Best Supporting Actor 1984: Results

5. Ralph Richardson in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes- Richardson is perfectly fine in his role, but whoever played the role could not have made it Oscar worthy.

4. John Malkovich in Places in the Heart- Malkovich gives a simple yet fairly effective performance. He is not given that much to do, but when he is given the chance to do more he does.

3. Pat Morita in the Karate Kid- Morita actually does everything he should as Mr. Miyagi, since it is the sort of role where it is hard to see anyone else in the role.

2. Adolph Caesar in A Soldier's Story- Caesar gives an effectively cruel performance, and makes the racism and self hatred of the character work surprisingly well.

1. Haing S. Ngor in The Killing Fields- There is no competition here Ngor simply is incredible in his role. It is a quiet performance but it conveys so much strength. His performance is completely authentic, honest, and absolutely spot on.

Deserving Performances:
Jeffrey Jones in Amadeus
James Woods in Once Upon a Time in America

Best Supporting Actor 1984: John Malkovich in Places in the Heart

John Malkovich received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Mr. Will in Places in the Heart.

Places in the Heart is a somewhat enjoyable small town, save the farm movie.

John Malkovich portrays Mr. Will a new blind boarder at widow Edna Spalding's (Sally Field) struggling farm. First blind acting is not really big deal with unless it is way too obviously fake. Malkovich handles his character blindness just fine. He handles the disability well, showing his character just dealing with it, and really not trying to bring all that much attention to it in his performance.

Malkovich shows Mr. Will to be a man of a quiet dignity who does not like being mistreated by others. I think Malkovich does  a nice job being nice here most of the time, but also showing his frustration well in one scene. I liked his performance in the film, and it certainly is a nice part of the film. I believe he is not given that much to do, but there is one brilliant scene of his. He asks Sally Field's character to described herself to him, his reaction in this scene is just brilliant. A very nice performance from Malkovich overall even if it is not an amazing one.

Best Supporting Actor 1984

And the Nominees Were:

Pat Morita in The Karate Kid

Ralph Richardson in Greystoke:  The Legend of Tarzan, the Lord of the Apes

Haing S. Ngor in The Killing Fields

Adolph Caesar in A Soldier's Story

John Malkovich in Places in the Heart