Official Nominations: Paul Newman. Dexter Gordon. Bob Hoskins. William Hurt. James Woods.
This isn’t my favourite year for this category. I understand the nominees, but I’m not sure I would have gone for many of them myself. I guess we’ll find out when I get down to my nominations (I haven’t picked those yet).
Paul Newman picked up his win this year. I don’t have any feelings one way or the other, but it seems on the surface like a retcon for Newman not winning for The Hustler. It’s great to see him returning as an older Fast Eddie, and he has a great chemistry with Tom Cruise. Dexter Gordon comes, seemingly out of nowhere, to earn a nomination for the Jazz Biography Round Midnight. Gordon was already an influential Jazz musician himself, and it’s difficult to see a ‘traditional actor’ doing anything better. Having said all of that, I’m not a Jazz fan and I typically don’t get a lot of mileage out of these types of biographies, fictionalized or otherwise. It’s very similar to a lot of other music-oriented biographies – flawed but brilliant person struggles with addiction
Bob Hoskins feels like an unusual choice, but it became his worldwide breakthrough role. Having already been excellent, and overlooked, in The Long Kiss Goodnight, it took another six years (and another Gangster film) to push him through. Mona Lisa is a decent film – I was never the biggest fan of it growing up, but there’s no doubt that it’s stylish and well-acted. William Hurt grabbed another nomination, following his win from the year before, this time losing out for Children Of A Lesser God where he stars as a teacher falling for another, younger, member of staff at a School for the Deaf. On one hand, it’s a very by-the-numbers drama with all the beats you’ve seen before, but on the other it brings attention to deafness and has two excellent lead performances.
The final nominee, and my winner, is James Woods for Salvador. While it made sense for Newman to get the win, and while it wouldn’t have been fair to give Hurt two in a row, Hoskins was never going to get the win even though it may be the ‘best’ performance. Woods is my personal favourite here, and he won’t have many other chances to win. He has that on-the-edge, nervous energy as the film goes on, like Pacino constantly on coke, explained by his character spending much of the film off his bap on drugs and surrounded by violence. He plays an experienced photographer who heads to El Salvador in the middle of political turmoil, in the hope he can make some money and maybe get that money shot (ahem). The film is very visceral and chaotic, as directed by Oliver Stone, but I’m not sure it would have worked without Woods in the hot seat.
Official Winner: James Woods
My Nominations: James Woods. Bob Hoskins. Paul Newman. Rutger Hauer. Danny Devito. Jeff Goldblum. Wil Wheaton. River Phoenix. Kyle MacLachlan. Tom Cruise. Gary Oldman. Gene Hackman. Jeremy Irons. Chow Yun Fat.
An absolute torrent of talent here, but perhaps only a few that I would genuinely take in the Official category. Let us talk about Tom Cruise. Top Gun was the film which blasted him to stardom, and 1986 was the year that he became a credible household name. He’s the star of Top Gun and the co-star in The Color Of Money – both films were successful enough that he warranted an outside chance of a real nomination – The Academy has form in this regard, but I think we’re using a bit of hindsight here as we know that Cruise would go on to become Mr Hollywood. Rutger Hauer is an actor I’d nominate for almost anything, but if he wasn’t getting an official nod for Blade Runner, he definitely wasn’t getting one for The Hitcher, even though it’s probably my favourite performance by him, and one of his best.
Danny Devito had hits and misses this year, but again this became his breakout Hollywood year as a lead. In Ruthless People, he proves that he could use his comedic chops to carry a movie rather than just be a bit player. Both Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix are part of an ensemble in Stand By Me – are they lead or supports – it’s hard to say. No chance they were going to get an official nomination, but those performances have stood the test of time better than some of the official ones.
Kyle Maclachlan was clearly on the up, and while he’s a little out of his depth up against the film-stealing Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet, he more than makes an impact as the youngster lost in a world of violence and mystery. Gary Oldman is superb in Sid & Nancy – you could swap him out for Bob Hoskins if you so desired, while Gene Hackman manages to hold his own against Hopper in Hoosiers. Naturally, he was already popular with The Academy, racking up a win and two nominations by this point, so he could have grabbed another.
Jeremy Irons was on the up, after over a decade on the stage, and alongside Robert De Niro in The Mission he showed that he was ready for more meaty big screen roles and acclaim. Chow Yun Fat was already a budding star in China and A Better Tomorrow cemented his megastar status, his performance ensuring that his character would be brought back for the sequel. Finally, my winner is a full bodied performance in one of the best remakes of all time. Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle, later Brundlefly, in David Cronenberg’s The Fly. It’s the film in which Jeff set out his stall as a star, introducing and solidifying all of the quirks which would later become memes – the pausing, the frantic energy, the fast-paced speech, but it’s also a sympathetic portrayal, a creepy display of intensity, and a fully physical depiction of a manic genius suddenly gaining incredible power and insight, and rapidly falling to pieces – literally.
My Winner: Jeff Goldblum
Let us know your winner in the comments!
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