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Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
WILL SMITH AND JON BERNTHAL IN “KING RICHARD”
FYC: Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
BROWSING THIS LIST OF SCENE STEALERS WHOSE
onscreen performances were among 2021’s most delightful or devastating (or both), it’s hard not to wish there were more than five SAG Award slots in the category. For your consideration before the Jan. 12, 2022, nominations announcement: this year’s best male supporting film stars!
Ben Affleck
“The Tender Bar”
Trading his Boston townie credentials for the Yanks of Long Island, Affleck easily slides into the “Wonder Years” tone of this coming-of-age feature, adapted from the memoir by Pulitzer Prize winner J.R. Moehringer. The film is based on the author’s own fatherless upbringing as he attempts to break free from his working-class roots, setting his sights on Yale University. George Clooney’s film centers Affleck’s world-weary Uncle Charlie as its wise (and wisecracking) heart.
Jon Bernthal
“King Richard”
Bernthal is exceptional as tennis coach Rick Macci. The chameleonic actor is believable in every mode, whether he’s acting as a proxy for the doubt and frustration over Richard’s (Will Smith) unusual approach to managing his daughters’ careers, or simply as the comic relief. He emerges as a true standout in an all-around stellar ensemble cast in this story following the rise of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams.
Reed Birney
“Mass”
It’s about time the Tony-winning Birney got the dramatic screen material he deserves. As the father of a school shooter, he uses the tension in his eyes and body
to demonstrate the character’s central conundrum: How does one make sense of a senseless act? Most impressive is how Birney embodies a man attempting to resist defensiveness while trying to salvage what’s left of his son’s reputation.
Bradley Cooper
“Licorice Pizza”
It’s been too long since we’ve seen Cooper put his leading man chops on the back burner to play a capital-C Character and supporting scene stealer. His take on film producer (and former hairdresser) Jon Peters is a return to over-the-top comedic form for the maestro behind “A Star Is Born.” The fact that he portrays a Barbra Streisand lover is winkingly played for laughs.
Colman Domingo
“Zola”
Domingo gives a thrilling performance as Abegunde “X” Olawale, one of the most chaotic elements in this already chaotic true(ish) story. He makes his mark in one of the most stunning bait-and-switches in memory. His rapid shift in demeanor and accent makes it suddenly clear that Taylour Paige’s Zola is at the mercy of forces as dangerous as they are absurd. Domingo is chillinducingly good.
Jamie Dornan
“Belfast”
Kenneth Branagh’s story of remembrance blends a fraught period of Irish history with the dreamy romanticism of Hollywood’s golden age. How fitting that the man playing the filmmaker’s cinematic father is Dornan, whose movie-star visage and inherent sense of heroism makes this 2021 film feel like a vintage classic. You’ll swoon when he grabs a microphone and sings, a moment made even more powerful amid Troubles-era Belfast.
COLMAN DOMINGO IN “ZOLA”
Idris Elba
“Concrete Cowboy”
Elba is having (yet another) prolific year, but we wanted to single out his best performance. He’s terrifying in “The Harder They Fall” and comedically weary in “The Suicide Squad.” But it’s this subtle portrayal of an urban horseman reconnecting with his estranged son that resonates most. Opposite Caleb McLaughlin, he drifts compellingly from dismissive gruffness to real fatherly affection.
Andrew Garfield
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
It’s fun to watch actors play good people; it’s even better to watch them play evil people. Here, Garfield portrays reallife televangelist Jim Bakker, a skeevy religious leader who cons his congregation of their money. Garfield’s performance is so good that it will make audiences feel like they need a shower just for having watched it.
Kelvin Harrison Jr.
“Cyrano”
Are we allowed to call Harrison adorable? In this tale of swooning love both expressed
KELVIN HARRISON JR. IN “CYRANO”
How I Got My SAG Card:
Jonathan Majors
CIARÁN HINDS IN “BELFAST”
and unexpressed, his Christian falls into the latter category. Though the character is unable to articulate his true feelings for Haley Bennett’s Roxanne, this actor says so much with his body language and anguished, awestruck facial expressions. He’ll have you chuckling until, by the end of his arc, you’re crying.
