The Hollywood Reporter Award Special 37B, December 15, 2022

Some of this year’s best supporting performances in film didn’t arise from your classic scenery-chewing powerhouse monologues or even a de rigueur prolonged cameo by a stalwart veteran — the kinds of smaller dramatic roles that net major industry awards. For every heartrending speech in Women Talking, The Whale and The Fabelmans, there are still dozens of biting one-liners and sidesplitting visual gags in a handful of 2022’s strongest comedies that should not go ignored. Comedies are often honored for their screenplays, but it takes distinctive talent to bring those vibrant pages to life. At the top of my personal ballot are the performances I was not expecting when I settled in to watch their films. Thanks to the marketing materials for movies like Triangle of Sadness, Everything Everywhere All…

LEAD ACTOR Austin Butler Elvis The 31-year-old breakout has earned raves for his performance, and will likely follow Rocketman’s Taron Egerton and Bohemian Rhapsody’s Rami Malek to a SAG Award nom (Malek won). Colin Farrell The Banshees of Inisherin Long a leading man, the Irishman has never been a SAG nominee but seems almost certain to become one for his characterization of a man deeply hurt by his best friend. Brendan Fraser The Whale Another vet who’s never been individually SAG-nominated, he delivers a performance as a grieving 600-pound man that has received standing ovations at nominating committee screenings. SUPPORTING ACTOR Brendan Gleeson The Banshees of Inisherin The Irish character actor could finally land his first SAG Award nom, at age 67, for playing a man who abruptly severs his…

French actress Noémie Merlant might have gotten her big break in 2019’s French historical drama Portrait of a Lady on Fire — which recently landed on Sight and Sound’s list of the 100 greatest films of all time — but she’s made waves for her performance in this year’s Tár, in which she plays the personal assistant of Cate Blanchett’s famed conductor Lydia Tár. In fact, Tár is Merlant’s first American production and first English-language film. Director Todd Field had seen Merlant’s previous films and sent her the script, the actress tells THR. Instantly, Merlant was drawn to Francesca because of her nuanced character. “I needed a couple of times to read it because it’s so complex, even for [English-speaking] people. There are so many details, so I had to…

JESSICA CHASTAIN (ARMAGEDDON TIME) In James Gray’s 1980-set drama, the Oscar-winning actress plays Maryanne Trump (sister to Donald Trump), then an assistant U.S. attorney, and delivers a commanding speech to the students at an elite private school in New York City. JUDD HIRSCH (THE FABELMANS) The two-time Emmy winner appears in Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical film as the great-uncle to protagonist Sammy Fabelman, urging the young man to follow his creative pursuits with the warning: “Art will tear your heart out.” ANTHONY HOPKINS (THE SON) After earning his second best actor Oscar for Florian Zeller’s The Father, Hopkins reunites with the writer-director for his latest family drama, playing the cold and distant dad to Hugh Jackman, who himself is a parent to a depressed teenager. FRANCES MCDORMAND (WOMEN TALKING) The four-time…

It’s been a notable year for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw. She earned her first Emmy nomination with her debut Marvel project, the Disney+ series Loki, then was praised for her work on the studio’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which will wrap the season as one of the highest-grossing films of the year. At press time, it had passed the $400 million mark at the domestic box office and earned $767.8 million worldwide. She landed the gig when director Ryan Coogler’s frequent collaborator and her friend, DP Rachel Morrison, had a scheduling conflict and was unavailable to work on the sequel to the 2018 hit. “When Rachel found out that she was unable to shoot Panther 2, she brought my name up,” explains Durald Arkapaw, who like…

For writer-director Lena Dunham, Karen Cushman’s 1994 Newbery Honor-winning YA novel Catherine, Called Birdy is almost a sacred text. Following the comic exploits of a young girl in 13th century England, Cushman’s book is an irreverent take on being a teenage girl at a time when such an identity left young women powerless and beholden to the men in their lives — first their fathers, then their husbands. Bella Ramsey (pictured above, with costar Joe Alwyn) stars as the 14-year-old title character who rebels against the patriarchy as best as she can when her father (Andrew Scott) announces that she is to be married to a wealthy husband in order to save the family from financial ruin. As she fends off potential suitors to her parents’ dismay, she finds her…