3. Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz
This was perhaps my favorite award at the Oscars this year, as unlike the other winners such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence, Christoph Waltz seemed truly surprised to have won. Whereas in his previous Oscar win he'd swept all of the previous awards and his Academy Award appeared like a lock, the Vegas odds this year were firmly on Tommy Lee Jones and Robert De Niro. In 2009 we saw an actor who seemed cool and relaxed as he graciously won his Oscar for Inglourious Basterds. This year, he seemed shocked, nervous and genuinely ecstatic to win. Part of what made Waltz' performance in last year's Django Unchained so impressive was that just a few years ago, he received his award for playing one of the most evil and terrifying villains in recent film history. Dr. King Schultz this year is a profoundly different role, with character arcs that take him in a completely different direction from the Jew Hunter Hans Landa. Though the other nominees in this category had previously received Oscars and are solid actors in their own right, none of the performances quite had the substance and nuance of Waltz' Dr. King.