Ranking the Oscar-Nominated Performances in Steven Spielberg's Films
Monday, February 1, 2016 at 2:20PM Mark Rylance’s best supporting actor nomination for Bridge of Spies marks the 13th time a performance in a Steven Spielberg movie has been nominated for an Oscar. Which of course calls for a list, so without any further ado here's Murtada's ranking.
Oscar Nominated Performances in Spielberg Films Ranked
13- Anthony Hopkins - Amistad (1997)
Other Nominees: Robert Forster – Jackie Brown, Greg Kinnear – As Good as It Gets, Burt Reynolds – Boogie Nights, Robin Williams – Good Will Hunting.
Winner: Williams
Did Hopkins have a big righteous courtroom speech? Must be, because why else was this performance nominated. The only thing I remember about it is that Hopkins robbed Rupert Everett of his nomination for My Best Friend’s Wedding.
Twelve more after the jump...
12- Melinda Dillon - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Other Nominees: Leslie Browne – The Turning Point, Quinn Cummings – The Goodbye Girl, Vanessa Redgrave – Julia, Tuesday Weld – Looking for Mr. Goodbar.
Winner: Redgrave.
Elevates the stereotypical “Mom” role but is peripheral to the plot, hence the low ranking.
11- Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies (2015)
Other Nominees: Christian Bale - The Big Short, Tom Hardy - The Revenant, Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight, Sylvester Stallone - Creed.
Winner: To be determined.
This year's critical favorite but after his SAG loss it seems Rylance is a long shot to win. It's looking like Stallone is a lock for the Oscar but will it be Rylance or SAG winner Idris Elba at BAFTA?
10- Sally Field - Lincoln (2012)
Other Nominees: Amy Adams – The Master, Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables, Helen Hunt – The Sessions, Jacki Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook.
Winner: Hathaway
Her scene with Tommy Lee Jones was the comic highlight of a movie surprisingly full of funny scenes. Matches her leading man when emotions escalate in their scenes together, but maybe could’ve reigned in a bit in other scenes instead of going full blast. Still very moving.
9- Christopher Walken - Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Other Nominees: Chris Cooper – Adaptation, Ed Harris – The Hours, Paul Newman – Road to Perdition, John C. Reilly – Chicago.
Winner: Cooper
Only the third best performance in Catch Me If You Can. Still Leonardo DiCaprio’s best performance.
8- Margaret Avery - The Color Purple (1985)
Other Nominees: Anjelica Huston - Prizzi’s Honor, Amy Madigan - Twice in a Lifetime, Meg Tilly - Agnes of God, Oprah Winfrey - The Color Purple.
Winner: Huston
Remembered among Oscar nerds for her unorthodox campaign to get votes by invoking God (see letter above), Avery’s performance is fantastic and gives Purple the light it needs. Too bad the film only hints at the sexual relationship between her character, Shug and Celie (Goldberg). And Hollywood is still doing it to this day, Gerda Wegener in The Danish Girl is completely stripped of her bi-sexuality. Not even a hint remains.
7- Tom Hanks - Saving Private Ryan (1999)
Other Nominees: Roberto Benigni – Life Is Beautiful, Ian McKellen – Gods and Monsters, Nick Nolte – Affliction, Edward Norton – American History X.
Winner: Benigni
Hanks is the perfect Spielberg actor, capably representing his themes of good, decent and commanding American values. It’s surprising he received only this one nomination for their collaborations. Frankly any of the other 4 men nominated would've made a better winner than Benigni.
6- Liam Neeson - Schindler’s List (1993)
Other Nominees: Tom Hanks – Philadelphia, Daniel Day-Lewis – In the Name of the Father, Laurence Fishburne – What's Love Got to Do with It, Anthony Hopkins – The Remains of the Day.
Winner: Hanks
Neeson effectively carries the film and would’ve ranked higher if not for the fact that his co-star totally steals it. And this is a very strong best actor lineup, each of these 5 men would've made a worthy winner.
5- Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln (2012)
Other Nominees: Alan Arkin – Argo, Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook, Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master, Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained.
