1992 Academy Awards® Winners and History Scent of a Woman (1992) Actor: AL PACINO in "Scent of a Woman", Robert Downey, Jr. in "Chaplin", Clint Eastwood in "Unforgiven" , Stephen Rea in "The Crying Game", Denzel Washington in "Malcolm X" Actress: EMMA THOMPSON in "Howards End", Catherine Deneuve in "Indochine", Mary McDonnell in "Passion Fish", Michelle Pfeiffer in "Love Field", Susan Sarandon in "Lorenzo's Oil" Supporting Actor: GENE HACKMAN in "Unforgiven" , Jaye Davidson in "The Crying Game", Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men", Al Pacino in "Glengarry Glen Ross", David Paymer in "Mr.

Saturday Night" Supporting Actress: MARISA TOMEI in "My Cousin Vinny", Judy Davis in "Husbands and Wives", Joan Plowright in "Enchanted April", Vanessa Redgrave in "Howards End", Miranda Richardson in "Damage" Director: CLINT EASTWOOD for "Unforgiven" , Robert Altman for "The Player", Martin Brest for "Scent of a Woman", James Ivory for "Howards End", Neil Jordan for "The Crying Game" A large number of non-American films and performers received nominations in 1992, and Variety actually dubbed it - "The Year of the Visa." (Foreign nominees won in 10 different categories.) But there were many representative Hollywood films and actors/actresses that won Oscars or were considered for awards as well. During the nominations period, the awards were also proclaimed as the "Year of the Woman," although it was still thought that Hollywood provided few roles for women thespians. The Best Picture winner was actor / producer / director Clint Eastwood's deconstructed western Unforgiven .

From an Oscar-nominated script by David Webb Peoples, the film told the tale of a corrupt violent sheriff in the town of Big Whiskey in 1880s Wyoming, and a retired bounty hunter/pig farmer who emerges from retirement for one last act of vengeance against a prostitute-attacker. Before this film, Eastwood hadn't even been nominated for an Oscar, although he had directed over a dozen films and appeared in dozens more. Eastwood's film had nine nominations and four Oscar awards - Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, and Best Film Editing. Unforgiven 's Best Picture award was a distinction - it was the third western film to ever win the Best Picture Oscar. [The first two western films to be recognized as Best Pictures were Cimarron (1930/31) and Dances With Wolves (1990).] The other four Best Picture nominees were: writer/director Neil Jordan's plot-twisting Irish film about an IRA terrorist, The Crying Game (with six nominations and one win - Best Original Screenplay) producer/director Rob Reiner's military courtroom drama A Few Good Men (with four nominations and no wins).

It was the only Best Picture nominee without any Oscar wins American director James Ivory's impressive-looking Merchant-Ivory production of E. M. Forster's classic 1910 novel Howards End (with nine nominations and three wins - Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay (for Ruth Prawer Jhabvala), and Best Art Direction) director Martin Brest's story of an embittered ex-lieutenant, Scent of a Woman (with four nominations and one win) Howards End, The Crying Game, and The Player, with a combined total of 18 Oscar nominations, did very well when compared to the Oscar nominations for the big studios' releases. The Best Director Oscar went to Best Picture director Clint Eastwood (with his first/second nominations and first Oscar) for Unforgiven . Eastwood's Oscar acknowledged, at least in part, his entire film career.

When Eastwood was honored with the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars, he joined Woody Allen (for Annie Hall (1977) ), Warren Beatty (for Reds (1981)), and Kevin Costner (for Dances With Wolves (1990)) as one of four actors who won a Best Director award for the film he also starred in. Actor Robert Redford had also accomplished the same thing as a director - when he won as Best Director for Ordinary People (1980) and lost as Best Actor for The Sting (1973). Of the five directors of Best Picture nominees, only Rob Reiner was not nominated for his direction of A Few Good Men. His fifth slot was filled by director Robert Altman (with his third directorial nomination) for The Player (with three nominations and no wins), a character-intensive satire on contemporary Tinseltown morality and its wheeling and dealing. The Best Actor Oscar went to Al Pacino (his first Oscar win after six prior nominations) for his memorable performance as foul-mouthed, blind (as a result of a boozing-related accident), retired Lt. Col. Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman.

The film was most noted for his tango with Gabrielle Anwar. [As with Paul Newman's first Oscar, Pacino's win was actually honoring his many previous superior performances.] [Best Actor Oscar-winner Al Pacino was also simultaneously nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in Glengarry Glen Ross. With his nomination, he became the first actor to be nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in two different roles in the same year. The second actor to achieve the same feat was Jamie Foxx in 2004. Both won Best Actor and lost Best Supporting Actor.] The other four Best Actor nominees were: Robert Downey, Jr.

(with his first nomination) as The Tramp in director Richard Attenborough's portrait of the classic comedian Chaplin (with three nominations and no wins) Clint Eastwood (with his first acting nomination) as William Munny - a former gunfighting outlaw and aging pig farmer turned bounty reward-hunter to avenge the slashing of a prostitute's face in Unforgiven Stephen Rea (with his first nomination) as IRA gunman Fergus (who is surprised by Jaye Davidson's gender) in The Crying Game Denzel Washington (with his third nomination) as the revolutionary black leader in the title role of director Spike Lee's Malcolm X (with two nominations and no wins) Emma Thompson (with her first nomination), the wife of actor-director Kenneth Branagh, won the Best Actress award - and her first Oscar - as an intellectually-liberated, poor, middle-class British woman named Margaret Schlegel who was duped out of her inheritance by a betrayal from sister/co-star Helena Bonham Carter (who inherits the country estate named Howards End) in Howards End.

The other four nominees in the Best Actress category were: Catherine Deneuve (with her first nomination) as Eliane Devries - an Asian-born, French-descended owner of a rubber plantation in director Regis Wargnier's French film about 1930s French Indochina, Indochine (the foreign language film Oscar winner) Mary McDonnell (with her second nomination) as traffic accident-paralyzed TV soap opera actress Mary-Alice Culhane in director John Sayles' Passion Fish (with two nominations and no wins) Michelle Pfeiffer (with her third unsuccessful nomination) as bored, 1960s Dallas housewife Lurene Hallett deeply affected by the Kennedy assassination and involved in an interracial romance in director Jonathan Kaplan's Love Field (the film's sole nomination) Susan Sarandon (with her third unsuccessful nomination) as Michaela Odone - the mother of a seriously-ill 5 year-old son Lorenzo in director George Miller's Lorenzo's Oil (with two nominations and no wins) Gene Hackman (with his fifth nomination - and his second Oscar award twenty-one years after his first one awarded for The French Connection (1971) ) won the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance as aut

ocratic, vicious and sadistic Sheriff "Little Bill" Daggett in Unforgiven .

