Variety’s Clayton Davis has his fair share of detractors, but I agree with his assessment that Ryan Gosling could potentially win the Best Supporting acting Oscar for “Barbie.”
Not that Gosling actually deserves to win, but his performance as Ken has been talked about so damn much that I can definitely see him taking the award. It’s silly work on his part, a goofy role that was overpraised, but Gosling did the best he could with the slime that was given to him.
The “experts” over at Gold Derby have Gosling at #3. Meanwhile, THR’s Scott Feinberg has Gosling at #2, and IndieWire have him at #3. Downey Jr. tops most of these lists as the current frontrunner.
So far, it’s only really Davis predicting Gosling to win, but I’m telling you he is not wrong. There is a realistic chance that Ken will win Supporting Actor. However, right now, Downey Jr. has the narrative; his performance in “Oppenheimer” was highly acclaimed and, at 58 years of age, he is overdue for some recognition.
Yes, Iron Man” himself, Downey Jr. could be an Oscar winner for his work as Lewis Strauss, one of the founding commissioners of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and nemesis to Robert J. Oppenheimer. A two-time nominee for “Chaplin” and “Tropic Thunder,” he will likely become only the second actor from a Nolan movie to ever be nominated for an acting Oscar, after Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight.”
If it were up to me, De Niro (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) takes the Oscar. He absolutely deserves it. The 80-year-old actor hasn’t been this magnetic onscreen in at least two decades. He’s been Oscar-nominated eight times and won twice, with his last win for “Raging Bull” in 1981.
I have yet to see Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe’s performances in “Poor Things,” but I keep hearing great things. Maybe Charles Melton (“May December”) sneaks into the final five as well for his curiously magnetic work in Todd Haynes’ film.