There were many surprises at the Cannes Film Festival and much movement throughout the festival.
In the Supporting Actor category, some of the strongest reactions went to Jeremy Strong for his portrayal of Roy Cohn in The Apprentice, in which he manages to imbue redeemable qualities into a fairly irredeemable character and real-life person. Even though the reviews for The Apprentice weren’t overwhelmingly positive, Strong, alongside co-star Sebastian Stan, were both cited as the reasons this film worked in any capacity. Not to mention, in an election year in which one of the main characters will be on the ballot, this will be a movie discussed all season. The ripped-from-the-headlines buzz could bode well for Strong, who, after his spectacular Emmys run on HBO’s Succession (3 nominations and 1 win through 4 seasons), is still looking for his first Oscar nomination.
The festival’s top acting prize went to Jesse Plemons for Yorgos Lanthimos’s Kinds of Kindness, a movie some call one of the director’s most unhinged since Dogtooth. Plemons’ performance is defined as “explosive.” With the film split into three stories, it would make sense that Plemons would ultimately be lumped into the Supporting Actor category, given the large ensemble cast. As a former nominee, he is liked by the Academy and his peers. As long as Kinds of Kindness isn’t too weird for Academy voters, he could ride this win all season.
Another top prize winner was Sean Baker’s Anora, with newcomer Mark Eydelshteyn giving a breakout performance in a film that surprisingly won the Palm d’Or, marking NEON’s 5th Palm in a row. While most of Anora’s praise was given to co-star Mikey Madison, Eydelshteyn also earned his flowers, portraying the son of a Russian oligarch who enters into a relationship with a sex worker (Madison). Winning the Palm is a good sign for a film’s future awards chances, as 3 of the last 4 Palm winners went on to be nominated in multiple Oscar categories, including Best Picture. The Florida Project earned a Supporting Actor nomination for Willem Dafoe, the only film by director Sean Baker to have received Oscar acclaim. With Anora winning the Palm d’Or, this could pave the way for a big season for the film, and Eydelshteyn could tag along to the ride.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is in theaters now, premiering ‘Out of Competition’ at the Cannes Film Festival. Mad Max: Fury Road was a massive Oscar player, winning 6 of its 10 nominations. While these nominations included Best Director and Best Picture, none came in the acting categories; could that change in George Miller’s latest addition to the saga? Chris Hemsworth has been an A-list actor for years as the face of Thor in the MCU. His performance in Furiosa could be the best work the actor has done yet, as his performance has been said to be completely unhinged and deranged. We have seen this category take some big swings in the past, including nominating Ryan Gosling for portraying Ken in a movie about Barbie. Hemsworth does not have that same rapport with the Academy. Still, if Furiosa is as beloved as Fury Road was, Hemsworth could add Oscar nominee to the front of his name.
Outside of the Cannes films, some performances heralded this year include a few indie standouts. Kieran Culkin has earned significant buzz for Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, which currently holds a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and whose aggregate review blurb states Culkin gives a “scene-stealing” performance. Like Jeremy Strong, Culkin is also coming off an impressive run on Succession; they could both be battling it out this awards season for an Oscar instead of an Emmy. Sing Sing premiered at TIFF last September, but A24 held off on the full release until this year. That move could benefit the now Oscars record-holding studio as newcomer Clarence Maclin has been earning high praise alongside his co-star Colman Domingo in what is being called a “star-making performance.” Sing Sing could be a massive Oscars player this year, and Maclin might have the juice to ride the wave to the Dolby Theater.
After this, we start getting into some unknown territories. Samuel L. Jackson hasn’t been Oscar-nominated since Pulp Fiction in 1994, and while he did receive an honorary Oscar in 2022, his role in the adaptation of August Wilson’s play, The Piano Lesson, could not only bring him his second nomination but his first competitive win as well. Denzel Washington already has nine nominations (and two wins) under his belt; his role in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 could push that nomination total into the double digits. While Scott has been hit or miss lately in his directorial projects, the early buzz out of CinemaCon was that Gladiator 2 would be a return to form for the director. Washington has a good amount of screen time as an ex-gladiator searching for power. He is beloved amongst the Academy, and if Gladiator 2 was as thrilling as the early reactions suggest, he could also be back.
The race becomes more unpredictable as we move further into the potential pool of nominees. Could former nominee Paul Raci come back for his role in Sing Sing? Another former nominee, Brian Tyree Henry, is starring in The Fire Inside, a film written and produced by Barry Jenkins. However, the film has been in production since early 2020, and no new updates have been released since the name was changed from “Flint Strong” in March of this year. Edward Berger’s upcoming Conclave includes a loaded cast of supporting actors, most notably Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow. They could be battling it out for a nomination when the time comes. The uncertainty of these potential nominees adds to the intrigue and excitement of the award season.
Currently, I am predicting Samuel L. Jackson for this award. The previous two August Wilson adaptations (Fences [2016] and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom [2020]) received multiple acting nominations, including a win for Viola Davis in Fences. The 1995 TV movie adaptation of this play earned 9 Primetime Emmy nominations. Jackson has remained busy over the years, primarily in Marvel projects. Still, as we saw with Robert Downey Jr.’s convincing awards run for Oppenheimer, there is a narrative for former MCU actors and beloved veterans in the field making a “return to form” regarding acting prowess. Clarence Maclin, Denzel Washington, Jeremy Strong, and Jesse Plemons round out my top 5, with Plemons making it in based on the acting win at Cannes. Many ensemble films and beloved actors are seeking recognition, and this category is just starting.
Current Prediction:
- Samuel L. Jackson (The Piano Lesson)
- Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing)
- Denzel Washington (Gladiator II)
- Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice)
- Jesse Plemons (Kinds of Kindness)
Next Up:
- Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)
- Chris Hemsworth (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga)
- Paul Raci (Sing Sing)
- Brian Tyree Henry (The Fire Inside)
- Mark Eydelshteyn (Anora)
From what I’ve heard of Kinds of Kindness, Jesse Plemons has roles in all three stories, so unless all 3 are minor characters, which sounds unlikely, wouldn’t he be more of a Lead Actor?
Of course, awards love to push lead actors into supporting categories, which is annoying, but we’re also seen the opposite (e.g. Michelle Williams for The Fabelmans).