This summer has been massive in the world of film. At the box office, Longlegs, Twisters, Despicable Me 4, Deadpool & Wolverine, and more have kept audiences returning to the theater; if they show up early enough, they might also get a chance to see how stacked the fall releases will be. From action to drama and big budget to indies, these trailers showcased a vast array of films, and almost all of them also displayed just how tight this year’s Supporting Actor race could be.
First, we got our first look at Gladiator II, which will be released this November. Leading man Paul Mescal was given the most screentime, but the legendary Denzel Washington was close behind him. In my first update, I noted that Washington would be an ex-Gladiator searching for power, and this trailer did his character wonders by displaying him as a puppetmaster leading the show. Washington looks better than ever, oozing charisma with a maniacal laugh.
Another trailer that showed men yearning for power came from Conclave. Ralph Fiennes is the film’s apparent lead, bringing the primary supporting duties to the duo of John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci. From the trailer, Lithgow’s performance is quiet and cautious, while Tucci is active and abrasive. Both performances could be Oscar-worthy, but which one will stand above the other in such a loaded category?
The trailer for Sean Baker’s Anora gave us our first look at Mark Eydelshteyn. While the trailer did seem convincing that Anora will be a major Oscar player, Eydelshteyn’s involvement has been kept relatively low to avoid spoiling too much about the film and allow star Mikey Madison her time to shine.
A trailer that didn’t hold its Supporting Actor in the shadow was A Different Man, in which The Hollywood Reporter singled out Adam Pearson for “stealing the show.” There is a chance this movie could earn recognition from the awards branches for their makeup work and Sebastian Stan’s leading performance; with a good push, Pearson could be along for the ride.
Kieran Culkin was also given ample time to shine in the trailer for A Real Pain from director Jesse Eisenberg. Culkin gets almost all of the speaking lines in the trailer, and his performance is quoted as well, but the scenes highlight the full range of emotions he endured during the film, from joy to sadness and everything in between. He has a chance in this race, but one surprise trailer made an alright close fight that much closer.
James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown dropped a surprise first look at Timothee Chalamet. The film, which wrapped in mid-June, not only had a trailer released within a month but is also eyeing a December release. Suppose A Complete Unknown does make a significant play this season— which might still be a big if— Edward Norton, who plays fellow folk singer Pete Seeger, could upend this Supporting Actor competition and even compete for the win. The film is set around the Newport Folk Festival of 1965 and the electric changes Dylan would make to the folk scene. Seeger served as Dylan’s mentor and friend, but this festival proved to be the start of their downfall professionally and personally, with Seeger furious about the changes Dylan made to folk music. Mangold handled biopics before directing the highly acclaimed Walk the Line and Ford v. Ferrari, the performances being the standout elements of both films. Joaquin Phoenix was nominated for playing Johnny Cash in Walk the Line, and Reese Witherspoon won the Best Actress Oscar for portraying June Carter. While no actors from Ford v. Ferrari were nominated, the film won the Best Film Editing Best Sound Oscars in 2020, with Christian Bale possibly on the cusp of a Best Actor nomination.
Mangold knows how to direct solid biopic performances and how to get recognition from his actors. While Timothee Chalamet will get most of the love from this film, I suspect Norton, a three-time nominee who has yet to win an Oscar, will be right there with him and in the running for his first-ever win.
Who’s Out?
Since my last column, I removed Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Plemons, Paul Raci, Jeremy Strong, and Mark Eydelshteyn from my list of top contenders. Furiosa just doesn’t seem to have the staying power that I thought it would have and not near the staying power that Fury Road had. It’s the same with Jesse Plemons for Kinds of Kindness, a movie that came and went from the public eye, and with the summer release, it might not have the legs to make it throughout the entire season. Sing Sing will likely still have a significant return to the scene as the indie movie of the year, but Clarence Maclin will be getting all of the love, and Raci will likely be left behind. Jeremy Strong is an interesting one. I removed him from my top ten list because no one knows if The Apprentice will be released this year; even if it is released, who knows what movie it will be? If the film is released in its entirety, I will put him back in, but I will keep him out for now. Finally, with Mark Eydelshteyn, as noted, the trailer was much more Mikey Madison-focused, not displaying his role in the film all that much. He could come back, but for now, he’s out.
Who’s In?
With only trailers to dissect, I see no point in removing Samuel L. Jackson from the top of my list. The Piano Lesson is a fictional universe in which Jackson has played two characters—he originated the role of Boy in a 1987 play at the Yale Repertory Theatre. He was nominated for a Tony for portraying Doaker on Broadway in 2022, the same role he will play in the movie. However, behind him are actors who look more challenging by the second. Denzel Washington moves up to my second spot because of how he was used in the Gladiator II trailer and his larger-than-anticipated presence in the early footage. Behind him is Edward Norton, who, even just a week ago, I would’ve assumed would be competing for this award in 2026, not 2025. Clarence Maclin holds firm at four, while Stanley Tucci rounds out my current five since he is, at least for now, the most likely nominee from the Conclave supporting cast.
Behind them, Kieran Culkin remains at six while Drew Starkey shows up for his role opposite Daniel Craig in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, which will have a Venice release. The second of the primary two Conclave supporting performances, John Lithgow, is at eight. At the same time, Brian Tyree Henry remains in the top ten at 9, with The Fire Inside, which will receive a Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) premiere, and Adam Pearson’s singled-out performance in A Different Man rounds out my current top ten.
Predicted Nominees:
- Samuel L. Jackson (The Piano Lesson)
- Denzel Washington (Gladiator II)
- Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown)
- Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing)
- Stanley Tucci (Conclave)
Next Up:
- Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)
- Drew Starkey (Queer)
- John Lithgow (Conclave)
- Brian Tyree Henry (The Fire Inside)
- Adam Pearson (A Different Man)
