Sneak Peak - Supporting Performances

21 November 2008

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The supporting cast are just as important as the lead characters in any film and Tilda Swinton and Javier Bardem walked away with the coveted Best Supporting Actor and Actress this year.

There have already been some great performances this with a string more to come in the run up to award season so we are going to take a quick look at who could be walking away with the supporting gongs in 2009.

Despite being for a blockbuster role it wouldn't be surprising if we see the late Heath Ledger nominated for his role as the Joker in Batman Begins and don't raise an eyebrow should he go on to win.

You have to applaud every scene that Ledger was in as he took the audiences concept of the Joker and smashed it to pieces. Gone was Nicholson’s comic interpretation of the character replaced instead by a real menace and madness as the Joker lived with no rules robbing and killing simply because he could.

Ledger is nothing short of genius and whispers of a possible posthumous Oscar are not being said in exaggeration as his performance just highlights what an immense talent that has been lost as he steals the show.

Robert Downey Jr also finds himself surrounded in some Oscar hype for his role alongside Jamie Foxx in The Soloist, lets face it it's an award that is long over due.

Joe Wright's latest picture is an emotionally soaring drama about the redemptive power of music, journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a former classical music prodigy, playing his violin on the streets of L.A.

As Lopez endeavours to help the homeless man find his way back, a unique friendship is formed, one that transforms both their lives.

While Frank Langella may be getting all the attention for his role as Richard Nixon in Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon Michael Sheen is also a string contender in the role as the chatshow host David Frost who question the disgraced President over the Watergate scandal that rocked US politics.

The film looks set to take British star Michael Sheen's film career to the next rung, despite having a very successful stage career, he made a name for himself playing Tony Blair in The Queen in 2006, a film which earnt Helen Mirren a Best Actress Oscar.

There could be double Oscar nomination for Josh Brolin, who could find himself in the Best Actor category for his role as George W Bush as W, as he stars alongside Sean Penn in political drama Milk.

Milk charts the last eight years of Harvey Milk’s life. While living in New York City, he turns 40. Looking for more purpose, Milk and his lover Scott Smith (James Franco) relocate to San Francisco, where they found a small business, Castro Camera, in the heart of a working-class neighbourhood.

With his beloved Castro neighbourhood and beautiful city empowering him, Milk surprises Scott and himself by becoming an outspoken agent for change. With vitalizing support from Scott and from new friends like young activist Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch), Milk plunges headfirst into the choppy waters of politics.

Bolstering his public profile with humour, Milk’s actions speak even louder than his gift-of-gab words. When Milk is elected supervisor for the newly zoned District 5, he tries to coordinate his efforts with those of another newly elected supervisor, Dan White (Josh Brolin).

But as White and Milk’s political agendas increasingly diverge, their personal destinies tragically converge. Milk’s platform was and is one of hope...a hero’s legacy that resonates in the here and now.

As for the women possibly leading the way at this early stage is Penelope Cruz for her role in Woody Allen's latest movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

The film, which also stars Oscar winner Javier Bardem and Allen's newly married muse Scarlett Johansson, tells of the complex love lives of Americans living in Catalunya and looks likely to be the best of his movies that he has set and filmed outside of America as it received very positive from the critics.

Amy Adams is also another very strong possibility for her role in Doubt alongside Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Also gathering some Oscar hype are festival favourites Marissa Tomei for her role in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler and Elsa Zylberstein from her role alongside Kristen Scott Thomas in I've Loved You So Long.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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