Oscars flashback: 5 reasons why Tommy Lee Jones (‘The Fugitive’) ran off with the Best Supporting Actor prize

Tariq Khan
·6 min read
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Robert Downey Jr. in “Oppenheimer” had it easy this year.

He took the early lead in Gold Derby’s official Oscar odds for Best Supporting Actor. He widened that lead in the following months. He then swept the precursor awards. And despite landing in a powerhouse lineup that included Sterling K. Brown in “American Fiction,” Robert De Niro in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Ryan Gosling in “Barbie” and Mark Ruffalo in “Poor Things,” there was a “near zero” chance of Downey not being called to the stage to accept the Academy Award.

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But not every past recipient of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar has cruised to victory like Downey. There have been numerous nail-biters over the years.

I recall one contest in particular from three decades ago. The 1993 fabulous five included first-time nominee Leonardo DiCaprio as the autistic younger brother of Johnny Depp in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” Ralph Fiennes as a sadistic Nazi officer in “Schindler’s List,” Tommy Lee Jones as a no-nonsense U.S. Marshal trailing erroneously convicted murderer Harrison Ford in “The Fugitive,” John Malkovich as a would-be Presidential assassin being pursued by Clint Eastwood in “In the Line of Fire,” and Pete Postlethwaite as the ailing father of a wrongly accused Daniel Day-Lewis for “In the Name of the Father.” Each one was exceptional in his role, and arguably would been worthy of the Oscar.

So how did Jones manage to fiercely fend off his rivals? Here are five reasons why.

1. The general consensus at the time was that he stole the movie.
“The Fugitive” opened in August 1993 to stellar reviews and boffo box office. Much of the praise for the film centered on Jones’s performance. Critics singled him out for taking what might have been a cliched, curmudgeonly character and injecting him with the perfect combination of intelligence, wit and humor. As for audiences, I recall seeing “The Fugitive” at the cinema and witnessing laughs, cheers and applause for Jones throughout the film. (His request for a “chocolate doughnut with some of those little sprinkles on top” was particularly well-received.) Leading man Ford was terrific as usual, but couldn’t escape being upstaged by Jones. That explains why Ford missed out on a nom, and Jones went home with the gold.

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2. It was the best place for the academy to reward “The Fugitive.”
Remember that it beat out the likes of “The Age of Innocence,” “Philadelphia” and “Short Cuts” to make the Best Picture shortlist in a year filled with standout films. If voters were looking to go with something mainstream, they could have just as easily chosen “Jurassic Park” or “Sleepless in Seattle.” The fact that they selected “The Fugitive” speaks volumes. It scored a total of seven nominations – five of them in tech categories (Cinematography, Film Editing, Score, Sound and Sound Editing.) With “Schindler’s List” and “Jurassic Park” dominating those areas, Best Supporting Actor was the only logical place left to support “The Fugitive.” (It obviously wasn’t going to take Best Picture away from the heavily favored “Schindler’s List.”) That left Jones with a leg up over the rest.

3. He was seen as being due for recognition.
Jones was a respected veteran even back then, having delivered strong performances in films like 1980’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” 1981’s “Back Roads” and 1986’s “Black Moon Rising.” It’s hard to believe that his first shot at the Oscar didn’t come until his supporting turn in 1991’s “JFK.” Had he not been facing an even more overdue Jack Palance in “City Slickers,” it’s possible that Jones might have hit the jackpot for “JFK.” Sally Kirkland (a Best Actress nominee of 1987 for “Anna”) told reporters on the 66th Academy Awards red carpet that she had voted for Jones in “The Fugitive,” explaining that “it’s his time.” Other academy members clearly felt the same way.

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4. He won both the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and Golden Globe Awards.
Keep in mind that this was back in the day before we had the big four televised precursors. The SAG Awards wouldn’t even be introduced until the following year. So other kudos carried significantly more weight. The distinction from the respected Los Angeles Film Critics established Jones as a serious contender. The trophy at the Golden Globes solidified his position as the frontrunner. (This despite the the fact that Jones wasn’t present at the ceremony to collect the award.) The other men in the category just didn’t have the opportunity to gain any momentum ahead of Oscar voting. Therefore, they couldn’t “keep up with the Jones” (as in Tommy Lee).

5. There was nobody who could beat him.
It’s a fairly straightforward process of elimination. Postlethwaite was perhaps the biggest surprise in the acting nominations. For Pete’s sake, he was lucky to have even been included. The young DiCaprio was astonishing, but he was the lone nominee plucked from the teensy “Grape.” And there was already a feeling that he would have many chances in the future. (He would finally win Best Actor for 2015’s “The Revenant.”) Fiennes was indeed fine in “Schindler’s List.” Still, he was also a relative newcomer to the Hollywood scene. And it would have seemed to strange to honor the villain of the film over the hero “Schindler” himself. (It was widely expected that Liam Neeson would lose Best Actor to Tom Hanks in “Philadelphia.”) And then there was Malkovich in “In the Line of Fire.” The respected character actor earned his first nomination for 1984’s “Places in the Heart.” (Fun fact: the actor and I grew up in the same place – the small town of Benton, Illinois. His first Oscar bid was big news at the time.) If only the July-released “In the Line of Fire” hadn’t been overshadowed by the huge success of “The Fugitive” one month later. Then the marvelous Mr. Malkovich might have been in line to fire. But with the way that the race shaped up, there was just no one who was able to get past Jones in “The Fugitive.” He spent the entire film chasing his co-star Ford. He ended up getting his man – and the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor of 1993.

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