Like the Best Supporting Actress award, this year's Best Supporting Actor award is a giveaway -- it's going to Inglourious Basterds's Christoph Waltz. Waltz, a relatively unknown actor, portrays Col. Hans Landa in the film, and he somehow manages to make the Nazi soldier not only interesting, but sympathetic, in a way. His dialogue is cheerful and threatening at the same time, and Waltz seems to effortlessly convey the double meanings in Landa's words quite well. He also has moments of almost childish glee ("That's a bingo!" anyone?), and is certain to win the award.
Behind him is Woody Harrelson for his role in The Messenger. Harrelson was almost ubiquitous in 2009, appearing in 2012 and Zombieland, but his most acclaimed role was in the smaller drama The Messenger, where he plays a soldier who delivers news of soldiers deaths to their families. Costarring with Ben Foster, Harrelson puts forward one of his best performances, and shows his acting range, especially when the role is compared to the one from Zombieland.
Stanley Tucci and Matt Damon are both solid actors, but their performances in The Lovely Bones and Invictus are nothing more than ordinary for the two. First-time nominee Christopher Plummer is an unlikely candidate for his role as author Leo Tolstoy in The Last Station.
[...] Best Supporting Actor [...]