Oscars 2022: All 20 Actors Who Could Get Their First Oscar Nomination

6. Ann Dowd - Mass

Cyrano Spencer The Harder They Fall
Bleecker Street

Ann Dowd is an astonishing character actress who many feel is long overdue a major film award, yet she's never been better-positioned for an Oscar nomination than with her jaw-dropping performance in Fran Kranz's new drama Mass.

Dowd plays Linda, the mother of a school shooter who during a meeting with her husband (Reed Birney) and the parents of the shooting's victim (Martha Plimpton and Jason Isaacs), attempts to reckon with her own feelings about her son's act.

It's a masterful performance from Dowd, who commands the screen every second she's on it, and in a film with four stellar performances, somehow inches to the top.

The film's difficult subject and matter-of-fact presentation will make it a tough sell for Oscar voters to even bother watching, but Dowd's mesmerising work speaks for itself.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.