Lead vs. Supporting Conundrums: 2025 Edition

January 26, 2026

jmunney Cinema, Oscars , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: Buzzfeed/Screenshot

Every Awards Season, I like to step forward and offer my own take on the dilemma of whether certain acting performances in the conversation should be Lead or Supporting. There are still a few contenders I’ve yet to see, but I haven’t heard any cries of Category Fraud related to those, so here are my assessments:
-Unlike last year’s first part, both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are Leads in Wicked: For Good (Ariana even more so than Cynthia).
-Though I can see the argument for Lead, Chase Infiniti is Supporting in One Battle After Another.
-Though he carries himself like a Lead, Paul Mescal ultimately settles into a Supporting space in Hamnet.

BONUS!: Is This a Comedy?
The following movies have been categorized as comedies by awards bodies that split films into genres, thereby raising the Skepticism Hackles of some awards watchers. So here’s my verdict on whether or not they are in fact comedies:
–One Battle After Another: Kind of, but not really
–Marty Supreme: Yes!
-Should we stop splitting movies into “Drama” and “Comedy” but also nominate The Naked Gun for everything, regardless of genre?: Yes!

This assessment originally appeared in the Official Jeffrey Malone Newsletter. Subscribe here!

Lead vs. Supporting Conundrums: 2024 Edition

January 13, 2025

jmunney Cinema, Oscars , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Respect. (CREDIT: Golden Globes/Screenshot)

You may have noticed that trophies are being handed out more than usual lately. You may have also noticed that the organizations that deliver those awards may be making questionable categorization decisions.

Around this time of year, I like to assess the situation and offer my own take on certain dilemmas, in particular whether a certain movie performance was a Lead or Supporting role. To be fair to the Oscars and other awards ceremonies, these decisions are subjective and not always clear. Reasonable people can disagree on these matters. But I’m not one to have my enthusiasm dampened my ambiguity!

Ergo, here is a selection of performances from 2024 getting awards attention and whether I think they should be considered Lead or Supporting.

(There are still a few movies in the awards conversation that I haven’t seen yet, so I may update my thoughts if I feel compelled to.)

More

Lead vs. Supporting Conundrums: 2023 Edition

March 9, 2024

jmunney Cinema, Oscars , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Take the Lead? (CREDIT: IFC Films/Screenshot; Apple TV/Screenshot)

Whenever the Oscars come around, I like to enter the discussion about whether certain acting performances should be categorized as Lead or Supporting. There’s not too many I felt compelled to talk about this year, just a couple:

More

Lead vs. Supporting Conundrums: 2022 Edition

February 27, 2023

jmunney Cinema, Oscars , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

A Lead Actor and a Supporting Actor? Or 2 Lead Actors (CREDIT: Jonathan Hession/Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.)

Every awards season, there’s a bit of discussion revolving around certain movie performances that straddle the line between Lead and Supporting roles. Sometimes, actors are blatantly submitted in the wrong category, perhaps to avoid competition with a co-star, or because of perceived lack of competition with other movies. And other times, it’s not always easy to say for certain which category is the right one. So I’m here to offer my assessment! It’s a little late this year, seeing as the Oscar nominations have already been announced, but I still felt like chiming in.

(Feel free to chime in with your own takes on this topic if you have any.)

More