With the lead actors taken care of (for now) we move to Best Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress, two races that are likely to be the most competitive this season as neither can claim they are locked in.
While Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) remains my #1 in the Supporting Actor category any number of contenders could move into that slot should someone enjoy a good run in the precursors or end up snubbed at the upcoming SAG or Golden Globe nominations.
In the Supporting Actress category for the longest time it was a race between Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and Oprah Winfrey (Lee Daniels’ The Butler), but things have changed a bit over recent weeks and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to call anyone a frontrunner in this category.
I still have my Screenplay predictions to update today and they are coming shortly, but if you missed my Best Picture and Director predictions earlier you can find those here. As for the Supporting categories you can find those detailed below along with links to browse my complete, ranked field of contenders.
Also, be sure to stay up-to-date with my Awards Calendar as the Los Angeles Film Critics will hand out their awards this Sunday, December 8 and next week on December 11 and 12 we’ll have the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations.
Supporting Actor
It pains me to do it, but I had to bump Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips) from the top five and replace him with Will Forte (Nebraska). Such is the way of things when you’re predicting the Oscars, you have to put your personal preferences aside, wet your finger and put it to the wind.
As for the rest of the top five, I’m sticking with Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) with strong competition from Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks) and Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave).
- Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
- Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks)
- Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
- Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)
- Will Forte (Nebraska)
Find my complete, ranked list of 20 contenders right here.
Supporting Actress
Even though Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) lost out to Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle) with the New York critics and Octavia Spencer (Fruitvale Station) with the National Board of Review, I’m sticking with her at #1 here. Lawrence is definitely pushing hard following her win last year for Silver Linings Playbook and Spencer is all but guaranteed a nom at this point, but I still think Nyong’o has enough support.
The more interesting aspect of the story may be to wonder where Oprah Winfrey (Lee Daniels’ The Butler) will land in all of this. Once considered by many to be the frontrunner, her name isn’t mentioned much any longer, could she slip even further?
- Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
- Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
- Oprah Winfrey (Lee Daniels’ The Butler)
- Octavia Spencer (Fruitvale Station)
- June Squibb (Nebraska)
Find my complete, ranked list of 20 contenders right here.
