Now that the nominations for the 2022 Academy Awards are here, there’s been a lot of chatter about the nominees. The Best Supporting Actor and Actress category showcases actors who aren’t the lead of their films. Most of the time it’s to acknowledge a standout performance from the ensemble cast.
It’s fun to look back at the journeys these actors have taken. Many of the nominees for this year’s category are first-time nominees and others are veterans. There’s a nice eclectic mix but sometimes the film they’re nominated for isn’t even the one with the highest rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Jessie Buckley – The Lost Daughter (2021) – 95%
Jessie Buckley is quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s favorite actors. Having won numerous film and television awards such as the British Independent Film Awards, she has now landed her first Academy Award nomination for The Lost Daughter. Soon she’ll be seen in the upcoming Men from A24.
With only a handful of films before her, and surely many more to come, The Lost Daughter is currently one of her best-reviewed films. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut may have Olivia Coleman in the lead role, Jessie Buckley has a standout performance. In the film, Jessie Buckley plays a young Leda Caruso, Olivia Colman’s character in the flashback scenes.
Ciaran Hinds – The Man In The Hat (2020) – 100%
Ciaran Hinds is one of the most acclaimed Irish actors in the world. He’s been acting in film since 1981 and even though he’s won tons of awards, he’s never been nominated for an Academy Award. The Academy looked to rectify that this year with his latest film Belfast. However, it’s not even considered his best performance, 2020’s The Man in The Hat takes that crown.
Ciaran Hinds plays a character only known as the man in the hat and he travels across France in a Fiat 500 with only a picture of an unknown woman. The film gives the audience many questions about the mysterious character and why a bunch of men is chasing him. Critics were absolutely charmed by this film and its performance.
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story (2021) – 92%
West Side Story was a career-making performance for many in the cast, not least of which Ariana DeBose. The young actress has been in film and television for only a handful of years at this point, but Spielberg’s latest film looks to be the breakout turn for DeBose.
West Side Story has netted many award nominations for this year’s ceremony but DeBose was the only actor to receive a nomination. Her turn as Anita was something that wowed critics and was constantly pointed to in the reviews.
Troy Kotsur – CODA (2021) – 96%
Troy Kotsur is a deaf actor and filmmaker who’s been acting in a number of shows and movies for a few years now. This year he made history as the first deaf actor to be nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award. He’s also the only actor nominated for CODA.
CODA follows a young girl who’s the only hearing individual with deaf parents and a sibling who is deaf. Her dream is to sing professionally. This puts her in conflict with her family who feel they need her. Troy Kotsur’s top-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes is also the one he was nominated for, since his performance was the standout, it makes perfect sense.
Judi Dench – A Room With A View (1986) – 100%
For someone who’s been acting in film for as long as Judi Dench has, it’s crazy that she’s only won one Academy Award back in 1998 for Shakespeare In Love. This year, she’s up for Best Supporting Actress again for her film Belfast. Belfast received a few nominations, even though some felt Caitríona Balfe was snubbed.
With such a long career, it’s no surprise that she has a film that sits at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. A Room With A View earned her a BAFTA in 1986. Once again, she played the supporting role in the film of Eleanor Lavish, who’s a novelist.
Jesse Plemons – Judas And The Black Messiah (2021) – 97%
Jesse Plemons had a pretty good 2021. He had four films released and one of them got him his first Academy Award nomination. In an interesting twist, he and his wife Kirsten Dunst are nominated in the same year. While he’s had a pretty long career in film and television at this point, The Power of the Dog is the first time he’s been nominated for Best Supporting Actor. But Judas and the Black Messiah is his highest-rated film.
He plays a supporting role in Judas and the Black Messiah here since the film is about Fred Hampton who was chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. Jesse Plemons plays Roy Mitchell, the FBI handler for the Lakeith Stanfield’s Bill O’Neal as he infiltrates the Black Panther Party. Plemons is quickly growing into a known commodity with films like this as he continues to impress critics.
Kirsten Dunst – Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) – 98%
Kirsten Dunst is one of the few child actors to continue being a star into their adulthood. Arguably, people know her most from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, but she’s been in some truly wonderful films all her life. Out of her 77 nominations for various awards, she’s won 41 of them, but until now, she had not been nominated for an Academy Award. Now she’s been nominated for The Power of the Dog.
Her highest rated film is one of her first-ever acting credits, Kiki’s Delivery Service where she plays the title character of Kiki. Kiki is a witch in training who goes off on her own to a city to be the resident witch, there she opens a delivery service. While the film is a Studio Ghibli film from Japan, in America, her voice is iconic in the role. She brings the character to life in a way that makes that film sour.
J.K. Simmons – Zootopia (2016) – 98%
J.K. Simmons is once again up for the Best Supporting Actor nomination, after winning it in 2015 for Whiplash. This time he’s up for Being the Ricardos, where he plays one of the cast members of I Love Lucy. Critics really enjoyed his turn as William Frawley in Being the Ricardos. But the Disney Animated film Zootopia takes the place of his highest-rated.
He doesn’t have a big role in Zootopia since he plays Mayor Lionheart, the Mayor of Zootopia, but his iconic voice was a good fit for the character and the film.
Aunjanue Ellis – If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) – 95%
King Richard has delivered a few nominations for his cast, not the least of which for Aunjanue Ellis. Like many of the actors and actresses nominated for the supporting roles, this is Aunjanue Ellis’ first time being nominated for an Academy Award. She plays the wife of Will Smith in the film and the mother of the Williams sisters.
If Beale Street Could Talk is currently her most beloved on Rotten Tomatoes. The film sees Aunjanue Ellis play Alice Hunt, who is the mother of one of the characters. While she doesn’t play a particularly large role in the film, critics took notice of her performance in the beloved film.
Kodi Smit-McPhee – Dolemite Is My Name (2019) – 97%
The youngest actor to be nominated in the best supporting acting categories this year, Kodi Smit-McPhee made a name for himself as Nightcrawler in the rebooted X-Men films. Even though the young actor has many other credits to his name, it wasn’t until this year, with The Power of the Dog that the academy took notice.
Since the young actor hasn’t had many starring roles at this point in his career, his highest rated film is the Eddie Murphey vehicle, Dolemite is My Name. In this film, he plays the real-life cinematographer for the Dolemite film Nicholas Josef von Sternberg.