The other four Best Supporting Actor competitors were: 24 year-old Jaye Davidson (with his first nomination) as transvestite singer Dil, in the noirish, gender-bending The Crying Game Jack Nicholson (with his tenth nomination - this achievement tied actor Laurence Olivier's number of nominations) as Guantanamo's confrontational, tough Army Col. Nathan R. Jessep in A Few Good Men Al Pacino (with his seventh/eighth nomination) as real estate sales leader Ricky Roma in director James Foley's film of David Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross (the film's sole nomination) David Paymer (with his first nomination) as Stan Yankelman - agent/brother of washed-up, stand-up comedian co-star Billy Crystal in Mr.

Saturday Night (the film's sole nomination) The surprise winner (in a major upset) of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar was little-known Brooklyn-ite Marisa Tomei (with her first nomination and first Oscar) as the leggy, feisty, joke-cracking, gum-chewing, auto-knowledgeable, New York girlfriend/fiancee Mona Lisa Vito of inexperienced lawyer-boyfriend Joe Pesci in director Jonathan Lynn's popular comedy farce My Cousin Vinny (the film's sole nomination and win). Marisa Tomei was the only American nominee in the category - all of her competing, foreign-born actresses were from England (Plowright, Richardson, and Redgrave) and Australia (Davis). [Note: A hurtful urban legend developed regarding her Oscar win, reportedly started by film critic Rex Reed who claimed the win was a mistake. He said that presenter Jack Palance read the wrong name off the front of the envelope instead of the inside.] Three of Tomei's co-nominees were British actresses: Joan Plowright (with her first nomination) was nominated for her role as the haughty widow Mrs.

Fisher - one of four troubled English women vacationing in a medieval Italian villa in director Mike Newell's Enchanted April (with three nominations and no wins) Vanessa Redgrave (with her sixth nomination) as country house owner Ruth Wilcox in Howards End Miranda Richardson (with her first nomination) as the distraught and anguished wife Ingrid Fleming of co-star Jeremy Irons (sexually obsessed over another woman) in French director Louis Malle's melodramatic Damage (the film's sole nomination) [Miranda should have been considered instead for her lead role as Jude in The Crying Game] The remaining nominee was the overwhelming favorite - Aussie Judy Davis (with her second nomination) as neurotic, intelligent, fault-finding, dissatisfied New York housewife Sally in a failing marriage with her estranged husband (Sydney Pollack), in director Woody Allen's comedy/drama Husbands and Wives (with two nominations and no wins). Her nomination was distastefully colored by Allen's scandal at the same time over his breakup with Mia Farrow.

[A similar competition between a sole American actor and four other off-shore actors occurred for Robert Duvall during the 1983 ceremonies.] The late 63 year-old Audrey Hepburn, who died on January 20, 1993 of colon cancer, just about two months before the awards ceremony, received the Hersholt Humanitarian award - the first such honor awarded posthumously. 73 year-old, legendary Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini was given the Honorary Academy Award for his inspired career, influencing filmmakers like Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese. He even inspired an adjective -- "Fellini-esque" -- for his uniquely kaleidoscopic and stylized creations.

He earned four Oscar nominations for direction for La Dolce Vita (1960), 8 1/2 (1963), Satyricon (1969), and Amarcord (1973), and had eight screenplay nominations (tied with John Huston for third-most in Oscar history, and the most written in a foreign language) for Open City (1945) - awarded in 1946, Paisan (1946) - awarded in 1949, La Strada (1954) - awarded in 1956, Vitelloni, I (1953) - awarded in 1957, La Dolce Vita (1960) - awarded in 1961, 8 1/2 (1963) - awarded in 1963, Amarcord (1973) - awarded in 1975, and Casanova (1976) - awarded in 1976.

Four of his films won Best Foreign Language Film Oscars: La Strada (1954) in 1956, Nights of Cabiria (1957) in 1957, 8 1/2 (1963) in 1963, and Amarcord (1973) in 1974. Fellini died of a heart attack seven months after accepting the career award. Oscar Snubs and Omissions: Danish director Lars von Trier's stylistic Zentropa (aka Europa), and Hong Kong director John Woo's thrilling action film Hard-Boiled were un-nominated films. The three nominations (Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography (win)) for A River Runs Through It did not include Robert Redford as a Best Director nominee. Armand Assante was unrecognized for his role as Cuban emigrant/band musician Cesar Castillo in The Mambo Kings, and even though Michelle Pfieffer was nominated for her role in Love Fields, she might have been honored further for her sexy, exotically-dangerous Catwoman in Tim Burton's Batman Returns.

Black actress Alfre Woodard was overlooked for her role as quiet live-in nurse Chantelle for Best Actress-nominated Mary McDonnell in director John Sayles' Passion Fish. Jack Lemmon was omitted from the nominees for his supporting role as elderly Shelley Levene, and David Mamet's screenplay was un-nominated in Glengarry Glen Ross. Gary Oldman was missing from the nominees for his role as Count Vlad Dracul/Dracula in Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (with four nominations and three wins - Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, and Best Sound Effects Editing). Jeff Goldblum was bypassed for his role as a smooth-talking, drug-dealing lawyer named David Jason in Deep Cover. Fred Gwynne was definitely ignored as the Southern judge in the comedy My Cousin Vinny. And Madeleine Stowe gave a stirring, romantically-tinged performance as the 18th century love interest of Daniel Day-Lewis' Hawkeye in Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans.

And Tim Robbins was neglected for his performance as a smooth Hollywood studio executive in Robert Altman's The Player (with three unsuccessful nominations, and snubbed for a Best Picture nomination) and for his role as a Pennsylvania senatorial candidate in his own directorial effort for the political mockumentary Bob Roberts (with no nominations). James Caan as gambler Tommy Korman and Nicolas Cage as detective Jack Singer were not nominated for their roles in the romantic comedy Honeymoon in Vegas. And Joe Pesci was overlooked as 1940s NYC freelance photographer Leonard "The Great Bernzini" Bernstein in The Public Eye. Robin Williams was considered - but bypassed for a supporting nomination for his voiceover performance as the blue-skinned Genie of the lamp in Disney's animated blockbuster Aladdin. Best Actor: Best Supporting Actor 1992: Gene Hackman in Unforgiven Wednesday, 12 October 2011 Best Supporting Actor 1992: Gene Hackman in Unforgiven Gene Hackman won his second Oscar from his fifth nomination for portraying Little Bill Daggett in Unforgiven. Gene Hackman plays the Sheriff of Big Whiskey.