Winner: Waltz
Jones was funny and his scenes with S Epatha Merkerson were the film’s only personal connection to the political story being told. I remember at the film’s NYFF premiere Jones got the biggest applause and for a while it seemed he might actually win.
4-Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln (2012)
Other Nominees: Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook, Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables, Joaquin Phoenix – The Master, Denzel Washington – Flight.
Winner: Day Lewis
The only performance in a Spielberg movie to win. And likely to stay that way; at least till Spielberg’s next movie.
3- Whoopi Goldberg - The Color Purple (1985)
Other Nominees: Anne Bancroft - Agnes of God, Jessica Lange - Sweet Dreams, Geraldine Page - The Trip to Bountiful, Meryl Streep - Out of Africa.
Winner: Page
Remains one of the best film debuts ever. Goldberg might have won if she wasn’t up against Page’s eighth career nomination.
2- Oprah Winfrey - The Color Purple (1985)
Other Nominees: Margaret Avery - The Color Purple, Anjelica Huston - Prizzi's Honor, Amy Madigan - Twice in a Lifetime, Meg Tilly - Agnes of God.
Winner: Huston
Just remembering this performance tears me up. Winfrey is devastating and devastatingly good as Sophia, by turns defiant and deafeated.
1- Ralph Fiennes - Schindler’s List (1993)
Other Nominees: Leonardo DiCaprio - What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Tommy Lee Jones - The Fugitive, John Malkovich - In the Line of Fire, Pete Postlethewaite - In the Name of the Father.
Winner: Jones
A perfect performance. The one thing I was sure of when I started this list was that Fiennes will be #1. When he lost to the career honor of Jones, everybody thought he’d get many more opportunities to win. Alas 22 years later Fiennes only has one other nomination; for The English Patient (1996). Where is his “overdue” narrative?
There are many excellent performances that Spielberg directed that didn't garner Oscar's attention. Besides DiCaprio there's Drew Barrymore in E.T., Hanks in Catch Me If You Can and Bridge of Spies, Cate Blanchett in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
OK just kidding on the last one, but what are some of your favorites? And do you agree with our ranking?
Reader Comments (54)
Paul Outlaw - Now I'm imagining Benigni in McKellen's role in Gods and Monsters. There's not enough *shudder* in the world for that mental image...
Ha!
great article.
haven't seen close encounters or Lincoln,
I hope mark Rylan still has a chance w bridge of spies and think he belomgs higher up..
Robert shaw in jaws is great as is Tom Hanks in catch me if you can.
Feinnes was incredible, absolutely concur with number one placement. Tom Hanks was just as phenomenal in 'Private Ryan', a great reminder of just how nuanced and subtle he can be.
As for Tommy Lee Jones' 'Lincoln' year, Hoffman and Waltz turned in the best performances with Tommy Lee in third. People like to toss about claims of category fraud in their cases but to do so is to miss the forest for the trees in their film's stories.The Master is about Joaquin Phoenix's Freddie Quell as he attempts to re-adjust to post World War 2 society, and Hoffman's Dodd (while a large and looming presence) is the man who gives him a home to do so. The point of view is from Quell's vantage from start to finish. The same could be said of the story in Django Unchained, which is really all about Jamie Foxx's Django as he adjusts to life post-slavery (only in his case). Waltz is a large and looming presence on the film but functions in the story as a character who gives Django the means to come into his own, as his own man and piece back together his life. Like Hoffman in The Master, Waltz exits the story further from the end then most remember. Both Freddie Quell and Django continue on, and their personal story is resolved at the film's conclusion.
I really don't get the category fraud complaints in their cases, unless it has to do with other contenders that many on the internet wished had made it that year, or people being unhappy that Waltz won for two Tarantino films. I for one am happy that two wonderful performances, three when you include Tommy Lee, in two audacious and divisive pieces of cinema even made it into the conversation. Arkin and DeNiro, if anyone, should be taking more flak for coattail nominations. These may be far worse than any category fraud nominations as they deny other films the attention that comes when the Academy spreads the wealth and honors more movies.
Random rant, I know, but these complaints about category always seem to negatively cite Hoffman and Waltz as prime examples, which I think is unfair to their excellent supporting work.