Alec Baldwin for “The Cooler”
First nomination
– Role details: Old-style Las Vegas casino director Shelly Kaplow will stop at nothing to protect his business interests.
– Critic quote: “[Baldwin] loses himself in Shelly, providing the character with both a menacing evil and a subtle vulnerability. This is one of the strongest performances of Baldwin’s career, loaded with emotion and ferocity.”–BLAKE FRENCH, FILMCRITIC.COM
– Hidden gem: This year, he becomes only the third person in history to be nominated for best supporting actor from the Oscars and worst supporting actor from the Razzies, for “The Cat in the Hat.”
– Not his best work: “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” cost $100 million to make and grossed a paltry $2 million on its opening weekend in 2002.
– In the works: “The Aviator” (2004), “Lymelife” (2004), “Simply Halston” (2004)
– Extra nugget: Turned down Harrison Ford’s role in “Patriot Games” (1992) because he didn’t like the script.
Benicio Del Toro for “21 Grams”
Best supporting actor for “Traffic” (2000)
– Role details: Jack, an ex-convict who turned to religion to rebuild his life, loses what he has gained in the wake of a terrible accident.
– Critic quote: “Del Toro gets so far inside this ruined hulk that you flinch; he’s astonishing.”–PETER TRAVERS, ROLLING STONE
– Hidden gem: He burned himself with cigarettes repeatedly for the elevator scene in 1998’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” because the real Oscar Zeta Acosta did as well. The shots of the burn were cut.
– Not his best work: His first role was as Duke the Dog-Faced Boy in 1988’s “Big Top Pee-wee.”
– In the works: “The Rum Diary” (2004), “The Lost City” (2004), “Che” (2005)
– Extra nugget: Third Puerto Rican Actor to win an Academy Award. The other two were Rita Moreno (“West Side Story”) and Jose Ferrer (“Cyrano de Bergerac”).
Djimon Hounsou for “In America”
First nomination
– Role details: Mateo, a man dying of AIDS, is befriended by the two young daughters of a family of Irish immigrants.
– Critic quote: “Hounsou’s performance here is his best since ‘Amistad’ and gives him a chance to show a range that none of his other films allowed.”–MARGARET A. MCGURK, THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER
– Hidden gem: He was in Janet Jackson’s video for “Love Will Never Do Without You” in 1992.
– Not his best work: He played a bouncer in a 1990 episode of “Beverly Hills, 90210.”
– In the works: “Hotel Rwanda” (2004), “Constantine” (2004), “Blueberry” (2004)
– Extra nugget: Hounsou, from West Africa, and South African Charlize Theron–nominated this year for best actress–are the first Africans to be nominated for Oscars.
Tim Robbins for “Mystic River”
One previous nomination
– Role details: The emotionally fragile Dave Boyle–suspected of the murder of a childhood friend’s daughter–has been haunted his whole life by the sexual abuse he suffered as a child.
– Critic quote: “Tim Robbins is generally regarded as a better director than an actor, but, given the right role [as in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’], he can seem perfectly cast. Dave, whose emotions and [to a degree] personality were neutered in childhood, is such a part. Robbins is consistently low-key and doesn’t do much in the way of emoting, and that’s precisely what’s required in this case.”–JAMES BERARDINELLI, REELVIEWS
– Hidden gem: Robbins, who considers himself the world’s biggest New York Rangers fan, was kicked off his high school hockey team for fighting.
– Not his best work: He played Joe Flynn in 1994’s “Pret-a-Porter.”
– In the works: “Anchorman” (2004)
– Extra nugget: In the movie, the film that Dave watches on TV in the middle of the night is “Vampires.”
Ken Watanabe for “The Last Samurai”
First nomination
– Role details: Katsumoto is a Samurai leader whose deep sense of honor inspires the American soldier he has taken prisoner to help him fight against the Japanese emperor’s army.
– Critic quote: “Ken Watanabe brings a calm power to his role as Katsumoto, the Samurai leader, as well as a magnetism that allows him to hold the screen with Cruise.” –MICK LASALLE, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
– Hidden gem: His real career breakthrough came when he played a Samurai hero in a Japanese TV drama series called “Dokugan ryu Masamune,” making him a household name in Japan.
– Not his best work: Although he’s been a mainstay in Japanese cinema for decades, his role in “The Last Samurai” is the first to earn him U.S. notice.
– In the works: “Batman” sequel (2005)
– Extra nugget: He is a fanatic of a Japanese professional baseball team called the Hanshin Tigers.
