Oscar Nominees: Best Actor in a Supporting Role

My predictions: 4/5, picking DiCaprio over Arkin
My ballot: Come back next week!
The nominees: Alan Arkin (Argo), Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

It turns out that this race was an amalgam of the Globe and SAG lists, tossing aside Waltz’s costar Leonardo DiCaprio and Javier Bardem from “Skyfall,” whose film earned the most Oscar nominations ever for a James Bond entry. That means that we’re left with five previous winners, four of whom won in this very category. The only actor marooned without a Best Picture nomination is Hoffman, and he’s also the only nominee in this race under fifty. I have a few inclusions I’d put in, but these are all strong performances, and a generally consistent category.

My current bet to win: They’ve all won before, so it could be any of them, but I think it will be Jones.