Last year, the decisionmakers behind “The Two Popes,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” and “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” placed veteran stars Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt, and Tom Hanks, respectively, in the Supporting Actor race, yielding nominations for all three and a win for Pitt.
Related ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’ Sneak Peek: Adjoa Andoh’s Lady Danbury Origin Story Is Revealed Netflix’s ‘Kaleidoscope’ Unlocks a Watch-In-Any-Order Format for an Intriguing Heist Show Related 2023 Oscars: ‘Avatar’ Is the One to Beat in Visual Effects The 13 Best Slasher Movies Ever Made, from ‘Candyman’ to ‘Psycho’
Niko Tavernise/Netflix © 2020
By not going for lead, Oscar-winner Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”) and Baron Cohen (nominated as a screenwriter for the original “Borat,” not as an actor) will chase a Supporting nomination that might have gone to one of their costars: Jeremy Strong (Yippie Jerry Rubin), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Bobby Seale), Mark Rylance (defense lawyer William Kunstler), or Frank Langella (Judge Julius Hoffman). There’s a chance in the Best Actor race that Ben-Adir and Goree could also challenge Baron Cohen as Borat, as well as Chadwick Boseman, who has two shots at winning a posthumous award: for his supporting role as an heroic soldier killed in Vietnam in Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” and in lead for George C. Wolfe’s August Wilson adaptation, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Both are from Netflix, which won’t want Boseman to compete against himself. He’s got a better shot at Best Actor. (Posthumous awards are not uncommon; Peter Finch and Heath Ledger won them, for Best Actor in “Network” and Supporting Actor in “The Dark Knight,” respectively.) YouTube/screenshot Category switching is opportunistic. Campaigners devised Davis’ 2016 awards strategy for her role opposite Denzel Washington in “Fences,” her costar’s film adaptation of August Wilson’s Broadway Tony-winner. Davis won the Best Actress Tony and ordinarily would have competed (again) against “La La Land” frontrunner Emma Stone at the Oscars. After “The Help,” that was a chance her handlers were unwilling to take. Stone took home Best Actress, and Davis won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Back in 2005, “Syriana” star George Clooney campaigned for Supporting Actor, and also won. The year before, Tom Cruise vied for Best Actor for “Collateral,” while his equal costar Jamie Foxx went supporting; only Foxx was nominated. And for the 1981 drama “Ordinary People,” rising actor Timothy Hutton was pushed into supporting with established star Donald Sutherland in lead. He didn’t get nominated, but Hutton won. These strategies don’t always work. In 2007, Kate Winslet’s reps pushed her to campaign for Best Actress for “Revolutionary Road” and Supporting Actress for “The Reader.” Voting groups ignored them, and put her in the Best Actress category for “The Reader.” She took home the Oscar. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
