Oscar 2017: Best Performances – Best Supporting Actor

Continuing to look at 2017’s nominated actors, I am now going to list my favorite performances from this year’s Best Supporting Actor category.  We’ve got three fresh faces in this group, a Hollywood legend, and one of the finest and most unique actors in the game today.  Check out my picks for the best performances from this year’s Best Supporting Actor nominees.

MAHERSHALA ALI (Nominated for Moonlight)

BEST PERFORMANCE – MOONLIGHT (Barry Jenkins, 2016)

Mahershala Ali gave one of the very best performances in 2016 and of the decade in Moonlight.  Now I’ve loved Ali for a few years now, ever since he graced the screen as Remy Danton in Netflix’s House of Cards (2013), but this Ali in a light I have never seen in him in before.  Juan is a human enigma.  On one hand, he’s a sweet, warm-hearted father figure to bullied Chiron, who takes him under his wing and shows him meaning in his life.  On the other hand, he’s a tough drug dealer perpetuating Chiron’s mother’s own addiction.  Ali walks this line of the film’s flawed hero expertly and gives a performance, I expect, will lead him to Oscar gold.

JEFF BRIDGES (Nominated for Hell or High Water)

BEST PERFORMANCE – THE BIG LEBOWSKI (The Coen Brothers, 1998)

Jeff Bridges is a Hollywood icon and I could have put a number of performances here, like is Oscar winning role in Crazy Heart (2009).  But, when you think Jeff Bridges, you think of one thing; the Dude.  This is one of the most iconic characters and performances ever in cinematic history.  It’s funny, sweet, and a pure joy to watch.  Bridges makes this bowling-loving stoner more than just that, giving him a qualities we’d want in a friend.  He sympathize with the Dude and we want to hang out with the Dude.  This is character and performance that belongs in the cinematic time capsule.

LUCAS HEDGES (Nominated for Manchester by the Sea)

BEST PERFORMANCE – MANCHESTER BY THE SEA (Kenneth Lonergan, 2016)

I was thiiiiis close to putting Hedges’s debut performance in Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom (2012) here, as I loved him in that.  But, Manchester by the Sea is an acting showcase and Hedges stands out amongst some acting juggernauts.  Playing a teenager who doesn’t quite know how to handle his father’s death and his uncle’s care, Hedges is so natural and authentic, making the conversations between he and Casey Affleck feel real and making us feel every emotion he feels.  Going toe-to-toe with a veteran like Casey Affleck, especially when he is in top form, is a tall order and Hedged rises to the challenge.  Manchester by the Sea is a film filled with subtle nuances and heartache and Hedges brings that and then some.

DEV PATEL (Nominated for Lion)

BEST PERFORMANCE – LION (Garth Davis, 2016)

Dev Patel made a splash in 2008’s Oscar smash Slumdog Millionaire as the film’s lead character.  His performance in Lion shows how mature of an actor he has become.  Giving a touching, layered performance, Patel dives into the obsession and sadness of a man who wants to find his lost family.  He struggles between the life he’s had and life he wants back and it is one that will hit you on every emotional level.  This is a performance that showed what Patel was capable of and I cannot wait to see what’s to come for him.

MICHAEL SHANNON (Nominated for Nocturnal Animals)

BEST PERFORMANCE – REVOLUTIONARY ROAD (Sam Mendes, 2008)

Oh, Michael Shannon.  You are truly one of a kind.  Shannon is easily one of the best actors working today and could be argued as the best.  This man can do anything, from comedy, to drama, to indie, to blockbuster, he’s unstoppable.  When deciding which performance of his was the best, I was torn between a number of his brilliant performances.  But I went with his Oscar nominated turn in Revolutionary Road.  In a film all about lies and deceit, Shannon is the only character who can see through this facade of sadness.  He comes into the movie like a loud, rambunctious hurricane, making us uncomfortable about the truth, like that of the characters.  This is a masterful performance and one that showed Shannon’s true talent to the world.

What is your favorite performance for the 2017 Best Supporting Actor nominees?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.

And make sure to check out my personal ranking of this year’s Best Picture nominees and my favorite performances from this year’s Best Supporting Actress nominees below!

BEST PICTURE RANKING

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS