Yidio Oscars Spotlight: Supporting Actor

In the Yidio Oscars Spotlight, we take a look at the key races at this year's Academy Awards. In the Best Supporting Actor category, Christian Bale goes head to head with Geoffrey Rush, while John Hawkes lingers on the edges as a possible sleeper.

Past Winners

Christoph Waltz, who will appear in the new Robert Pattinson film "Water for Elephants," won last year for his supremely calloused and creepy protrayal of Nazi commander Colonel Hans Lanza in the Quentin Tarantino-directed "Inglorious Basterds."

In 2009, Heath Ledger took home a heartbreaking Best Supporting Actor award for his Joker in "The Dark Knight." While it was hard not to see that award being linked to his tragic death, no one seemd to care, and rightly so.

2008 was Javier Bardem's year, as the actor (nominated again this year for a leading role in "Biutiful") took home the award for his bone-chilling portrayal of a serial killer in the Coen Brothers' "No Country for Old Men."

Walter Brennan has won the Best Suporting Actor award at the Oscars more than any other actor with 3 wins.

The Nominees

Christian Bale - "The Fighter"

Geoffrey Rush - "The King's Speech"

Jeremy Renner - "The Town"

Mark Ruffalo - "The Kids Are Alright"

John Hawkes - "Winter's Bone"

What Critics Are Saying

The Broadcast Film Critics Association is behind Bale on this one for his role in "The Fighter," while The New York Film Critic's Circle hands it to Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are Alright." John Hawkes may have put on the performance of the year in "Winter's Bone," but seems to be getting very little love from critics as a frontrunner.

Roger Ebert predicts the award will go to Geoffrey Rush because "it's a King's Speech year." As he explains on his blog "when a movie gets anointed, its aura shines on its other nominees, as if voters are thinking, 'Well, if I voted for ‘The King's Speech,' doesn't that mean I keep voting for it?"

Ebert tends to be pretty spot on with picks, but...

Predictions

...It's really hard to imagine anyone but Christian Bale winning this award. So sure, occassionally his extreme acting methods take him to a special, angry, NSFW place, but few actors have shown the ability to transform themselves so radically as Christian Bale. From a suave and beefy Batman to a stone-cold "American Psycho" to Dicky Ecklund - the skinny, pasty crackhead trainer/brother of Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) in "The Fighter," Bale has a dedication to the craft that simply can't be matched. He should have been nominated for a similar physical transformation in "The Machinist," and the Academy will most likely right that wrong this year.

As Ebert pointed out, Geoffrey Rush may provide some competition, as critics have poured the accolades on "The King's Speech." Realistically, he doesn't stand a fighting chance against Bale.