He is a man of a violent past, and in a way is the other side of the coin of Clint Eastwood's William Munny. Munny seeing himself for the evil man he was understands what he has done as wrong. Hackman's Bill Daggett though instead never has taken that what he has done is bad, instead decides that he is in fact superior to others creating some odd morality he finds in himself. Hackman realizes Little Bill perfectly as a rather unique villain. Little Bill always believes he is doing the right thing, no matter how evil of an act he might be doing. It is the complexity of Little Bill that Hackman is able to show so well. He is never for a moment a one dimensional villain but rather a very complex man who happens to do some very bad things, very bad things that he believes are the right thing. Hackman manages to excel in every aspect of his character, and from the beginning he shows that Little Bill is not a standard villain. In his first scene Hackman plays Little Bill as caring more for not causing violence, and perceiving his judgment of the two cowboys who cut up a prostitute as the right thing to do.

At this moment he does not show a ruthless man he is, but rather just a sheriff trying to do the right thing. The fact that Hackman does not play him like a villain works perfectly in creating the complexity of Little Bill. The best scenes though that I think show that he is not really completely evil are his scenes where he is building his house. Although he is not particularly good at it, Hackman really shows some honest pride in what he does, that shows a genuine joy he has in this accomplishment. In these moments Hackman shows no psychopath, killer, or bully, but just a normal man. I particularly like when he hears someone say something negative about his work, Hackman does not play it like a villain hearing an insult, but instead reacts more effectively by showing it really hurting him, becuase building the house is something he truly cares about. These scenes of house building work as an excellent contrast though to his far more brutal scenes. Hackman is appropriately cruel in these moments. There is an incredible intensity Hackman brings to his performance. He makes Little Bill always in command of his situation. He is completely in charge in almost every one of his scenes.

He makes Little Bill absolutely the man in charge of all of Big Whiskey which is entirely realized by Hackman's overwhelming presence in each of these scenes. Hackman is especially chilling though in certain scenes where he shows the cold blooded killer that is inside of Little Bill. This is especially well shown by Hackman in his scene with the novel writer and the gunfighter English Bob (Richard Harris) held in prison by Little Bill. In this scene Hackman for some of it shows Little Bill's history of the dangerous men. Hackman has the right ease here really showing Little Bill great knowledge of what it takes to be a gunfighter. With his relaxed manner of approach the subject Hackman makes it all the more effective when he shows the cold chilling nature in Little Bill when he starts playing around with a gun. His most chilling moment though comes in his scene where he is torturing information about the assassins from one of the bounty hunters going to kill the cowboys. Hackman is incredible in how brutally, but quietly tells how he is going to hurt the man until he gets what he wants. Hackman does not overact it instead he brings the cruelty of Little Bill fully to life.

What I do think is amazing though is how he is able to bring all the aspects of Little Bill completely into the one character. The more chilling, as well as the more humane characteristics all into a single man, it is this is what makes his performance truly great. Posted by Gene Hackman - Biography - IMDb Gene Hackman Biography Showing all 108 items Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (2) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (72) | Personal Quotes (24) | Salary (4) Overview (3) 6' 1" (1.85 m) Mini Bio (1) Eugene Allen Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, the son of Anna Lyda Elizabeth (Gray) and Eugene Ezra Hackman, who operated a newspaper printing press. He is of Pennsylvania Dutch (German), English, and Scottish ancestry, partly by way of Canada, where his mother was born. After several moves, his family settled in Danville, Illinois. Gene grew up in a broken home, which he left at the age of sixteen for a hitch with the US Marines.

Moving to New York after being discharged, he worked in a number of menial jobs before studying journalism and television production on the G.I. Bill at the University of Illinois. Hackman would be over 30 years old when he finally decided to take his chance at acting by enrolling at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. Legend says that Hackman and friend Dustin Hoffman were voted "least likely to succeed." Hackman next moved back to New York, where he worked in summer stock and off-Broadway. In 1964 he was cast as the young suitor in the Broadway play "Any Wednesday." This role would lead to him being cast in the small role of Norman in Lilith (1964), starring Warren Beatty . When Beatty was casting for Bonnie and Clyde (1967), he cast Hackman as Buck Barrow, Clyde Barrow 's brother. That role earned Hackman a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, an award for which he would again be nominated in I Never Sang for My Father (1970). In 1972 he won the Oscar for his role as Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in The French Connection (1971).

At 40 years old Hackman was a Hollywood star whose work would rise to new heights with Night Moves (1975) and Bite the Bullet (1975), or fall to new depths with The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and Eureka (1983). Hackman is a versatile actor who can play comedy (the blind man in Young Frankenstein (1974)) or villainy (the evil Lex Luthor in Superman (1978)). He is the doctor who puts his work above people in Extreme Measures (1996) and the captain on the edge of nuclear destruction in Crimson Tide (1995). After initially turning down the role of Little Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood 's Unforgiven (1992), Hackman finally accepted it, as its different slant on the western interested him. For his performance he won the Oscar and Golden Globe and decided that he wasn't tired of westerns after all. He has since appeared in Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), Wyatt Earp (1994), and The Quick and the Dead (1995).

( 1 January 1956 - 1986) (divorced) (3 children) Trade Mark (2) Prefers to come to a role with minimal rehearsal Trivia (72) Was the first choice to play Mike Brady on The Brady Bunch (1969). He was the sixth choice to play Popeye Doyle in The French Connection (1971). He lied about his age to join the Marines at 16, but left as soon as his initial tour was complete. While at the Pasadena Playhouse, Hackman and a classmate were voted "Least likely to succeed". The classmate was Dustin Hoffman . Was the first choice to play Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Turned down the part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Pearl Harbor (2001), which went to Jon Voight . Jailed as a teen (c. 1946) for stealing candy & soda pop from a candy store. One of the most sustaining actors of all time, he still averaged two films a year in his 70s, having starred in six in 2001 alone.

This all changed however in 2004, when he last acted in Welcome to Mooseport (2004). He has not appeared in anything since. Has stated that his performance in Scarecrow (1973) is his personal favorite. Revealed on Inside the Actors Studio (1994) that two of the most important factors in deciding on which films he will work on are the script and the money. 2001: Was involved in a road-rage incident when two young men attacked him for hitting their car in Hollywood. Father of Christopher Hackman . He also has 2 daughters named Leslie Hackman and Elizabeth Hackman. Has appeared in three films adapted from novels by John Grisham : The Firm (1993), The Chamber (1996) and Runaway Jury (2003). Based his role, in The Conversation (1974), on one of his uncles and a fellow Marine he had known well. He characterized the Marine as someone "who probably became a serial killer". Dustin Hoffman came to New York after finishing his training at the Pasadena Playhouse.

