2027 Oscar Predictions: SUPPORTING ACTOR (May)
You know how there are some actors that, when you think about them, you say ‘of course, they’re an Oscar nominee. “It was for… wait, let me think. Wasn’t it? for… It wasn’t?” Steve Buscemi is one of those actors.
Entering his 40th year as one of Hollywood’s most venerable character actors, Buscemi’s memorable performances in Coen Brothers’ films like Barton Fink (1990), Fargo (1996) and The Big Lebowski (1998) as well his very different comedy with Adam Sandler and his unforgettable turn as Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs, have cemented him as one of our very best. But also one that has gone largely unrecognized for most of those 40 years. He came really close with 2001’s Ghost World, Terry Zwigoff’s wonderfully dark comedy playing lovable loser Seymour. His performance earned him supporting actor wins from New York, Kansas City, Las Vegas, San Diego, Vancouver and Chicago film critics, the National Society of Film Critics, a Spirit Award and a Golden Globe nomination.
This year, Buscemi could find that elusive nomination with Wild Horse Nine from Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). A raucous dark comedy in the vein of McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths, Buscemi will face internal competition from Sam Rockwell, a previous winner in this category for Three Billboards (and who gets significantly more screen time in the film’s trailer). If the film is more in line with McDonaghs’ last two Oscar juggernauts, Buscemi has a great shot. If it’s more like Seven Psychopaths (or In Bruges), we might be right back to “Isn’t he an Oscar nominee?” for a little longer.
Here are my very early 2027 Oscar nomination predictions in Supporting Actor for May.
| 1. Steve Buscemi – Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight Pictures) | |
| 2. Riz Ahmed – Digger (Warner Bros) | |
| 3. Paul Giamatti – Untitled Jesse Eisenberg Musical Comedy aka No One Cares (A24) | |
| 4. Jeremy Strong – The Social Reckoning (Sony Pictures/Columbia) | |
| 5. John Goodman – Digger (Warner Bros) | |
| 6. Sam Rockwell – Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight Pictures) | |
| 7. Charles Melton – Saturn Return (Netflix) | |
| 8. August Diehl – Fatherland (MUBI) | |
| 9. Antonio Banderas – Tony (A24) | |
| 10. Tom Courtenay – Queen at the Sea (TBD) | Berlin Supporting Performance winner |
Next up: Jamie Bell – The Uprising (Focus Features), Matt Dillon – I Play Rocky (Amazon MGM Studios), Colman Domingo – Michael (Lionsgate), George Mackay – Sense and Sensibility (Focus Features), Peter Mullan – I Swear (Sony Pictures Classic), James Ortiz – Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM Studios), Robert Pattinson – The Odyssey (Universal Pictures), Mark Ruffalo – Being Heumann (Apple Original Films)
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – The Adventures of Cliff Booth (Netflix)
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – By Any Means (Paramount Pictures)
Riz Ahmed – Digger (Warner Bros)
Will Arnett – Behemoth! (Searchlight Pictures)
Mamoudou Athie – The Drama (A24)
Antonio Banderas – Tony (A24)
Ike Barinholtz – Artificial (Amazon MGM Studios)
Murray Bartlett – Place to Be (TBD)
Malachi Beasley – Fight for 84 (Netflix)
Jamie Bell – The Uprising (Focus Features)
Adam Bessa – Parallel Tales (TBD)
Bastien Bouillon – The Birthday Party (TBD)
Josh Brolin – The Dog Stars (20th Century Studios)
Steve Buscemi – Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight Pictures)
Vincent Cassel – Parallel Tales (TBD)
Kit Connor – A Long Winter (TBD)
Joel Coe – The Queen of Fashion (TBD)
Steve Coogan – Love Is Not the Answer (TBD)
Owen Cooper – Cry to Heaven (TBD)
Tom Courtenay – Queen at the Sea (TBD)
Willem Dafoe – Tenzing (Apple Original Films)
