# Jennifer Connelly--why supporting, not lead actress? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2002, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998 "2002-03-25T14:15:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/1 "2002-03-25T14:15:59Z")
Jennifer Connelly, who played Alice Nash in “A Beautiful Mind,” won the Oscar for best supporting actress. Why was her nomination in the “supporting” actress category, instead of Best Actress? She was married to the lead male, and there were no other significant female characters in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/2 "2002-03-25T14:26:20Z")
WAG - Because her role wasn’t considered a lead, but a supporting role to the lead, Russell Crowe. AFAIK the supporting actress isn’t like a bridesmaid - she doesn’t have to be supporting another woman. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/3 "2002-03-25T14:27:13Z")
Since this thread is about the movies, I’ll move it to Cafe Society. Off to Cafe Society. **DrMatrix** - General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/4 "2002-03-25T14:31:22Z")
The main question I have is, now that she’s won an Oscar, does that mean no more nude scenes for her? If so, the world has become a much more unpleasant place. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/5 "2002-03-25T14:45:54Z")
Because there are no clear-cut rules defining what’s a supporting role. Actors and studios can decide who to promote for the supporting actor/actress Oscar. So it becomes an issue of strategy – the studio figured Connolly had no shot as Best Actress, so they promoted her as Supporting Actress. It’s the same for Ethan Hawke this year. He had about as much screen time as Denzel Washington, but got a supporting nomination because his studio wanted him to have a shot without hurting Denzel’s chances. It used to be that actors didn’t do this because being called a supporting actor when you were doing leads meant you would be paid less and get fewer leads. This issue has gone away. It’s clear that the Academy should come up with a definition, but it would probably be next to impossible to find a clearcut rule. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/6 "2002-03-25T16:07:57Z")
Forgive me if this question sends this post to the gutter, but I was wondering… Did Jennifer leave her breasts at home last night? She looked downright shapeless. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/7 "2002-03-25T17:57:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Slacker \* > \*\*Forgive me if this question sends this post to the gutter, but I was wondering… > > Did Jennifer leave her breasts at home last night? She looked downright shapeless. \*\* My girlfriend and I noticed that too. It was really strange, because she’s normally rather large and, for lack of a better word, perky. Maybe she was wearing an ace bandage to smash them down? ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/8 "2002-03-25T18:30:31Z")
I’ve seen JC, not only last night but on several recent talk shows, and she’s just not as (for lack of a better word) bodacious as she used to be. I have the awful feeling that she’s had some breast reduction surgery done. If that’s the case, then she should be arrested for destroying natural treasures. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/9 "2002-03-25T18:39:45Z")
As long as we’ve drifted so far off-topic, what the hell was she thinking with that dress? Rejected costume from _The Mummy_? And it wasn’t just her either. Nicole Kidman’s dress could’ve used an iron. And J. Lo’s hair? I dunno, that swan dress from last year is starting to look pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/10 "2002-03-25T18:50:12Z")
They should take the award away from Ms. Connelly after that pathetic acceptance speech…you would think an ACTRESS might possibly be able to memorize a 60 second speech, especially considering her win was no surprise and she had ample time as “front runner” to write and practice. To stand there showing us the part in her hair while her nose was buried in a raggedy scrap of paper was embarrassing. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/11 "2002-03-25T19:36:59Z")
I believe that actors are assigned to the lead or supporting categories depending upon how the studios promote them. There is no rule defining what “supporting” or “lead” means. The only rule is that you can’t be nominated for the same role in both categories anymore. Barry Fitzgerald was in 1944 for “Going My Way” and won in the Supporting category. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/12 "2002-03-25T19:52:57Z")
