Best Actor in a Supporting Role is limited to five nominations per year. Walter Brennan holds the record for the most awards in this category at three, and only six other actors have won the award twice, making it one of the most competitive categories in the history of the Academy. Last year’s winner was Christoph Waltz in ‘Django Unchained’.

Nominee List:

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips

Bradley Cooper, American Hustle

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave

Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Evaluating the performance of actors in films across a spectrum of genres is a daunting task, and one that seldom does justice to the art. When it comes to actors in a supporting role, extreme transformations and characters with emotional strife seem to be at the top of everybody’s list. Based on that criteria Jared Leto should take home the Oscar this year. Leto portrays the character of Rayon, an HIV-positive transgender female with an unexpected complexity. It is not the extreme nature of his character or the words on a script that define his performance, but the creativity, thoughtfulness and dedication Leto brought to this role.

Bradley Cooper is also a major contender, and deserving of a nomination for Best Actor in a Lead Roll. However, his performance in ‘American Hustle’ was overshadowed his co-star Christian Bale, and thus he was relegated to the Supporting Actor category. It is these moments that feel unjust when an actor provides a top level performance only to be confined to the category of a supporting role. Filmmakers and viewers seem to like it that way. The recognition of this incredible performance in an ensemble cast as a supporting character is a necessary injustice. Writing for an ensemble cast can take a film to another level of emotional realism, challenging the viewer with complex relationships and developments between characters, greatly enhancing a story. Barkhad Abdi, nominated for a supporting role in Captain Phillips is arguably another candidate for Best Actor in a lead Roll, yet he also has been nominated in the supporting role category. This is likely due to the Academy’s deference to co-star Tom Hanks, and this year’s crowded field in the role for Best Performance by an Actor.

Who will win: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Who should win: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Who was left out: Daniel Bruhl, Rush

– Isabella Romano