For our sixth Rundown article, we look at supporting men. After the jump, you’ll find our winner and runner-up predictions for Best Supporting Actor as well as general commentary about the race. Thursday, we’ll cover their leading counterparts.

Best Supporting Actor

Winner Predictions

• Tom Hanks – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• Anthony Hopkins – The Two Popes
• Al Pacino – The Irishman
• Joe Pesci – The Irishman
• Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (WL O) (PP O) (TB O) (TL O)

Runner-Up Predictions

• Anthony Hopkins – The Two Popes (PP O)
• Joe Pesci – The Irishman (WL O) (TB O) (TL O)

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Wesley Lovell: Brad Pitt is the most recognized performer this year and should have no problem winning the Oscar. If not he, then Joe Pesci or Al Pacino could pick up their second Oscars. Watch BAFTA for sudden shifts in dynamics.
Peter J. Patrick: This is the greatest combination of veteran actors ever to compete for this award in the same year. All are previous nominees, four are previous winners, one of whom has won twice before. Those five wins were back-to-back from 1990-1994, a quarter of a century ago. The very next year, Brad Pitt received his first nomination. Now it’s his turn to finally win for his seemingly effortless portrayal of a Hollywood stand-in and stunt man. We can’t wait for what we know will be another deft, self-effacing acceptance speech. If there is an upset, Pitt’s former screen father, Anthony Hopkins, who won for playing a serial killer, and was later nominated for playing a butler and two former presidents (Richard Nixon and John Quincy Adams) might well win for playing a former pope (Benedict XVI). At 82, he is the oldest of this year’s nominees. Pitt, at 56, is the youngest.
Tripp Burton: It seems not-right that Brad Pitt doesn’t have an acting Oscar, and his wonderful speeches all season make him a solid front-runner here. Everyone else in the category already has an Oscar and are falling far behind.
Thomas La Tourrette: There are four previous Oscar winners and Brad Pitt, who will be joining that elite circle. The funny part about the previous winners is that Tom Hanks whose last nomination was 19 years ago is the most recent nominee of the bunch. They each have an Oscar but a lot of time has elapsed since any of them won. They will have to wait longer to be return winners. For all I can tell, Pitt has not been campaigning for the award, but he has been the frontrunner for weeks. He has three previous nominations but will win this time. He is up against a formidable set of actors and he will easily beat them. Joe Pesci came out of retirement for The Irishman and turned in his best performance, but that will still not be enough to win. This award definitely goes to Brad Pitt.

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