Move over, Heath, Felicity, Reese, and Joaquin. Doing some last-minute Oscar campaigning before tomorrow’s deadline for Academy members to turn in their nomination ballots, USA Today lists 20 worthwhile performers whose great work in 2005 shouldn’t be overlooked. Interestingly, there’s no overlap with EW’s own list of Oscar longshots, which only goes to show how much good work there was this year. Still, is there anyone USA Today or EW failed to mention? Tell us now, in case any Academy members are checking in with PopWatch before they drop off their ballots.
Jan 20
2006
09:17 PM ET
Oscar Watch: Don't forget these performances!
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Ralph Fiennes for his amazing performance in the Constant Gardener, which should also get recognition for best picture.
Gwenyth Paltrow in Proof. She gave a committed, complex and real performance in a so-so movie, but she absolutely deserves a nomination, and possibly a win.
Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt…basically anything from A History of Violence, one of the best films of the year.
Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice for her witty, vibrant, and heartfelt performance. She was really superb it that film, and was matched equally well by Matthew Macfadyen’s complex, layered, smoldering and deeply passionate performance.
Thandie Newton! If only “Crash” had come out at the end of the year, her spine-tingling peformance would probably be fighting Amy Adams and Michelle Williams for that Academy Award come Oscar night.
Definitely Thandie Newton in Crash and Shirley MacLaine for “In Her Shoes.” Both were great performances.
???Thandie Newton??? She sucks in Crash, one of the most overrated movies of the year. I do agree about both Keira Knightley and Gwenyth Paltrow, they were both wonderful and deserve nominations.
Definately Ralph Fiennes
Bill Murray in Broken Flowers, Robert Downey Jr in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Claire Danes in ShopGirl…
I don’t know her name, but the actress who played Jack Twist’s mother in “Brokeback Mountain” was brilliant, with only a few lines. The look on her face and the way she clutched her chest were so painful – they’ll haunt me for a long time…
I will echo an earlier post and say that anything from History of Violence deserves a nomination and also a win. Viggo Mortenson and Maria Bello give nuanced, complex preformances. Also Donald Sutherland in Pride and Prejudice and Laura Linney in Squid and the Whale are both subtle and compelling.
Roberta Maxwell plays Jack Twist’s mother in Brokeback Mountain.
How about Jake Gyllenhaal in that other movie he did, Jarhead. Granted it was a non-war war movie. But Jake stood out.
The Constant Gardner is, quite frankly, THE most morbidly over-rated film of this year. I do not care if I ever see another film starring Ralph Fiennes EVER AGAIN – one get’s so tired of him wheeling out the emotionally constipated English drip year after year – and despite the fact he was about 20 years too young for the role. And would someone PLEASE ban Rachel Weisz from acting – Best Supporting Actress ???!! Proof of the HFPA’s lack of taste or film knowledge. You American’s really do leave a lot to be desired on the taste-front.
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