The two of them roomed together in New York at Hackman's one-bedroom apartment on 2nd Ave. & 26th St. Hoffman slept on the kitchen floor. Originally, Hackman had offered to let him stay a few nights, but Hoffman would not leave. Hackman had to take him out to look for his own apartment. As roommates, Dustin Hoffman and Hackman would often go to the apartment rooftop and play the drums. Hoffman played the bongo drums while Hackman played the conga drums. They did it out of their love for Marlon Brando , who they had heard played music in clubs. They wanted to be like Brando and were big fans of his. Dustin Hoffman asked for the part of Rankin Fitch in Runaway Jury (2003), which had gone to Hackman. Hoffman admits to asking, "Can't you get rid of Gene and give me the part?". Runaway Jury (2003) was the first time he and former roommate Dustin Hoffman performed on the screen together. Met actor Dustin Hoffman in the first month at Pasadena Playhouse. Had several classes with him. Was admitted into the famed Pasadena Playhouse on the G.I.

Bill. He failed out of it after 3 months and moved to New York to continue being a stage actor. Received 1 of the lowest grades the school had ever given (1.3 out of 10). He headed to New York with the intention of proving them wrong. Was the subject of the song "Gene Hackman" by Hoodoo Gurus . Turned down the lead roles in Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). 7/7/04: Appeared on Larry King Live (1985). Larry King was surprised to find out that Hackman had no movies lined up, and Hackman replied by saying that he thinks it is the end of his career. Says watching his own films makes him terribly nervous. Reportedly turned down the role of Randall Patrick McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). Reportedly turned down one of the lead roles in Network (1976). After he played Little Bill in Unforgiven (1992), Hackman vowed not to appear in any more violent films.

After he had been in violent films dating back to Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and The French Connection (1971) (in a role refused by Peter Boyle for the same reasons), he said he was fed up with them. Along with Margot Kidder , Hackman was appalled at the way Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind , the producers of the first three Superman films and 1984's Supergirl (1984) film, had treated director Richard Donner , who had directed the first Superman (1978) and most of the second Superman film back-to-back before he was fired by the Salkinds over creative differences. Hackman, who said he only did the first two movies because of Donner's persuasion, was so angry with the Salkinds that he vehemently refused to reprise the role of Lex Luthor in Superman III (1983), while Margot Kidder , who played Lois Lane, only appeared in a cameo role. Hackman was later persuaded to reprise the Luthor role in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Enjoys painting and writing fiction. Lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

As a young man, Hackman attended a showing of the movie A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and was impressed by the performance of Marlon Brando due to his naturalism and the fact that he didn't look like what a movie star typically looked like in the 1950s. After exiting the theater, he told his father that he wanted to be an actor. Even though he is no longer a cigarette smoker, Hackman played the role of a chain-smoker in Heartbreakers (2001). He was using a special kind of cigarette that only produces heavy smoke without requiring any inhaling. Ironically and tragically, in 1962, Hackman's mother Lydia died of injuries incurred from a fire caused by her own smoking. Turned down the lead role of Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) because he was in a troubled marriage and could not spend 16 weeks outside of Los Angeles on location shooting. In a 2004 Vanity Fair story on him, Dustin Hoffman , and Robert Duvall , Hackman said one of the worst memories of being a struggling actor, was working as a doorman in New York City.

He recalled having seen former Marine officers pass him by when opening the door for them, of which one had said "Hackman, you're a sorry son of a bitch." While a struggling actor in New York City, he worked as a soda jerk in a pharmacy and as a furniture mover. But told Time Magazine in 2011 that "worst job I ever had" was working nights at the legendary Chrysler Building--as part of a crew that polished the leather furniture. After flunking out of the Pasadena Playhouse and moving to New York City with fellow drop-out Dustin Hoffman , Hackman worked at the Howard Johnson's restaurant in Times Square as a doorman. One day, a Pasadena Playhouse acting teacher whom Hackman hated walked by him, stopped, and told him that he had been right, that Hackman would never amount to anything. In Robert Osborne 's "Academy Awards 1972 Oscar Annual", Hackman is quoted as saying Errol Flynn was his boyhood idol. Says a poster of Flynn is one of the only movie mementos he has in his otherwise very "civilian" Santa Fe home.

1990: Underwent successful angioplasty surgery after nearly suffering a severe heart attack. Is one of only a few actors to win an Oscar for a supporting role after winning an Oscar for a leading role. (Others to do so are Jack Nicholson , Maggie Smith and Helen Hayes ). In the Superman movies, he didn't like the idea of going bald for his role as Lex Luthor. He was allowed to wear wigs instead, and was convinced to wear a bald cap in only a few scenes. Has played three fictional Presidents: he plays President Alan Richmand in Absolute Power (1997). His Superman (1978) character, Lex Luthor, became President of the United States in the year 2000, in the DC Comics. He also played President Monroe "Eagle" Cole in Welcome to Mooseport (2004). Hackman replaced George Segal in the role of Kibby in the notorious flop Lucky Lady (1975). Possibly anticipating that the film would be a turkey, Segal bailed out of the production and Hackman was brought in at the last-minute.

The desperate producers paid Hackman - riding high from the huge box office success of The Poseidon Adventure (1972)--a reported $1.2 million for his role, $500,000 more than Segal's going rate. Hackman knew co-star Burt Reynolds from starring in the first episode of Burt's short-lived 1966 TV series Hawk (1966). His performance as Harry Caul in The Conversation (1974) is ranked #37 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006). Hackman has said that the failure of Scarecrow (1973) turned him off of art films due to the disappointment of working hard on a film that was critically acclaimed, but that tanked at the box office and failed to garner any awards. After this flop, Hackman mainly concentrated on acting for money, turning down such films as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Network (1976) for roles in films like March or Die (1977) and Lucky Lady (1975) that offered him fatter paychecks.

Appeared on Richard Nixon 's infamous "List of Enemies" during the 1972 presidential election, the only time Hackman was publicly involved in politics. During an interview on Larry King Live (1985) in July 2004, Hackman stated that although he is a Democrat, he liked President Ronald Reagan , who had died the previous month. Before he decided to become an actor, he worked numerous jobs including announcing at small radio and TV stations. Studied journalism and TV production at the University of Illinois, where he was voted "Least Likely to Succeed.". Was a Dallas Cowboys fan but now regularly attends Jacksonville Jaguars games as a guest of his friend, head coach Jack Del Rio . In contrast with his on-screen image of tough guy and reactionary, in real life Hackman is said to be an extremely gentle, shy person who holds very progressive political views. Turned down the role of Sheriff Teasle in First Blood (1982). Friends with Kris Kristofferson since Cisco Pike (1972). Turned down the leading role in Sorcerer (1977) that went to Roy Scheider , Hackman's co-star in The French Connection (1971).

