Patrick Stoner welcomes your questions about movies and the people who make them. Send your questions to pstoner@whyy.org. Here's the current question and answer:
Q: It seems that actors who play characters with a disability (Dustin Hoffman in RAIN MAN or Daniel Day Lewis in MY LEFT FOOT) or foreign accent (Ben Kingsley in GANDHI or Meryl Streep in SOPHIE'S CHOICE) have an advantage at Oscar time. Is that true?
A: It doesn't hurt.
But your categories are too limited. Any characters that are decidedly out of the mainstream in terms of emotion, character, physicality, or culture are vehicles to the awards.
Let's just look at the best acting Oscar-winners of the past quarter of a century and see how many roles fit the above criteria:
1971-72: Gene Hackman in THE FRENCH CONNECTION -- if this character weren't a cop, you would call him a sociopath; Jane Fonda in KLUTE -- a prostitute and darn proud of it.
1972-73: Marlon Brando in THE GODFATHER -- a kindly old fellow who still leaves horses' heads in beds; Liza Minnelli in CABARET -- charming as this character is, she's still an alcoholic loser with bad judgment in men.
1973-74: Jack Lemmon in SAVE THE TIGER -- an arsonist, liar and all-around weakling; Glenda Jackson in A TOUCH OF CLASS -- one of the exceptions to the principle.
1974-75: Art Carney in HARRY AND TONTO -- another type of exception, the lifetime award; Ellen Burstyn in ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE -- what passed for a rebellious woman in those days.
1975-76: Jack Nicholson in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST -- need I say more?; Louise Fletcher in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST -- even more so.
1976-77: Peter Finch in NETWORK -- a man so insane that he actually believes television is demeaning to the human spirit (imagine!); Faye Dunaway in NETWORK -- a woman so insane that she thought she could win.
1977-78: Richard Dreyfuss in THE GOODBYE GIRL -- a delightful exception, probably because we needed some innocent pleasure after Watergate and Viet Nam; Diane Keaton in ANNIE HALL -- ditto.
1978-79: Jon Voight in COMING HOME -- a paraplegic; Jane Fonda in COMING HOME -- the woman who makes love to the paraplegic.
1979-80: Dustin Hoffman in KRAMER VS. KRAMER -- a divorced father who actually WANTS to be a good dad; Sally Field in NORMA RAE -- a stubborn woman and the object of much abuse.
1980-81: Robert De Niro in RAGING BULL -- a man with a slightly unpredictable disposition (don't flirt with his wife); Sissy Spacek in COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER -- a country girl from Appalachia.
1981-82: Henry Fonda in ON GOLDEN POND -- another career award; Katharine Hepburn in ON GOLDEN POND -- ditto.
1982-83: Ben Kingsley in GANDHI -- a classic example; Meryl Streep in SOPHIE'S CHOICE -- ditto.
1983-84: Robert Duvall in TENDER MERCIES -- another of those "strange" country folk; Shirley MacLaine in TERMS OF ENDEARMENT -- perhaps an exception, or perhaps an example due to eccentricity.
1984-85: F. Murray Abraham in AMADEUS -- a lying, conniving murderer; Sally Field in PLACES IN THE HEART -- another of her "courageous underdog" characters, perhaps an exception.
1985-86: William Hurt in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN -- an over-the-top gay man in a political prison (what passed for shocking then); Geraldine Page in A TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL -- another career exception.
1986-87: Paul Newman in THE COLOR OF MONEY -- the career award; Marlee Matlin in CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD -- deaf and beautiful.
1987-88: Michael Douglas in WALL STREET -- a character with the name and character of a lizard; Cher in MOONSTRUCK -- you decide.
1988-89: Dustin Hoffman in RAIN MAN -- enough said; Jodie Foster in THE ACCUSED -- a gang-rape victim.
1989-90: Daniel Day-Lewis in MY LEFT FOOT -- it's getting almost too easy, isn't it?; Jessica Tandy in DRIVING MISS DAISY -- that old person thing again.
1990-91: Jeremy Irons in REVERSAL OF FORTUNE -- a patronizing wife-killer; Kathy Bates in MISERY -- the nurse from Hell.
1991-92: Anthony Hopkins in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS -- a cannibal; Jodie Foster in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS -- emotionally crippled object of a cannibal's affection.
1992-93: Al Pacino in SCENT OF A WOMAN -- a career award; Emma Thompson in HOWARDS END -- the British exception.
1993-94: Tom Hanks in PHILADELPHIA -- gay guy with AIDS; Holly Hunter in THE PIANO -- mute and weird.
1994-95: Tom Hanks in FORREST GUMP -- character so out of the mainstream that America fell in love with him; Jessica Lange in BLUE SKY -- an over-the-top character in a film almost impossible to find in theaters.
1995-96: Nicolas Cage in LEAVING LAS VEGAS -- a very sick alcoholic; Susan Sarandon in DEAD MAN WALKING -- a nun far better than any of us.
1996-97: Geoffrey Rush in SHINE -- a mentally-unique character; Frances McDormand in FARGO -- a character that appears to be an exception, but she played it just "country" enough to make her alien to Hollywood.
So, there you have it. Want an Oscar? Then take a part that's physically challenged, mentally atypical, socially estranged, and as far from your standard slick Californian as possible. Otherwise, hang in there and wait for your career award.
Past questions and answers.
