Oscar Win: Best Supporting Actor, Ordinary People, 1981 If you know your Oscar history, then number 1 should not surprise you. Sadly, whenever Timothy Hutton's name comes up, it's usually for articles like these. He won his Oscar at just the tender age of 20. What does that type of success do to somebody that young? How do you ever live up to those standards? Those are the types of issues Timothy Hutton has had to deal with ever since. When director Robert Redford cast Hutton in Ordinary People, he was giving the kid an opportunity of a lifetime. There have been many great teenage performances in coming-of-age movies, but Timothy Hutton really managed to strike a chord with people. Most importantly, the Academy took notice. Hutton was given the incredibly difficult task of playing a teen who has trouble coping with the death of his brother. He put a great amount of heart into his performance and is the biggest reason why the movie was so successful. To his credit, Hutton did some solid work after the movie. He followed his Oscar-winning performance with roles in Taps and The Falcon and The Snowman. Legendary director Sidney Lumet liked him enough to give him leading roles in Daniel and Q&A, both of which received solid reviews. Overall though, Timothy Hutton was never a dominating presence on the big screen like some of his contemporaries. His Taps co-stars, Tom Cruise and Sean Penn, ultimately wound up receiving much more attention throughout the rest of the '80s. By the '90s, it was rare to see Timothy Hutton lead a film from a major studio. It was a slow and steady decline, but a decline nonetheless. If you haven't read it yet, I urge you to read my other article: 10 Actresses Whose Film Careers Went Downhill After Winning An Oscar.
