee in Vanilla's Sky
60. Paul Bettany in A Knight's Tale
61. Michael Gambon in Gosford Park
62. Kumar Pallana in The Royal Tenenbaums
63. Bob Balaban in Gosford Park
64. Benecio Del Toro in The Pledge
65. Don Cheadle in Swordfish
66. William Mapouther in In The Bedroom
67. Christopher Walken in Joe Dirt
68. Elliot Gould in Ocean's Eleven
69. Danny Glover in The Royal Tenenbaums
70. Jon Voight in Zoolander
71. Ron Silver in Ali
72. Michael Jeter in Jurassic Park III
73. Ian Hart in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
74. Ryan Phillipe in Gosford Park
75. Jerry Stiller in Zoolander
76. Orlando Bloom in The Fellowship of the Ring
77. Bran Renfro in Ghost World
78. Bernie Mac in Ocean's Eleven
79. Bob Balaban in Ghost World
80. Aaron Eckhart in The Pledge
81. Tom Felton in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
82. Michael Badalucco in The Man Who Wasn't There
83. William H. Macy in Jurassic Park III
84. Steve Buscemi in Domestic Disturbance
85. Eddie Murphy in Shrek
86. Rupert Grint in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
87. Matt Damon in Ocean's Eleven
88. Dominic Monaghan in The Fellowship of the Ring
89. Don Cheadle in Ocean's Eleven
90. Oded Fehr in The Mummy Returns
91. Vince Vaughn in Domestic Disturbance
92. Joseph Fiennes in Enemy At the Gates
93. Sam Robards in A.I. Artificial Intelligence
94. Rufus Sewell in A Knight's Tale
95. Jon Voight in Ali
96. Arnold Vosloo in The Mummy Returns
97. Jamie Foxx in Ali
98. Iain Glen in Tomb Raider
99. Richard Roxburgh in Moulin Rouge!
100. Alessandro Nivola in Jurassic park III
101. John Hannah in The Mummy Returns
102. Trevor Morgan in Jurassic Park III
103. Freddie Boath in The Mummy Returns
104. John Leguizamo in Moulin Rouge!

Next Year: 1975 Supporting

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2001: Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Viggo Mortensen did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Aragorn/Strider in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy despite being nominated for best picture each time only received one Oscar nomination for acting that went to Ian McKellen in this film despite the large ensembles of the films. Apparently if the Academy is going to nominate someone from a fantasy or a science fiction film they better be the old wise mentors of the character like McKellen as Gandalf or Alec Guinness in Star Wars. The two performances I am looking at here though don't fall in those categories though they are important to the success of the film. I'll start with Mortensen who plays Aragorn who in most stories would be the main character of the film though he is not.

Frodo played by Elijah Wood is actually the lead of the film but Frodo is not physically imposing and his main method is to avoid danger rather than face it. Aragorn comes along as their guide some time in their film and tries to help them best he can. In McKellen's review I said that he made the character exactly as I pictured him when I read the book, Mortensen's Aragorn is not exactly how I pictured the character, but nevertheless his take on the character still is successful. Mortensen plays Aragorn quite effectively as most certainly a hero in the film yet not a perfect hero which is essential for his character's path that moves across all three films.

Mortensen's quite good showing strength well at the same time concealing greater strength. One of the biggest aspects of his character is the shame he feels due to the actions of his ancestors, and Mortensen brings this into his performance by showing a certain distance in his heroics. Yes Aragorn is a completely heroic character literally throwing himself into danger to save others, but still his manner with others withdrawn and hesitant. Mortensen makes a nice balance showing exactly how he became the ranger in that he does not have the strength to fulfill his destiny yet will still will do whatever good he can in his own way.

Mortensen delivers a very important need in terms of the film is that he stands as certain support to Frodo and the others. He is strong but far from perfect. When he shows up he is able to help the hobbits but he does not really act as a comforting factor which properly keeps the intensity of those that threaten the hobbits. Mortensen is a strong presence and always believable in the action scenes honestly showing an effort in them. His work adds nicely to the tapestry of this film as well the whole trilogy where his character arc lies. He may not quite be the highlight of any of the films, but is one of the highlights of the epic trilogy.

Sean Bean did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Boromir in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

I have to admit this is a performance that I really took for granted for the longest time. I certainly thought he applied himself admirably, but he was not the performance I took away from the film. Really looking critically at this performance though there is a great deal to be admired by Bean's portrayal of Boromir. Boromir easily could be a throwaway role and could be seen just as part of the background then eventually an obstacle that needs to be overcome by the other characters (as he basically is in the Ralph Bakshi animated version, he's also viking for some reason but the less said about that the better). Bean though very much invests himself fully in the character and does his best to bring humanity to Boromir.

Boromir easily could be just a bully frankly whose want for power is pretty blunt, but Bean does not portray him as such. Bean has him very close to Aragorn actually, but with the key difference being that Boromir is a far more emotional man whose pride can override his better judgment. Bean importantly in any of the moments where he speaks of his homeland has a great intensity in this pride. We can even sense his feelings of both accomplishment and even sadness in what he and his people have been doing and what they have lost to protect the rest of the world from the forces of evil. Bean is great in honestly creating a history in the man, a man who has faced the evil directly for so long on the front lines, and cannot forget that.

Whenever Boromir speak of the ring and his own ideas for it, it never is of evil or greed. Bean is quite effective in the way Boromir seems drawn to in such a primal way, but is almost poetic in the manner in which he speak of the ring. Although he may be wrong about the ring Bean never shows his fallacy to come from evil. Instead Bean has such a genuine passion in what he speaks about, he shows him as a man who honestly believes that the ring will save his land and his people he cares so much for. When Boromir does finally betray his pledge to help Frodo in an attempt to steal the ring for himself Bean is excellent portraying it as an act of desperation above else, and importantly afterwards allows us to see the sadness in Boromir that comes when he realizes what he does.

Bean's absolute devotion in the part when it comes to realizing that underlying motivation of the man humanizes Boromir beautifully and even manages to show just how it was his overpowering emotions rather than evil that drives him to attempt to steal the ring. Bean finds a truth in the character that makes his final scene far more powerful than it would be otherwise. I personally love his reactions in his last stand as he fights on even it becomes quite clear he is losing the fight. Bean's has such heart in his expressions showing the last stand of a man who will try to his last breath. Bean makes Boromir's final moments quite poignant in creating this man who deep down inside only did desire good in his soul. In close examination this is great work that turns what could have been just a simple display of a prideful idiot, into a tragic portrait of a true patriot.

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Alternate Best Supporting Actor 2001

And the Nominees Were Not:

Sean Bean in The Fellowship of the Ring

Viggo Mortensen in The Fellowship of the Ring

Jude Law in A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Brian Cox in L.I.E

Steve Buscemi in Ghost World

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