Oscar Buzz: Who's Looking Good In The Best Supporting Actor Race?

Best Actor and Actress get the biggest headlines when it comes to the Academy Awards, but quite often the Supporting Actor and Actress races are the most interesting. Quirkier and more unpredictable (especially from a distance) than their we-have-more-screen-time counterparts, it's often a chance for smaller films to catch the limelight (see one-nod wonders like "Warrior," "Beginners" or "The Messenger" in recent years), for previously unheard-of performers like Barkhad Abdi or Ken Watanabe, or for strange winners like Linda Hunt for playing a male character, a posthumous Heath Ledger for playing a superhero's nemesis, or Christoph Waltz for giving the same performance in two separate Tarantino movies. The narrative for this year's race is still forming, but it's already looking like another fascinating period for the categories, with strong contenders including a veteran character actor in a buzzy  indie, a big name on the comeback trail, and a...