14 Best Supporting Actor contenders for the 2023 Oscars

Imagine stepping into the lightly fictionalized shoes of Steven Spielberg’s father—after decades of that filmmaker creating movies grappling with father issues. If anyone is up to the task, it’s Paul Dano, who at this point in his fascinating career (remember the ?) is surely overdue for Academy consideration. This writer is still bitter that Dano missed out on a nomination for There Will Be Blood, so a first-time nod for his touching and passionate work as Spielberg’s father figure in should rectify that.

It’s only natural that the headlines about zeroed in on pop star Harry Styles taking the tried-and-true Oscar-bait route of—gasp!—playin’ gay. But that buzz has unfortunately buried the real standout performance among the prestige film’s ensemble: David Dawson, playing the more out-and-proud lover of Styles’ character. At one point Dawson delivers a heartbreaking monologue with a detachment that speaks to his character’s deep-seated trauma, confirming that he’s a dramatic star on the rise.

Few actors have had a year as prolific or impressive as Colin Farrell (spoiler alert: he’ll also make it at least once onto our Best Actor prediction list). But one of his performances, as the Penguin in , was so transformative it had many audience members rubbernecking: “That was Colin Farrell?!” You might think that his dastardly kingpin, scarred inside and out, isn’t the kind of fare Oscar voters go for—until you remember Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix have earned shiny trophies for playing DC villains.

Sure, you could claim category fraud here, as Martin McDonagh’s is about the dissolution of a friendship between Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell. But considering screen time and the idea that it’s mostly told from the perspective of Farrell’s character, a supporting placement for Gleeson here feels apt. And this is certainly an actor who understands how to support a film, in this and countless others. How on Earth has this Irish screen legend never been recognized by the Academy?

If this list has a running theme, it’s “How has this person never been Oscar-nominated?!” Even with relatively recent rise in Hollywood, from Atlanta to Eternals, he is owed Academy recognition—that If Beale Street Could Talk snub still stings. In director Lila Neugebauer’s , Henry radiates empathy opposite Jennifer Lawrence’s war veteran. There’s something so compelling about the way this actor portrays the daring act that is vulnerability.

There’s stealing the show in a borderline cameo, and then there’s Judd Hirsch in . The legendary actor storms his way onto Steven Spielberg’s screen and grasps it by the hands—quite literally, with his passion putting a painful squeeze onto Gabrielle LaBelle’s Sammy. Hirsch’s Uncle Boris serves as the beating heart of this story about family, art, and the irreconcilable reconciliation of the two.

The inclusion of on every Oscars prediction list seemed almost mandatory from the start. An ode to cinema that’s dripping in nostalgia and passion, it’s the kind of film we can forgive Academy members for consistently rewarding. Toby Jones is the scene-stealing actor who gets to put a fine point on that idea, with a rousing speech that’s bound to connect with voters trying to decide who’s best inhabiting the screen.

There’s a very viable scenario where all four stars of are up for honors at the 95th Academy Awards. Something was clearly in the water on Martin McDonagh’s set, because even , ramping up his propensity for offbeat spontaneity and tics, feels right at home in this melancholy-yet-hilarious story. A single line delivery—“There goes that dream”—is enough to earn Keoghan his first-ever appearance on an Oscar ballot, and probably not his last.

Thank the cinema gods that the 2023 Oscars could conceivably honor a beloved industry veteran for wielding a fanny pack as a weapon. In addition to being an integral part of why became such a runaway hit, Ke Huy Quan is an irresistible first-time Academy nominee as much for his offscreen narrative as his onscreen work. After capturing the hearts of audiences as a rascally kid in both Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom and The Goonies, Quan stepped back to direct and coordinate stunts—due primarily to the lack of on-screen opportunities for Asian actors. Now that he’s back in front the camera, Quan has come out swinging.

There’s something disarming about , a shrewd enough actor to weaponize that trait in a variety of roles—from quirky in Fantastic Beasts to sentimental in The Theory Of Everything, the latter of which earned him his Oscar. The British star could hear his name called again on nominations day thanks to his work opposite Jessica Chastain as a serial killer in . Awards voters love actors who deep-dive into morally repugnant or downright sociopathic characters. And Redmayne is positively spine-tingling, without ever sacrificing credibility as a real-life nurse responsible for the deaths of dozens if not hundreds of ailing patients.

There’s been no official database chronicling industry members’ favorite actors, but if you were to poll any cross-section of Hollywood, Mark Rylance might be the number one pick. Anyone who’s ever seen him onstage comes away raving, and his sole Oscar nomination and win, for Bridge Of Spies, is a testament to the respect he garners in the filmmaking industry. The British legend reminds us of his innate power once again with his Gotham Award-nominated turn in Luca Guadagnino’s as the nomadic Sully. Watching the ingratiating meekness that is Rylance’s specialty unexpectedly sour into menace opposite Taylor Russell’s Maren proves nothing short of riveting.

If crying were an Olympic sport, Ben Whishaw might clinch the gold. Hey, isn’t that sort of what the Oscars are anyway? The Academy loves drama, preferably in a period piece, full of showy-but-not-too-showy emotion, all of which Whishaw absolutely nails in . This intimate yet gripping tale of Mennonite women facing an impossible choice is made all the more powerful by the presence of a lone man: Whishaw’s meek schoolteacher August, tragically enamored with Mara Rooney’s Ona. You won’t see a more heartfelt declaration of love onscreen this year.

A posthumous Oscar nomination for Michael Kenneth Williams isn’t out of the question. Williams’ work as a hostage negotiator embodies so much of what he excelled at: compelling restraint, a macho exterior masking a sensitive interior, and, most of all, genuine empathy. That he achieves the latter entirely over the phone opposite John Boyega is all the more impressive. Williams also deserves a spot on this list because he’s another screen presence who should have earned more mainstream awards recognition in his lifetime; Breaking would be his first Academy nod, and sadly his last.

There’s nothing one-dimensional about turning his experience in Marines boot camp into the stunningly powerful film . Yet on paper, Bokeem Woodbine’s drill sergeant Leland Laws would seem predictably narrow; casually cruel to his new recruits and confident he can get away with it, he’s essentially this film’s villain, there to present the biggest obstacles to Jeremy Pope’s hero Ellis. Yet Woodbine imbues every glance with riveting nuance, adding to his reputation as an actor who can turn a character’s interiority into edge-of-your-seat entertainment. This may be his best example of that yet.