Golden Globe Musings: Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Golden Globe nominations for this year will be announced in just a few weeks, so here’s a survey of the contenders and the most likely predictions at this time. Weigh in with your thoughts, and let me know if I’ve left off anything important. A reminder that the Globes are wildly unpredictable and that it is still a bit early to gauge the reception or awards potential of a number of the so-called “contenders” at this point.

Last year’s nominees:
Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project)
Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name)
Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water)
Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World)

There are a few names that have emerged as the leading contenders here: Sam Elliott (A Star is Born), Mahershala Ali (Green Book), Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), and Timothée Chalamet (Beautiful Boy). This is usually the place where first signs of trouble for an expected frontrunner emerge, so we’ll see if they all make the cut. Last year’s winner Sam Rockwell (Vice) could show up here if voters like the film. It’s hard to know how other men here might fare since their films will either embraced or dismissed. Russell Crowe (Boy Erased), J.K. Simmons (The Front Runner), and Dick Van Dyke (Mary Poppins Returns) all feel like possibilities despite how extraordinarily different their roles are. Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman) and Daniel Kaluuya (Widows) are probably more likely.

Current predictions:
Mahershala Ali (Green Book)
Timothée Chalamet (Beautiful Boy)
Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman)
Sam Elliott (A Star is Born)
Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)