Alternate Oscars: Best Actor and Supporting Actress of 2005

My favorite performance of 2005 is Pierce Brosnan as a clinically depressed hitman in the black comedy The Matador, but if after 16 years that movie hasn't found an audience, it isn't likely to. So no nomination for you, Mr. Brosnan!

See, I think for a movie or performance to be award-worthy, it has to not only be great, it also has to find an audience, i.e., become iconic — which is to say it strikes a chord that resonates across generations.

That's the inherent problem with the Oscars — they're handing out the award just a few months after the movie has come out. How can you tell after so short a time if a film will stand the test of time or is just the flavor of the month? As my very wise big brother suggested to me recently, they should wait twenty years before handing out the Oscar — then you'd know what you're really handing the Oscar to!

Maybe that's why there are so many alternate Oscar sites, including this one ...

But alas, the Oscars aren't really designed to honor greatness — they're designed to sell Hollywood's idea of itself to itself, very safe, very dull, which is why we keep getting winners like Green Book instead of, say, Black Panther. Green Book is a nice movie, I enjoyed it, two thumbs up, but it was hardly a cultural phenomenon. And my guess is that in twenty years people will say "Green Who?" while we're all still watching Black Panther and the forty Marvel movies that followed it.

Oh, well. Let's get to it, revisiting the best actors and supporting actresses of 2005. FYI, Brokeback Mountain dominated in the other categories, winning best picture, director (Ang Lee) and supporting actor (Jake Gyllenhaal). Felicity Huffman (Transamerica) took home the prize for best actress.

My choices are noted with a ★. A tie is indicated with a ✪. Historical Oscar winners are noted with a ✔. Best foreign-language picture winners are noted with an ƒ. Best animated feature winners are noted with an @. A historical winner who won in a different category is noted with a ✱.