Both Hackman and his former roommate, Dustin Hoffman , had their big breaks in 1967, Hackman in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Hoffman in The Graduate (1967). Distantly related to Jenni Blong . Released his novel, a violent Western, "Payback at Morning Peak" in June, 2011. In the late 1970s, he competed in Sports Car Club of America races driving open-wheeled Formula Ford. In 1983, he drove in a 24-hour Daytona endurance race. He has also won the Long Beach Grand Prix Celebrity Race. Is one of only four actors to win two Oscars for films that also won Best Picture (the others being Marlon Brando , Jack Nicholson , and Dustin Hoffman ). Did not start acting until he was 25. Release of his book, "Wake of the Perdido Star", by Gene with Daniel Lenihan . [1999] He is the voice on the commercials for the Lowe's home center store chain, and has been for the past couple of years.

[June 2007] Release of his book, "Justice For None", by Gene with Daniel Lenihan . [2004] Announces his retirement from acting at the age of 78. [April 2008] Release of his book, "Escape From Andersonville: A Novel of the Civil War", by Gene with Daniel Lenihan . [2008] Has appeared in six films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The French Connection (1971), The Conversation (1974), Reds (1981), Mississippi Burning (1988) and Unforgiven (1992). The French Connection (1971) and Unforgiven (1992) won in the category and rewarded Hackman for his acting efforts twice. He appeared in four films with John Ratzenberger : A Bridge Too Far (1977), Superman (1978), Superman II (1980) and Reds (1981).

He was initially reluctant to take the role of Lex Luthor in ''Superman: The Movie (1978)'' as he didn't want to shave off a mustache he had recently grown. Richard Donner made a deal with him that if he shaved it off, Donner would shave off his as well. After Hackman did so, Donner revealed that the mustache he was wearing was a fake. This made Hackman instantly respect and like Donner immensely. Got the role in Crimson Tide after Al Pacino turned it down. When asked about friendship in an interview, Robert Duvall replied: "A friend is someone who, many years ago, offered you his last $300 when you broke your pelvis. A friend is Gene Hackman.". Personal Quotes (24) I was trained to be an actor, not a star. I was trained to play roles, not to deal with fame and agents and lawyers and the press. [on aging] It really costs me a lot emotionally to watch myself on-screen. I think of myself, and feel like I'm quite young, and then I look at this old man with the baggy chins and the tired eyes and the receding hairline and all that.

[ Dustin Hoffman on him and Hackman as young stage actors and roommates in New York] Psychologically, Gene/myself, we did not think about making it in the terms that people think about. We fully expected to be failures for our entire life. Meaning that we would always be scrambling to get a part. We were actors. We had no pretensions. There was more dignity in being unsuccessful. [on accepting his Best Actor Oscar] I wish all five of us could be up here, I really do. If I start to become a "star", I'll lose contact with the normal guys I play best. I came to New York when I was 25, and I worked at Howard Johnson's in Times Square, where I did the door in this completely silly uniform. Before that, I had been a student at the Pasadena Playhouse, where I had been awarded the least-likely-to-succeed prize, along with my pal Dustin Hoffman , which was a big reason we set off for New York together.

Out of nowhere, this teacher I totally despised at the Pasadena Playhouse suddenly walked by HoJo's and came right up into my face and shouted, "See, Hackman, I told you that you would never amount to anything!" I felt one inch tall. [on seeing Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and becoming determined to be an actor] He made it seem something natural. I wanted to act, but I'd always been convinced that actors had to be handsome. That came from the days when Errol Flynn was my idol. I'd come out of a theater and be startled when I looked in a mirror because I didn't look like Flynn. I felt like him. I suppose I wanted to be an actor from the time I was about 10, maybe even younger than that. Recollections of early movies that I had seen and actors that I admired like James Cagney , Errol Flynn , those kind of romantic action guys. When I saw those actors, I felt I could do that. But I was in New York for about eight years before I had a job. I sold ladies shoes, polished leather furniture, drove a truck.

I think that if you have it in you and you want it bad enough, you can do it. The difference between a hero and a coward is one step sideways. Dysfunctional families have sired a number of pretty good actors. People in the street still call me Popeye, and The French Connection (1971) was 15 years ago. I wish I could have a new hit and another nickname. When you're on top, you get a sense of immortality. You feel you can do no wrong, that it will always be good no matter what the role. Well, in truth, that feeling is death. You must be honest with yourself. I haven't held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I'm not going to act any longer. I've been told not to say that over the last few years, in case some real wonderful part comes up, but I really don't want to do it any longer ... I miss the actual acting part of it, as it's what I did for almost fifty years, and I really loved that. But the business for me is very stressful.

The compromises that you have to make in films are just part of the beast, and it had gotten to a point where I just didn't feel like I wanted to do it anymore. [In a 2011 GQ interview, when asked if he would ever come out of retirement and make another film] I don't know. If I could do it in my own house, maybe, without them disturbing anything and just one or two people. [on making The French Connection (1971)] I found out very quickly that I am not a violent person. And these cops are surrounded by violence all the time. There were a couple of days when I wanted to get out of the picture. (2011, on how he'd like to be remembered) As a decent actor. As someone who tried to portray what was given to them in an honest fashion. I don't know, beyond that. I don't think about that often, to be honest. I'm at an age where I should think about it. (2011, on where he keeps his Oscars) You know, I'm not sure; I don't have any memorabilia around the house.

There isn't any movie stuff except a poster downstairs next to the pool table of Errol Flynn from The Dawn Patrol (1938). I'm not a sentimental guy. (2011, on Hoosiers (1986)) I took the film at a time that I was desperate for money. I took it for all the wrong reasons, and it turned out to be one of those films that stick around. I was from that area of the country and knew of that event, strangely enough. We filmed fifty miles from where I was brought up. So it was a bizarre feeling. I never expected the film to have the kind of legs it's had. I'm disappointed that success hasn't been a Himalayan feeling. [on whether he will ever come out of retirement and act again] Only in reruns. Yeah, that's it. I'm at a place where I feel very good about not having to work all night. [on writing novels] With me it takes quite a long time, at least a year maybe a little more by the time I go through two or three edits, professional edits, but it's still fun because it's always a challenge.

