Hard to oversell what a slam-bang lineup 1997's Lead Actor was, is. One of those years where any one of them could win and it wouldn't be the wrong choice. The one that did win? A great choice!:
The nominees, as ranked by me:
5. Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall
As Good As It Gets
third and final win and his eleventh of twelve career nominations; Golden Globe winner for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy, National Board of Review's Best Actor of 1997, SAG Awards winner for Best Actor; LAFCA Awards runner-up for Best Actor
That Nicholson charm helps to make some sense of a character who, for some reason, can’t just be prickly but also openly racist, homophobic, and misogynist - but with a heart. He’s a joy to watch when it’s an Odd Couple thing with Greg Kinnear, he’s got great repartee with Helen Hunt, and his delivery of lines like “Over a dog” and “I think of a man and I take away reason and accountability” hit the way they should. He’s great.
4. Peter Fonda as Ulee Jackson
Ulee's Gold
only acting nomination; Golden Globe winner for Best Actor in a Drama, NYFCC Awards winner for Best Actor; SAG Awards nominee for Best Actor
It’s not easy to convey the emotional depths of a man with so many walls put up, but Fonda does just that in subtle ways. A glance here, a swallow, a slight hesitation before speaking, sudden flashes of anger - better, flashes of confusion at genuinely good people trying to do genuinely good things. Fonda’s built Ulee from the inside out, managing to convey love and courage even while his guard is constantly up. (Also, not to keep name dropping, but as a former student of writer-director Victor Nunez, it’s clear to me that Fonda’s borrowed aspects of the character from Victor himself; the warmth/inscrutability is part of it).
3. Dustin Hoffman as Stanley Motss
Wag the Dog
past two-time winner, seventh and final nomination; Golden Globe nominee for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy, SAG Awards nominee for Best Actor
“This is nothing!” Confidently spinning every unforeseen issue, calculatedly playing “in thought” to show you how difficult his job is (and how great he is at it), eager to tell tales of the past, and, best of all, the pleas for sympathy for an unappreciated millionaire (“They don’t have Oscars for producing, can you believe that?”). Hoffman nails the narcissistic raconteur who’s always on, always hustling. It’s a quick, funny study of a uniquely Hollywood character.
2. Matt Damon as Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting
first of three acting nominations; Golden Globe nominee for Best Actor in a Drama, SAG Awards nominee for Best Actor and Best Ensemble
His is not just coiled anger but coiled grief, tears unshed and anger unvoiced, hiding behind a tough-talking Southie braggodocio. That swagger isn't all pretense - he's always the smartest guy in the room and is well aware of it, why wouldn't he be overconfident? - but Damon is great at differentiating the moments when Will's genuinely feeling himself from those when he's on the defensive. When the breakthrough comes, he plays it perfectly: halting, reluctant, then the dam bursts. A great, natural, complex performance.
1. Robert Duvall as Euliss F. Dewey
The Apostle
past winner, fifth of seven nominations; LAFCA Awards winner for Best Actor; NYFCC Awards second runner-up for Best Actor, SAG Awards nominee for Best Actor
Duvall's apostle E.F. is a complicated one, a consummate salesman who genuinely believes in his product. He's got a gift for oration, a boundless, infectious energy that you can't help be in awe of, the rhythms and cadences of his sermons both on the radio and at the pulpit, in a church and in a tent, all delivered with the jazzy riffs of the well-rehearsed: he can improvise because he knows the piece backwards and forwards. You believe he can touch the soul and heal the spirit. You believe he believes it. This is a performance borne of research, respect, and passion.
Next time, the nominees for Best Actress: Helena Bonham-Carter (The Wings of the Dove), Julie Christie (Afterglow), Judi Dench (Mrs. Brown), Helen Hunt (As Good As It Gets), and Kate Winslet (Titanic).
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