Corey Hawkins
“The Tragedy of Macbeth”
We raise a glass to anyone who can pull off a soaring musical like “In the Heights,” then pivot to “Macbeth.” Hawkins solidified himself as a veritable star this year; his Macduff provides the moral backbone of a literally and figuratively dark tale. In the bloody final act of this tragedy, Hawkins crosses unthinkable emotional territory, his grief as pure as his vengeful rage.
Ciarán Hinds
“Belfast”
As the grandfather of young Buddy (Jude Hill), Hinds is all gruff warmth and cheekiness; it’s a persona he inhabits brilliantly. What takes this supporting performance to the next level is the way he attunes to Judi Dench, subtly hanging on every word from the love of his life. Look at the way he gazes at his co-stars; Hinds is one of the best in-themoment actors around.
Jason Isaacs
“Mass”
There are limitless ways to portray grief as an actor. Isaacs, with his intimidating-yet-quiet intensity, can turn such extreme emotions into a performance that will leave you at the edge of your seat. Is this father of a school shooting victim going to erupt into outrage at any moment, or is he feeling his way toward something like peace? All we as an audience know is that we’re putty in his hands.
RICHARD JENKINS AND JAYNE HOUDYSHELL IN “THE HUMANS”
EMILIA JONES AND TROY KOTSUR IN “CODA” JARED LETO IN “HOUSE OF GUCCI”
Richard Jenkins
“The Humans”
As patriarch Erik Blake in Stephen Karam’s film adaptation of his Tony-winning “The Humans,” Jenkins thrives where others falter: the creeping close-ups, the elongated silences, the solitary blank stares out of dust-clouded windows. His interior life is so entrancing and his self-loathing is so contradictory that you’ll begin to feel as claustrophobic inside his mind as the central family feels inside the film’s single-setting Chinatown apartment.
Troy Kotsur
“CODA”
There’s a moment in “CODA” between deaf father Frank (Kotsur) and his hearing daughter Ruby (Emilia Jones) that we wouldn’t dare spoil here; but it features some of the most beautiful acting in recent memory. That Kotsur delivers one of the year’s most revelatory, touching, funny acting performances wordlessly is a shining example of both his skill and the world of possibilities that opens up when storytelling becomes more inclusive.
Jared Leto
“House of Gucci”
Leto has frequently been celebrated for his physical transformations onscreen, in films like “Dallas Buyers Club” and “The Little Things.” He loses himself once again in Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci.” Just try to recognize him as Paolo Gucci in this long-awaited crime saga, disguised as he is by prosthetics, extra weight, facial hair, and a bald cap. It helps that he’s got the crisp technique and actorly bona fides to match.
Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”
Leung is one of the most recognizable and celebrated actors in China; thanks to his stellar performance as the villain in Marvel hit “Shang-Chi,” that
ONE OF THE BEST PICTURES OF THE YEAR. ANDREW GARFIELD IS A REVELATION.
Strong supporting turns from Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesús and Vanessa Hudgens. Together, you realize just how talented this ensemble is. ”
DIGITAL SPY
ANDREW GARFIELD PULLS OFF “ ONE OF HIS BEST PERFORMANCES,
and the fact that he learned to sing and play piano ”for this role makes it impossibly impressive.
USA TODAY
THIS IS ANDREW GARFIELD AT HIS BEST. EVER.
He bounces off of his co-stars with ease, and sprawls himself over every piece of his set — but is never overbearing. ”It’s a glorious thing to behold.
EXPRESS
FOR YOUR SAG AWARDS ® CONSIDERATION OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE ANDREW GARFIELD | ALEXANDRA SHIPP | ROBIN de JESÚS JOSHUA HENRY | BRADLEY WHITFORD | TARIQ TROTTER VANESSA HUDGENS | JUDITH LIGHT
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ROBIN de JESÚS
TONY CHIU-WAI LEUNG IN “SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS”
WOODY NORMAN AND JOAQUIN PHOENIX IN “C’MON C’MON”
acclaim now extends worldwide. Leung brings humanity to the antagonistic Wenwu, exploring his motivation through a strong sense of pathos that isn’t often seen in supervillains. He’s setting the bar high for the next Avengers’ set of foes.
Ray Liotta
“The Many Saints of Newark”
There’s a twist to Liotta’s appearance in this “Sopranos” prequel that we’ll have to spoil here. Introduced as first the father of Alessandro Nivola’s Dickie Moltisanti and then as his imprisoned twin brother, Liotta reminds us that he’s more than a staple of tough-guy Italian American cinema. Sitting in the prison visiting room and lecturing with very little affectation, he conveys true wisdom—even, perhaps, a shrewd detection of lies—as a man who’s seen it all and accepted his fate.