Our dreams are usually limited by some kind of reality check and because a guy thinks because he can pluck a guitar a couple of strokes he thinks he's going to be Elvis Presley or whoever. [beginning his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, when he won Best Supporting Actor for Unforgiven (1992) thinking he wouldn't win] Heck, I've just lost a hundred bucks. Salary (4) UNFORGIVEN with Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman - HOMEVIDEOS.com Drama Movie Index * Action Movies * Comedy Movies * Musicals * Romances * Sci-Fi Movies * Classic TV * TheWebNetwork.com UNFORGIVEN (1992) In a sleepy town of Big Whisky, cowboys make a living cutting up prostitutes, literally. Despite "hard-handed" Sheriff "Little Bill's" attempts to avenge the prostitute, her fellow friends place a bounty on the cowboys, which attracts the young gunning 'Schofield Kid' and his aging doppelganger William Munny.

The latter, a reformed cowboy living peacefully on a farm, raising his family the best he can as a farmer, a trade which he is no good at, Munny grows irritable and calls on Ned, his old partner. Together the two ride off into the sunset for one last salacious adventure, leaving audiences to critique just where heroism leaves off and villainy begins. The cast includes: Clint Eastwood , Gene Hackman , Richard Harris , Morgan Freeman , Saul Rubinek, and Francis Fisher. #98 on the AFI Top 100. Four Oscar Nominations (including: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor). Director Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" is commanding, if bleak, American Western.

"In truth it's a tale of the nature of evil and the nature of man." Best Picture Oscar Winner / Best Picture Index CHOOSE A SITE TO SEARCH HomeVideos.com MovieActors.com When two rowdy, cruel cowboys beat up and disfigure a prostitute, a retired gunman, William Munny, his former partner, Ned (Morgan Freeman) and "The Schofield Kid" (Jaimz Woolvett) are hired by a madam to kill them for $500.00. Because times are hard, and he desperately is trying to support his children, Munny reluctantly leaves his farm and children, and hunts them down, along with the other gunmen out to do the deed and collect the bounty. The film builds to a showdown between an evil sheriff and the almost as evil gunman. Eastwood and Hackman are particularly good. Eastwood's dour killer shows a depth and maturity that only comes with growth and age. Hackman, as Little Bill Daggett, the evil, brutal sheriff, delivers one of the best of his smiling villain characters, a character type he's perfected over the years. Hackman, who won a Best Supporting Oscar for his performance, had to be strongly persuaded by Eastwood to take the role.

It is said that the violence in the script originally turned Hackman off. The rest of the cast is uniformly good. Morgan Freeman, as Ned Logan, and Francis Fisher, as Strawberry Alice, makes particularly strong impressions. My favorite scene is Eastwood's climactic shoot out with Hackman. The action is quick and fatal, the room dark and crowded. The scene, playing like a morality fable set in the Old West, is powerful, with mythological undertones. "Unforgiven" offers great filming of the stark Western scenes. Jack N. Green is the responsible party. The film is a future classic because of the moving way the film examines the morality, and repercussions, of violence and death. "Unforgiven" is a great memorable Western. In addition to the specific story it's telling, it, in some ways, is a commentary on all film Westerns that have come before. Eastwood has said the film IS in some ways a response, and a reflection, upon the ease with which characters he played in the past, like The Man With No Name and Dirty Harry, killed people without blinking.

As Eastwood has matured as a filmmaker, so have his films, focusing on such personal subjects as jazz ("Bird") and romance for the older set, ("The Bridges of Madison County"). If you enjoyed UNFORGIVEN you may enjoy CRIMSON TIDE, THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES, MAN OF THE WEST, WALKING TALL, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD , and SILVERADO . Best Supporting Actor 1992 - Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board The internet's oldest Oscar discussion forum. 13 posts • Page 1 of 1 Best Supporting Actor 1992 Jaye Davidson - The Crying Game 11 Jack Nicholson - A Few Good Men 1 Al Pacino - Glengarry Glen Ross 1 David Paymer - Mr. Saturday Night 0 Post by The Original BJ » Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:01 pm Continuing my catch-up... I know David Paymer, having worked with him on a number of occasions.

(In addition to being a dependable character actor, he now works very prolifically as a tv director.) And what a kind and generous man he is, beloved by all who know him. It's very nice for him that he got this nomination, and he's definitely the humanity in Mr. Saturday Night. But the movie isn't anything special, and I can't say I find the role to be all that much of a showcase either. I like Al Pacino more in this role than in the one that snagged him the Oscar this year. He gets to spout that intense, Mamet dialogue and has a lot of fun chewing the scenery without going overboard into the hamminess that plagued some of his performances in this period. But I find the screen version of Glengarry sort of a minor movie -- it's SUCH a filmed play -- and in the end, there are many other roles for which Pacino will be better remembered. Sort of along the same lines, I like Jack Nicholson a lot in A Few Good Men, even though he, too, has so many better opportunities for prizes I don't feel the need to vote for him here.

But he's completely commanding in the film, with plenty of great Aaron Sorkin lines, and even his oft-parodied catch phrase makes for, in the context of the scene, a stirring moment. Not my choice, but very engaging work nonetheless. The Crying Game is one of those movies that I really wish I'd been able to see before knowing The Big Twist. Which isn't to say I don't still like the movie a lot -- in fact, I was surprised at how fascinating the movie was even without the benefit of surprise, and a lot of this is due to Jaye Davidson's one-of-a-kind performance. His scenes with Stephen Rea are so touching, and the duo's romance is so unusually complicated by his character's identity and personality, that the entire film is elevated into something far more affecting than a thriller with a shocking twist. He's really perfectly cast, too -- utterly believable and entrancing in those first scenes -- so that the audience understands why Stephen Rea doesn't stop caring him once he knows his secret. But...I do wonder if I'd be even more impressed if I'd been able to experience the reveal as viewers did at the time.

My enthusiastic vote is for Gene Hackman, in one of my favorite performances to ever win this award. A thoroughly frightening but utterly human villain, Hackman makes for a sensational antagonist in Eastwood's revisionist western. That final scene between the two of them is wonderfully acted by both men -- it's a moment that serves as both a throwback to iconic western climaxes while serving as a more morally complicated update of those earlier screen finales. I think this might be Gene Hackman's best film performance ever, and I think he merits the prize both for his superb dominance of the screen and the way he's so fascinatingly used by Eastwood to demyth western tropes. Oscar got it right. Quote Post by FilmFan720 » Sun Jun 10, 2012 11:44 pm I voted Hackman...funny, I've never thought about it being category fraud. Maybe I should go back and see it. Pacino and Hackman are pretty similar in my eyes here. Both found roles that seem to be perfectly suited to their later career laziness, taking their respective hoo-haahing and smirking and utilizing them than most other films have been able to.

