Class Act

There was a thread on Datalounge which discussed Philip Seymour Hoffman and his oscar worthiness. Of course, the other men involved were also discussed and this article was referenced.


Strathairn Praises Oscar Rival Ledger
Friday Feb 3 15:52 AEDT
Heath Ledger (AAP)

Heath Ledger's Oscar rival David Strathairn says the Australian actor hasn't received enough recognition for his portrayal of a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain.

"Heath is getting recognition for it but I am surprised why he is not getting more because that was not an easy thing to do," Strathairn told AAP from the United States.

"Heath went out on a limb there and really held on.

"His performance is a quiet one ... but I think what he has done was really hard to do. He took some really brave choices character-wise and just locked onto them."

Ledger and Strathairn, for his performance in Good Night, and Good Luck, were nominated for March's 78th Annual Academy Awards on Thursday.

They will go head to head with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Terrence Howard for the best male actor category.

"Brokeback Mountain is a difficult piece, not just because of what it is about but it is the persona, the person, a creation that we have yet to have seen in the modern era in film," said the 57-year-old Strathairn.

"It upended this mythic thing of the cowboy ... and Heath manages that myth and the revelation of this character. Really, I can't say enough about it."

Brokeback Mountain, a story of the forbidden love of two men in America's west, has caused much controversy in the United States.

"It has struck a bell," said Strathairn.

The Oscars will be held at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on March 5.

And as the cliche goes, Strathairn was happy just to be nominated.

"Getting nominated is it for me," he said, adding that he had never come close to a nomination in more than 25 years working in the industry.

"I have never even been close enough to peek under the tent then all of a sudden I am inside there, sitting in the stocks in front of everyone."

Good Night, and Good Luck tells the story of Ed Murrow's bitter feud with Senator Joseph McCarthy, which came to a head on March 9, 1954, when Murrow exposed the deceit, bullying, and manipulation of the then-powerful McCarthy, head of the Senate Committee on Un-American Activities, on the CBS TV program See It Now episode.

Good Night, and Good Luck was written and directed by George Clooney, who received Oscar nominations for best screenplay and director for the film.

"When I first saw a rough cut of it, I knew it was going to have some kind of bells and whistles," said Strathairn.

Speaking more generally on this year's Oscars nominees, Strathairn noted that it was a strong batch of "small budget films with potent themes".

"Maybe the pendulum swings more often than not now to small budget films because of budget constraints and also the production friendly technology that everyone has," he said.

Looking forward, Strathairn confirmed that his next film would be Fracture, a thriller co-starring Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins.

"It will be an honour," he said.