Woody Norman
“C’mon C’mon”
So much of this portrait of children and the adults caring for them hinges on the 12-yearold Norman. If we ever detected a whiff of capital-A Acting, the film’s entire naturalistic illusion would collapse. Instead, this spoiled but sweet modern-day kid, whose emotional intelligence is both a blessing and a curse, proves as nuanced as he is entertaining; Norman has a career ahead of him of making us both laugh and cry.
Jesse Plemons
“The Power of the Dog”
Playing opposite his real-life partner Kirsten Dunst, the alwaysgreat Plemons brings a soft, sturdy sense of support to 20th-century ranch hand George Burbank. Plemons plays the opposite of his onscreen brother’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) menacing machismo. He counterbalances this Western’s building dread by portraying someone who actually believes that good trumps evil.
Benny Safdie
“Licorice Pizza”
While his performance as an unfit politician borrows more than a few notes from “Veep,”
Safdie’s spin on real-life Los Angeles City Council member Joel Wachs is more grounded and empathetic than first meets the eye. Wachs didn’t come out of the closet until his mayoral run in 1999, so Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1970s rendering shows a novice campaigner whose secret risks unraveling the work he does for the community. Safdie hits all the right notes.
J. K. Simmons
“Being the Ricardos”
Simmons is no stranger to playing a gruff but well-intentioned supporting character who ultimately provides a film its heart. (Here’s looking at you, “Juno”!) In “Being the Ricardos,” his turn as storied “I Love Lucy” co-star William Frawley, a prickly alcoholic, provides all that and more opposite Nina Arianda’s Vivian Vance. He’s just about perfect while giving no-bullshit advice to Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) during a week that finds her at a historic, careerthreatening crossroads.
Kodi Smit-McPhee
“The Power of the Dog”
In his 1967 book “The Power of the Dog,” Thomas Savage wrote of his character Peter that “no one could close a door more quietly than he.” In Jane Campion’s Netflix adaptation, Smit-McPhee uses this telling description as his guiding light. Gentle and mousey, with a looming air of cunning, he never lays all of Peter’s cards on the table—which is what keeps us in the game until the end.
Timothy Spall
“Spencer”
Kristen Stewart’s early scenes as Diana Spencer make a case for girls just wanting to have fun, as the princess takes long drives in a convertible with the wind in her hair; Spall’s Major Alistair Gregory is her wet-blanket foil. Throughout Pablo Larraín’s psychological study, he makes sure that, in fact, no fun is to be had at all. With pursed lips and a country-first attitude, he communicates his masterful, dictatorial presence with as little as a side-eye.
RAY LIOTTA IN “THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK”
“THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK”: BARRY WETCHER; “THE POWER OF THE DOG”: KIRSTY GRIFFIN/NETFLIX
KODI SMIT-MCPHEE IN “THE POWER OF THE DOG”
Alex Wolff
“Pig”
Wolff is rising through Hollywood’s ranks—and rightly so, thanks to captivating performances in “Hereditary,” the “Jumanji” films, and this year’s “Old.” It may take a beat to recognize him in “Pig,” considering how deeply he sinks into the role of the slick Amir, the buyer of Nicolas Cage’s prized truffles. Even while going toe-totoe with a megawatt star, Wolff holds his own, surfacing the character’s need for a father figure to heartbreaking effect.
Benedict Wong
“Nine Days”
Employing a dreamy, contemplative sci-fi concept, Edson Oda’s feature directorial debut imagines a pre-existence realm where souls are played by some of today’s most intriguing character actors. Among them is Wong as Kyo, an irrepressibly optimistic presence and assistant to Winston Duke’s Will. Wong turns the portrayal of joy into high art; there’s poetry in his smiles.
ALEX WOLFF IN “PIG”
Jeffrey Wright
“The French Dispatch”
There are so many great performances in Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch”—and so many performances, period—that it’s nearly impossible to single one out from the others. But when push comes to shove, Wright’s portrayal of a food writer (which the eminent actor has said was inspired by both James Baldwin and Tennessee Williams) makes an impact that will subtly prod at you for days after exiting the theater.