Paymer is a solid character actor stuck in a horrid movie, and Jaye Davidson is very good in another limited role. Among the also-rans, I will throw in Alan Arkin, who I think comes off best of the supporting Glengarry guys (next to Lemmon, of course). "Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good." - Minor Myers, Jr. Quote Post by Sabin » Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:57 pm Well, this is more like it, now isn't it? Just the sort of embarrassment of riches that will kick of a three year stride of glory in this category. Even the worst of the lot, I mean what ill can you say? That Jack Nicholson isn't Oscar-worthy in A Few Good Men? Well, certainly. That it embodies his worst traits? Absolutely. But while nothing in A Few Good Men is that great, it's an engaging thing to watch and so is Jack. I'm actually rather surprised the film didn't do better with the Academy.

A Hollywood royalty who plays by the rules and made several films that racked up nominations and could have conceivably been up for more creates a courtroom drama that amasses a strong holiday gross, more money than any of the other nominees? And it doesn't even get a screenplay nod? Scent of a Woman really killed A Few Good Men. How often does a Best Picture nominee and former front-runner get more nominations at the Golden Globes than the Oscars? Next off is Al Pacino who is very good in Glengarry Glen Ross and has been pointed out more than once better than in his Oscar nominated role that year for Scent of a Woman. I wonder though, was he really touted as a possible nominee upon the film's release? Or was that something that developed as his status as Oscar front-runner solidified? Anyway, he's good. I've voted for him before and there's no reason to honor him again. Perhaps if a superior performance like Donnie Brasco was up... David Paymer is wonderful in Mr. Saturday Night, and rather wonderful in general. He's always an MVP in whatever excellent ensemble he's layered into, and looks more like one of those actors who doesn't receive his due than one who does.

That you care about anybody in Mr. Saturday night is pretty incredible. You have to imagine if Crystal looks back on that film and wished he pulled a few punches and made Buddy Young a little more sympathetic and a little less tedious. Or if he just hired somebody else to direct. It's between Jaye Davidson and Gene Hackman. Both are incredible. I saw something on Youtube where Clint Eastwood discusses reading Unforgiven for the first time and not being sure who is the villain and who is the hero. Unforgiven is a brilliant film, but you certainly can't say that while you're watching it. It's Clint Eastwood vs. Gene Hackman. That means Gene Hackman is the villain. And while he's exemplary in the film, I've already voted him. Jaye Davidson might not have had a great career but what he does in The Crying Game is different than what anybody else does in this lineup, save for perhaps Paymer, which is to say he validates another performance. Stephen Rea is so beautiful in The Crying Game and were his gaze not so lovingly validated by Davidson, it would not have worked. He gets my vote. Philomena is one of the year's best Philomenas!

Quote Post by Mister Tee » Thu Jun 07, 2012 11:11 am I'd concur with Chris O'Donnell in Scent and Sydney Pollack in Husbands and Wives as deserving substitutes. The former hasn't had much of an overall career, and the latter is of course only a part-time actor, but they both did solid work this year. David Paymer had been largely singled out by critics when Mr. Saturday Night opened, but the film itself was such an unexpected bomb (completely aborting Billy Crystal's career trajectory, something he didn't reset until Anyalyze This 5 years later) that he seemed likley to be omitted. Paymer is a solid enough journeyman, and actors like that deserve occasional note in this category, rather than the slumming stars who too often fill out the slots. Speaking of slumming stars...Jack Nicholson. Okay, he's entertaining enough, but it's such a shallow performance in such a shallow, even perfunctory movie. A Few Good Men is, at best, gussied-up junk food -- a tasty Big Mac and fries -- but I'd argue in the final reel it falls short of even that.

As Roger Ebert argued, Tom Cruise tells everyone what he's going to make Nicholson do on the stand, and he does it, in a completely unsurprising way. Even in a potboiler, shouldn't there at least have been some sort of twist? Anyway, Jack's by now way-over-familiar tag-line I guess got him the nod, but he could have been omitted without bothering me any. Ricky Roma is a great role as written -- Joe Mantegna rose to fame on the strength of it on stage -- and Pacino gives perhaps his best ranting-era performance here in Glengarry Glen Ross. But I prefer the other two. Jaye Davidson turned out to be barely an actor at all -- and a rather arrogant twit, based on interviews. But he made The Crying Game work. I never had one clue as to his identity in the early scenes. And his tender affection for Stephen Rea is greatly affecting (leading to a wonderful final tableau). But Gene Hackman rates the prize this year, on career points and probably on performance. It 's a very strong, dominant role...which of course leads me to ask: where are the "But It's Really a Lead" Police in this thread?

Yes, you can (barely) make a case that Eastwood's character is the focal point of the movie and Hackman, despite equivalent screen time, can thus be shunted to support. But you can make that same case for Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain, and that's one most people here cite as the fraudiest of frauds. I'm surprised people are so quick to buy into the category machinations here that so outrage them in other cases. That said, I'm voting for Hackman, because I think he's the best. But I see Davidson is ahead right now, and I can't say his victory would trouble me, either. Post by Precious Doll » Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:41 am Two performances (Davidson & Hackman) clearly lead the pack. Though David Paymer did not deserve a nomination for the forgettable Mr. Saturday Night, he did deserve one two years later in Quiz Show, so it's good to see him score at least one nomination in his career thus far. Pacino was good, like most of the actors in Glengarry Glenn Ross, but it was Jack Lemmon's film.

Though I didn't care too much for Jack Nicholson's work it does tend to stand out as he is much better then most of his co-stars particularly Tom Cruise who was right in the middle of his 'shouting = acting' mode period (1988 to 1995). My choices: 1. Jaye Davidson for The Crying Game 2. Daniel Pollock for Romper Stomper 3. Sydney Pollack for Husbands and Wives 4. Peter Coyote for Bitter Moon 5. Jerry Lewis or Arizona Dream "I think he sexually assaulted a child and I don't think that's right…It's gotten very quiet in here, but that's true." Susan Sarandon on Woody Allen, Cannes Film Festival 2016 Post by Big Magilla » Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:47 am ITALIANO wrote: One might wonder why Nicholson, Pacino and Hackman - three great, celebrated actors of the same generation - didn't cancel each other out due to vote-splitting... Except that neither the actors nor the characters they played were on equal footing.

Pacino was the clear favorite to win Best Actor, so anyone who couldn't decide between the three, and there may have bene some, would have taken him out of the equation and then recalled that Nicholson had recently won a second Oscar and Hackman hadn't. However, Hackman had won everything in sight that year except the National Board of Review award, which wnet to Nicholson. He was the favorite unlike in the Best Supporting Actress category where four of the nominees were considered to be on equal footing and the surprise winner turned out to be the one no one was championing in a comedy that was much better received than Mr. Saturday Night. Quote Post by MovieFan » Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:04 am I’ll say it once and i’ll say it again Jaye Davidson gives the most overrated performance of 1992. There are some clear inexperience’s in his performance, and the wooden ways in which he reacts to everything robs Dil of having any humanity at all, and I often wondered why Fergus would continue to pursue her. Not to mention the character’s transitions in the ending are just not believable at all.