There are no hard and fast rules, as many others have noted. The nominations are voted on by members of the Academy who were themselves nominated in the four acting categories. (Most of the members of the Academy are former nominees.) They can vote for whomever they wish in any category. However, studio politics and lobbying plays a large role in the process, especially in disriminating between lead and supporting roles in close cases. (When Pulp Fiction came out, Samuel L. Jackson supposedly asked to be promoted as supporting actor because he thought it gave him a better chance; anyone who’s seen the movie knows that Jackson’s character was the lead. IMO, Connely’s role in this film was not a particularly close case. Crowe had rather more screen time, was the person who underwent the dramatic growth in the film, and it was Dr. Nash’s story much more than the wife’s. Romantic comedies and sometimes dramatic romances typically have a male and female lead; other films usually have one lead and everyone else is support. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![ScriptAnalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@ScriptAnalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScriptAnalyst)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/13 "2002-03-26T00:35:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cliffy \* > \*\*When Pulp Fiction came out, Samuel L. Jackson supposedly asked to be promoted as supporting actor because he thought it gave him a better chance; anyone who’s seen the movie knows that Jackson’s character was the lead. > –Cliffy \*\* Well, no–not really. PULP FICTION is an ensemble piece with multiple storylines, which prevents any one character standing out clearly as the lead. Travolta was nominated in the lead role category because his character (unlike Jackson’s) appears in all the different episodes. You could, I suppose, argue that Jackson’s character is more interesting or that his performance is better, but his character is not clearly the lead. steve biodrowski [www.thescriptanalyst.com](http://www.thescriptanalyst.com) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/14 "2002-03-26T00:45:43Z")
Additional discussion of the lead vs. supporting acting categories can be found in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=104977). ---
**Author:** ![KillerHamster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/41988e/32.png) [@KillerHamster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KillerHamster)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/15 "2002-03-26T00:54:25Z")
She should be happy with the Sup. Actress category. She had that locked up. If she was in the Actress category, she probably wouldn’t have won. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/16 "2002-03-26T00:56:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DMark \* > \*\*They should take the award away from Ms. Connelly after that pathetic acceptance speech…you would think an ACTRESS might possibly be able to memorize a 60 second speech, especially considering her win was no surprise and she had ample time as “front runner” to write and practice. > To stand there showing us the part in her hair while her nose was buried in a raggedy scrap of paper was embarrassing. \*\* I know there are some people who will deliberately NOT practice speeches of this sort, as they feel it might jinx their chances. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/17 "2002-03-26T01:06:10Z")
Huh. I came in and was going to post a link to the Training Day thread, in which I asked the same question about Ethan Hawke - in what clearly _was_ a leading role - only to find **Cervaise** beat me to it. It seems there are no rules and people get nominated in the catagory they are pushed for. There’s obvioulsy no rule saying that a film has only one male and one female lead (Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis were both nominated for Best Actress for _Thelma and Louise_). Likewise, there’s no rule saying a film must have a lead actor and a lead actress. Sometimes a film may have no specific lead characters. Ensemble films like _Glengarry Glenn Ross_ or _The Big Chill_, screen time is rather evenly split among 6 or so characters. You can think of them as all leads or all supporting one another. In _A Beautiful Mind_ (which I haven’t seen yet, BTW, so this is just speculation), Russell Crowe may have been the lead, with Connely’s character a supporting role to the lead. Think of the role and not the gender that goes with it - say if the lead was gay and instead of Jennifer Connely, it was a man playing Nash’s life partner (I know, I know, it’s based on a true story, bare with me, it’s just to make a point). Would you then think the role would be of suitable screen time to warrant another Best Actor nomination, or would the Supporting catagory seem more fitting then? ---
**Author:** ![jmpride62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@jmpride62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmpride62)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-why-supporting-not-lead-actress/99998/18 "2002-03-26T01:09:47Z")
Also, the studios will categorize actors/actresses to get them into categories that they have a better chance of winning and also to increase the opportunies for a film and the studios to win awards. Also, the more your talent is spread out over the categories, the greater the chance that one of them will win. Bunch them up into one category, and they may cancel out one another with the voters among other things.😃