The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science loves two things: Histrionic supporting actresses, and disturbed and/or disturbing supporting actors. Since we've already explored the former with nutty comprehension, it's time to revisit the chillier side of Oscar's supporting categories. Which roles are the grisliest in Academy history? Join us for the rundown.
10. Tim Robbins in Mystic River
We can thank Mystic River for gifting us with some of the best performances of 2003, even if it's a memorably disappointing movie. Tim Robbins plays Dave Boyle, a man haunted by his childhood abduction and molestation. Trauma is the ultimate Academy Award clincher, and here, Robbins took that familiar formula to the Oscar dais.
9. Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People
I'm one of the few who supports Ordinary People's 1980 Best Picture win over Raging Bull, and it's because of this performance: Timothy Hutton's portrayal of a suicidal, clinically guilt-ridden teenager struggling to cope with the death of his older brother is positively un-melodramatic. It is stunning. Thirty years later, the character is still fresh, believable, and downright lovable -- in part thanks to his mother's (Mary Tyler Moore) maddening aloofness.
8. Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects
As ho-hum con man Verbal Kint, Kevin Spacey weaves a tale for police about a crime overlord named Keyser Soze with remarkable clarity and quotability. "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist," he deadpans. Even better is what he doesn't say.
7. Joe Pesci in Goodfellas
If Ray Liotta's laughter isn't enough to strike fear into your life, Joe Pesci's unhinged, amusing role as Tommy DeVito will scare you away from so much as giggling at his hammy delivery.
6. Gig Young in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
As the barker at a torturous, months-long dance marathon in the '30s, Gig Young brings ringmaster bravado and an underworldly sleaze to Sydney Pollack's 1969 masterpiece. You know you're a disturbed character when the movie uses you to symbolize the constantly oppressive forces that plague everyone in the agonizing marathon of life. Nice!
5. Christopher Walken in The Deer Hunter
If you've not seen The Deer Hunter, you need to not watch the following clip. Take my word for it that Christopher Walken plays a soldier transformed by the Vietnam War who, by movie's end, looks like the grimmest Edvard Munch portrait in existence. For those who have seen the movie, I'm sure you still don't need to revisit the following clip. In fact, why did I post it?
4. Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Like Woody Allen before him, Quentin Tarantino loves a fine supporting character -- whether ferocious and feminine, fierce and villainous, or outright demonic. That's the case with Hans Landa, the trilingual breakout role for Christoph Waltz that added colorful flourish to our boring old perceptions of heinous Nazis. So dashing in his unscrupulousness!
3. Walter Huston in Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Before crazed freaks regularly won Academy Awards, there was Walter Huston in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Though when we meet him he's rugged and smart, we soon watch him unravel and enact one of the most disturbing dances ever recorded on film. You laugh because you're nervous not to.
2. Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight
Leonard Maltin once noted that Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker in The Dark Knight is so disturbing that it's hard to derive any pleasure from watching him. That's pretty damn disturbing. The lip-smacking magic trick aficionado legitimized Christopher Nolan's Batman reboots for eternity, and the role now stands as the jarring coda of Heath Ledger's short life.
1. Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men
Nothing says "psychopath" like engaging in motiveless massacres, right? That's the definition, essentially? As Anton Chigurh, Javier Bardem tortures the United States-Mexico border with a magnificent firearm, the deadest eyes in cinema, and a senseless pudding-bowl haircut. He was the aughts' most obvious shoo-in for the Oscar, and the sting of his performance is unforgettable. Don't even bother locking your doors with this lunatic around.