Kindness and sensitivity are the hallmarks of this season’s movie dads
Over the years, there’s been no shortage of actors who have competed in the Oscar race for depicting a memorable father. Last year alone saw four performers nominated for portraying a dad, albeit a complicated one. They ranged from the traumatized (Casey Affleck in “Manchester by the Sea”) and the angry (Denzel Washington in “Fences”) to the militant (Viggo Mortensen in “Captain Fantastic”) and the figurative (“Moonlight’s” Mahershala Ali). (Affleck and Ali won the Oscars in, respectively, the lead and supporting actor categories.)
But this year has seen an especially heartening trend: a run of simply good, conscientious on-screen dads (including, again, one de facto dad), played by a handful of accomplished actors who have earned Oscar buzz for their wonderfully deft portrayals.
Here’s a rundown of this plenitude of positive pops:
Tracy Letts | “Lady Bird”
In recent years, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of “August: Osage County” has become a reliable acting presence in film (“The Lovers,” “The Big Short”) and on TV (“Divorce,” “Homeland”). But his enjoyably off-brand performance as Larry, the gentle father of a feisty teen (Saoirse Ronan) in Greta Gerwig’s lauded coming-of-age comedy, has shown Letts has a compassionate side we’ve rarely glimpsed.
Writer-director Gerwig, recalling the first time she met Letts (at 2016’s Sundance Film Festival), said, “I was struck by his humor and intelligence but also his kindness. As soon as I started talking to him, I knew I wanted him to play Larry. I am so grateful that he agreed. He gave the character such tenderness.”
Michael Stuhlbarg | “Call Me by Your Name”
If one amazing scene can an Oscar nod clinch (Beatrice Straight in “Network,” anyone?), then Stuhlbarg is a shoo-in as the open-minded father of every gay man’s dreams in director Luca Guadagnino’s lauded romantic drama. Stuhlbarg’s late-breaking heart-to-heart with lovelorn teenage son Elio (Timothée Chalamet) is one for the books.
Stuhlbarg called his Professor Perlman “a very present, liberal parent … generous but respectful … one who made sure that his son knew that he was there if he needed him.” He added, “I really just tried to utilize what I was given in our beautiful script [credited to James Ivory] and marry that with the natural chemistry and affection that was building with my fellow actors.”
Steve Carell | “Last Flag Flying”
After his intense portrayal of eccentric millionaire John du Pont in 2014’s “Foxcatcher,” the former “Office” star this season goes from the buffoonish Bobby Riggs in “Battle of the Sexes” to the quiet, sensitive Larry “Doc” Shepherd, a Vietnam veteran and the grieving, determined father of a fallen soldier.
Richard Linklater, “Last Flag’s” director and co-writer (with Darryl Ponicsan), said of Carell, “He’s a really thoughtful guy, a parent, and I know he had recently lost his mom. So I think the notion of the worst kind of loss was something he was willing to explore.” The filmmaker added, “I really trusted Steve’s instincts. Ultimately, it’s a very interior performance.”
Ray Romano | “The Big Sick”
No stranger to playing dads after nine seasons as family man Ray Barone on TV’s “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Romano was back in form as Terry, the geekily endearing father of ailing daughter Emily (Zoe Kazan) in this summer’s sleeper hit comedy.
For Romano, his approach to playing Terry was rooted in the personal. “I have a daughter around the same age as Emily, so it was fairly easy to tap into the fear and helplessness a father would experience in that situation,” said the actor. “The work I needed to do was to figure out who Terry was, what made him tick, and then filter all those feelings through that guy.”
Willem Dafoe | “The Florida Project”
With more than 100 feature film roles to his credit, the two-time Oscar nominee has seemingly played most every type of character, from G-men to Jesus — but not many fathers. Now, his gruffly sympathetic performance as a beleaguered motel manager who acts as a kind of default dad to a circle of ragtag kids living in the margins in Sean Baker’s much-praised drama has made Dafoe a front-runner in the supporting actor race.
“He is such a transformative actor that I knew he would be able to embody this character simply because he is so skilled,” said Baker, who co-wrote with Chris Bergoch. “His performance in ‘Platoon’ made me realize that he could easily play the hero without playing up the heroics.”
From the Oscars to the Emmys.
Get the Envelope newsletter for exclusive awards season coverage, behind-the-scenes stories from the Envelope podcast and columnist Glenn Whipp’s must-read analysis.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
