The 92nd Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor

What a quintet of actors that are nominated for Best Supporting Actor this year. Among them they have twenty-seven acting nominations, and at 56, Brad Pitt is the youngest. The funny thing is that four of them have not been nominated in over a decade--this is Al Pacino's ninth nomination, but first since 1992.

Brad Pitt is the only one of the five to not win an Oscar for acting (he did win for producing 12 Years A Slave), which is one of the reasons he has a leg up in this category. He has also won the Golden Globe and SAG Award, and made memorable speeches each time (he's good looking, and witty!) And he was just so amazing in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, as stunt man Cliff Booth. He really should be in the lead category, as he had almost as much screen time as is co-star, Leonard DiCaprio. And he had so many memorable scenes--the Hahn ranch, with Bruce Lee, and the climax, in which he beans one of the Manson followers with a can of dog food. A performance for the ages.

If we were shocked by someone else winning it might be Joe Pesci, who came out of retirement to play a Mafia don in The Irishman. His previous nominations, for Raging Bull and Goodfellas, were for characters who were larger than life and loud, while Russell Buffalino is a quiet man. Pesci, playing against type, made us take notice. On the other hand, Al Pacino, playing Jimmy Hoffa in the same picture, is standard late-era Pacino, full of bluster and lots of ham. I don't see him winning here.

I also don't think this will be the time for Tom Hanks to win his third Oscar. He had five nominations over the course of thirteen years, but hadn't received one since 2000 for Cast Away, snubbed on many occasions for performances such as in The Post, Captain Phillips, and Saving Mr. Banks. But he's back in the game for his turn as Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood. I haven't had a chance to see this yet but I can't reconcile it in my head--will I accept him as Mr. Rogers or will I just be like, "that's Tom Hanks doing a Mr. Rogers impersonation."

Anthony Hopkins is back for the first time in over two decades for his fifth nomination, as Pope Emeritus Benedict XI in The Two Popes. The performance is cunning, but he did not get a SAG nomination and it's hard to imagine him topping the heavy hitters in this lineup.

Will Win: Brad Pitt
Might Win: Joe Pesci
Should Win: Pitt
Should Have Been Nominated: Song Kang-ho, Parasite