Paul Dano – Bunker (TBD)
Dane DeHaan – Queen of Fashion (TBD)
August Diehl – Fatherland (MUBI)
August Diehl – The Rays and Shadows (TBD)
Frank Dillane – Sense and Sensibility (Focus Features)
Matt Dillon – I Play Rocky (Amazon MGM Studios)
Colman Domingo – Disclosure Day (Universal Studios)
Colman Domingo – Michael (Lionsgate)
Jamie Dornan – Love Is Not the Answer (TBD)
Alejandro Edda – Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! (NEON)
Lars Eidinger – Moulin (TBD)
Giancarlo Esposito – By Any Means (Paramount Pictures)
Giancarlo Esposito – The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (Sony Pictures Classics)
Spike Fern – Sweetsick (Searchlight Pictures)
Colin Firth – Cry to Heaven (TBD)
Colin Firth – Disclosure Day (Universal Pictures)
Paul Giamatti – Untitled Jesse Eisenberg Musical Comedy aka No One Cares (A24)
Tony Goldwyn – Billion Dollar Spy (Lionsgate)
John Goodman – Digger (Warner Bros)
Stephen Graham – Bunker (TBD)
Richard E. Grant – The Queen of Fashion (TBD)
William Jackson Harper – The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd (TBD)
Lucas Hedges – Love Is Not the Answer (TBD)
Tom Hiddleston – Tenzing (Apple Original Films)
Ciaran Hinds – Cry to Heaven (TBD)
Tom Holland – The Odyssey (Universal Pictures)
Tom Hollander – The Uprising (Focus Features)
Nicholas Hoult – Cry to Heaven (TBD)
Stephan James – I Play Rocky (Amazon MGM Studios)
Cosmo Jarvis – The Uprising (Focus Features)
Paul Jensson – Untitled Mike Leigh Film (Bleecker Street)
Toheeb Jimoh – Clarissa (NEON)
Laurent Laffite – The Duchess and I (TBD)
Harry Lawtey – Billion Dollar Spy (Lionsgate)
John Leguizamo – The Odyssey (Universal Pictures)
Damian Lewis – Jack of Spades (TBD)
George Mackay – Sense and Sensibility (Focus Features)
Benoit Magimel – The Birthday Party (TBD)
Billy Magnussen – The Social Reckoning (Sony Pictures/Columbia)
Daryl McCormick – Cry to Heaven (TBD)
Charles Melton – Saturn Return (Netflix)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach – A Long Winter (TBD)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Man I Love (TBD)
Peter Mullan – I Swear (Sony Pictures Classic)
Woody Norman – The Uprising (TBD)
Edward Norton – The Invite (A24)
James Ortiz – Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM Studios)
David Oyelowo – Clarissa (NEON)
Robert Pattinson – The Odyssey (Universal Pictures)
Guy Pearce – The Dog Stars (FOX)
Theodore Pellerin – Cry to Heaven (TBD)
Vincent Perez – Queen of Fashion (TBD)
Jesse Plemons – Digger (Warner Bros)
Will Poulter – Saturn Return (Netflix)
Edgar Ramirez – Place to Be (TBD)
Sam Rockwell – Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight Pictures)
Mark Ruffalo – Being Heumann (Apple Original Films)
Mark Ruffalo – Good Sex (Netflix)
Colton Ryan – Untitled Jesse Eisenberg Musical Comedy aka No One Cares (A24)
Niels Schneider – The Unknown (NEON)
Andrew Scott – A Place in Hell (NEON)
Michael Sheen – The The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde (TBD)
Alexander Skarsgård – Wicker (Black Bear)
Bill Skarsgård – The Death of Robin Hood (A24)
Sul Kyung-gu – Possible Love (Netflix)
Tom Sturridge – The Man I Love (TBD)
Jeremy Strong – The Social Reckoning (Sony Pictures/Columbia)
Channing Tatum – Josephine (Summerian Films)
Aaron Taylor-Johnson – Cry to Heaven (TBD)
Miles Teller – Michael (Lionsgate)
Miles Teller – Paper Tiger (NEON)
Tramell Tillman – Good Sex (Netflix)
Stanley Tucci – The Devil Wears Prada 2 (FOX)
Mark Wahlberg – By Any Means (Paramount Pictures)
Lambert Wilson – The Duchess and I (TBD)
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai – A Long Winter (TBD)
Zo In-sung – Possible Love (Netflix)
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
2027 Oscar Predictions: SUPPORTING ACTOR (May) 
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