So we’ve moved onto round 2 of our quest to find the best Best Supporting Actor of the past 16 years.
You guys spoke, all 10-12 of you. Below are your eight winners. I reseeded them all based on the year the actor had won his Oscar.
They faced off against each other, sort of, as villain and good-guy sidekick in Unforgiven, which yielded Hackman an Oscar as the dastardly, despotic Little Bill. So who’s had the better career?
It’s hard to argue with George Clooney’s career path; he makes blockbusters, he makes “serious” movies. He makes sci-fi, political thrillers, legal thrillers, dramas. I like him. Tommy Lee Jones, on the other hand, still rocks but plays a heck of alot of good-ol’-boy, aw-shucks dudes in westerns.
I dunno what you people were thinking: Cuba Gooding Jr. has no way had a better career than Tim Robbins! Are you people high? Cuba Gooding Jr. did crap like Snow Dogs, for crying out loud, and that was after his Oscar win. Robbins has been in scores of good things, like Bull Durham, Shawshank Redemption, The War of the Worlds (ok, not so good), Mystic River, High Fidelity… However, then there’s Caine, who’s been awesome for like at least 75% of his career. He did have Jaws 4, and other crap.
To the younger crowd, Williams would win this going away. Even if you throw away the maudlin performances in Patch Adams and Bicentennial Man, there’s still Insomnia, One Hour Photo, Good Will Hunting, Good Morning Vietnam.. James Coburn was a gifted old-time actor by the time he won for Affliction, so he might not resonate as much with the youth.