I didn’t find anything there, apart from a first time actor who managed to give a decent enough performance but whose inexperience is clearly transparent. Rea was definitely the MVP of the film. In terms of characterisation, depth, ambiguity and complexity, Gene Hackman’s performance in Unforgiven wipes the floor with Davidson’s performance. His performance brilliantly corresponds to the themes of the film, particularly the opening of scene in the picture in the sense that iron fist was essential in the days of outlaws, but those days are setting like the sun at the picture’s opening sequence, and Bill cannot adjust. I love the way he contrasts the folksy Sheriff who wants to build his house and retire to the cold blooded killer that lurks inside him, which is most prevalent in the scenes with Richard Harris. It really is a fascinating performance and the chemistry he shares with each actor is electric particularly Eastwood at the end, and you get the impression that he wants to build the house as a way of clinging on to something he feels represents civilisation, what ‘normal’ people do as a way to try as a way to put his past behind him.

It seems throughout the film that Hackman is just as much trying to put his dark and violent past behind him, but at the end he finally acknowledges that he is going to pay for what he has done much like Munny. Quote Post by ITALIANO » Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:56 am One might wonder why Nicholson, Pacino and Hackman - three great, celebrated actors of the same generation - didn't cancel each other out due to vote-splitting... Mr Saturday Night - one of the most deservedely obscure movies ever nominated - is an overlong comedy/drama probably made for just one reason: getting an Oscar nod for Billy Cristal. The plan predictably failed, but David Paymer, a good character actor who played Cristal's long-suffering brother, quite surprisingly DID receive a nomination. It's always nice when this kind of performer is recognized by the Academy - but the movie is really impossible to sit through. Jack Nicholson played a variation on his Jack Nicholson persona - this time as a military villain - and was effective as always, but both the movie and his performance weren't exactly profound. The other three are very good.

Al Pacino had a wonderful role in Glengarry Glen Ross (the Italian title was, ironically, Americani) and the kind of biting dialogue that actors would die for. His is definitely an impressive display of acting technique. But it's certainly between Gene Hackman and Jaye Davidson. I would have probably picked Hackman if I hadn't seen The Crying Game again for the first time after twenty years quite recently. I showed it to a person who was only a child when the movie came out and, even if he had been older, he's from a country where I am not sure that it was shown in cinemas. Younger generations can be dangerous - they can quickly dismiss movies that we found once so good - and still do - but that they find instead hopelessly dated. Sometimes they are right, often they aren't, but I felt that especially a movie like this one could be a big risk. Luckily, I was wrong. The mood of the movie, its peculiar atmosphere, caught this young person right from the start; he gasped when the famous twist happened; by the end he was moved and full of admiration - he had clearly seen something unexpected and, after all these years, still original. Not easy.

And of course he wanted to know more about the guy playing Dil - he reacted towards Jaye Davidson in the same way that viewers did in 1992. It may be a case of perfect casting, true, but I think that it's not just that - there's a human side about the character that this clearly unexperienced actor perfectly captured - or projected. It's a one-of-a-kind performance, but still a performance, and not just an intriguing performance - a very good one. It gets my vote. Quote Post by Big Magilla » Thu Jun 07, 2012 5:23 am I absolutely hated Mr. Saturday Night when I saw it twenty years ago. Billy crystal's obnoxious character had some amusing lines, but mostly he was a bore. David Paymer was better as his long-suffering brother, but I really didn't see anyone connected with film as worthy of an Oscar nomination. I would have preferred to see another relatively unknown actor, Al Freeman, Jr., nominated for his portrayal of Elijah Muhammad in Macolm X instead .

Al Pacino was good in Glengarry Glen Ross, but the film's best actor was Jack Lemmon who picked up the Best Actor award of the National Board of Review and then confoundlingly disappeared from the Oscar discussion. With an all but guarnteed win for Best Actor for Scent of a Woman, Pacino didn't need a second nomination which should have gone to his Scent co-star, Chris O'Donnell. O'Donnell, then one of the best young actors of his generation, was excellent as the young man hired by Pacino's niece to take care of the middle-aged blind man during the Thanksgiving Day weekend. The film itself may be over-rated, but the two actors work extremely well together. The irony is that Pacino won an Oscar that should have gone to Lemmon while nineteen years earlier Lemmon won an Oscar that should have gone to Pacino. The other three nominees were all terrific. Jaye Davidson was the find of the year as "Dil" in The Crying Game. Too bad his career never really got off the ground. Jack Nicholson was clearly in his element as the mad Col. Jessup in A Few Good Men.

The film would have been a blip on Tom Cruise's resume without him, but the best supporting performance was the one that actually won the Oscar. Gene Hackman, so good at playing violent characters, kept his vow never to again play one after he played the brutal sheriff in Unforgiven to perfection, for which he deservedly became only the fifth actor to win a supporting Oscar after winning a lead one, joining Helen Hayes, Ingrid Bergman, Maggie Smith and Nicholson in that exclusive club. Post by ksrymy » Thu Jun 07, 2012 4:12 am I haven't seen Paymer's film, but I'm not tempted to watch it at all. I'd call this a strong year. I, for one, don't think Davidson's nomination was solely for the film's twist. He does a great job in his role. Jack Nicholson gives the most iconic line of the performers here and does a fantastic job as the rogue colonel on trial. This is where his effective use of his "The Jack" personality works. He's cocky, he's full of himself, he's the coolest guy in the room.

Glengarry Glen Ross is one of my favorite plays by one of my favorites playwrights David Mamet. This is the only nomination Pacino deserved this year. He is a riot as Ricky Roma and gives some of the greatest vulgar lines in cinema history. His tirades are very well-paced and his line readings are spectacular. He plays a great foil to Jack Lemmon the year's best actor. But Gene Hackman deserves this Oscar. Little Bill Daggett is, in my opinion, Clint Eastwood's best-directed character. Hackman is best during the house-building scenes for sure. He is intimidating and completely morally-driven. And having Hackman in a role so firmly involving justice for the sake of justice is wonderful. Yes, that seems to be the role he's always playing, but it has never been more effective than it has here. My picks

Question: Who won a best supporting actor Oscar for his performance as Little Bill Daggett in the 1992 film “Unforgiven”?
Answer: GENE HACKMAN