When Teardrop's niece starts asking a lot of the wrong people what may have happened to him, Teardrop is torn between his loyalty to his kin and his fear that the wrong word to the wrong person would lead to civil war among the hill folk. Torn between doing what is right and saving his own skin, Hawkes imbues Teardrop with the perfect tone of moral ambiguity. His finest moment occurs in a showdown with the local sheriff (played brilliantly by Garret Dillahunt, who also earned votes in the category) wherein Teardrop reveals to his niece that he is a man of action, someone law enforcement officials fear. Hawkes has rarely been given a lead role in a major motion picture (Me and You and Everyone We Know being a key exception), but if he keeps delivering performances such as this one, Hollywood studios eventually have to throw him a bone here or there.

The other near miss for victory in Best Supporting Actor is Geoffrey Rush in The King’s Speech. One of the most accredited actors of our time, Rush continues to deliver exceptional performances that cross genres as well as generations. Fresh off his wildly popular run as Barbossa in The Pirates of the Caribbean, Rush chose to do a pair of upscale arthouse projects. While Elizabeth: The Golden Age was a minor disappointment, Rush’s turn as an uncertified (that’s important) speech therapist, Lionel Logue, reminds us yet again what a chameleon he is. Initially unaware of the identity of his next patient, Logue is assertive and encouraging yet too curt with a Duchess who happens to be the wife of the next king of his homeland. Demonstrating a deft touch in navigating the realm of diplomacy, Logue proves himself to be egoless, a loyal citizen whose rare skill set saves the day in an odd way. In a career comprised of half a dozen star-making performances, The King’s Speech may prove to be Rush’s tour de force.

A pair of rising celebrities comprises the rest of our top five. Jeremy Renner narrowly missed winning Best Actor last year, losing by only a couple of votes. His role in The Town this year proves almost as popular with our staff as he finishes in the top four for the second consecutive year. This time out, he portrays a loose cannon who is completely unreliable but gets results. Watch the typecasting, Renner. Andrew Garfield is right where Renner was last year, exploding out of nowhere to garner massive praise for his work in The Social Network. In the film, he portrays arguably the only sympathetic male character, Eduardo Saverin. Garfield’s nebbish qualities and overall awkwardness infuse Saverin with a particular vulnerability that makes his situation all the worse as he gets betrayed by a friend and dumped by a psycho.

The characters portrayed by Matt Damon and Vincent Cassel, our sixth and seventh place selections, have a couple of similarities. Both demonstrate a creepy attraction to an unwilling younger female. Each sees a quality in said woman that the woman herself does not know she possesses. And both of them endeavor to bring to life the dream of the woman they aid. In Damon’s case, that means semi-lawful murder and in Cassel’s case, that means…exactly whatever it is that happens at the end of Black Swan.

There was a lot more diversity among our staff in determining the outliers in the Best Supporting Actor category. Justin Timberlake’s appearance in The Social Network represents the moment when the crew of The Facebook hits the big time. This is also when they begin to collapse under the weight of the struggles that come with popularity. Timberlake is a revelation, demonstrating that he’s much more than a pop star waiting for his Cool As Ice. Tom Hardy’s performance in Inception has garnered the most positive attention of anyone other than Leonardo DiCaprio, and we agree with the consensus here. His character’s behavior has to change on each level yet he pulls off this unprecedented acting challenge with aplomb. And Mark Ruffalo’s work in The Kids Are All Right is equal parts comic relief and moral center of the film, an amazing feat for a character who is irresponsible and suffering from a severe case of arrested development.

Narrowly missing selection this year are Armie Hammer, who would have been the third member of The Social Network to earn a nod, Joseph Gordon-Levitt for his gravity-defying efforts in Inception, Kieran Culkin for being the witty roommate in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and Stanley Tucci’s as the world’s best dad in Easy A. (David Mumpower/BOP)

The Calvins Introduction
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Album
Best Cast
Best Character
Best Director
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Best Videogame
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture

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