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Shohreh Aghdashloo
House of Sand
and Fog
 he started acting in her native
Iran at the age of 20. From the moment Aghdashloo read the book by Andre Dubus
III, she knew she wanted to play
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a part, but never believed it could happen. The
casting director quizzed everyone she knew to name the best actress in the
Iranian industry. When she kept hearing Shohreh Aghdashloo, director
Vadim Perelman asked her to audition without makeup and to make him cry.
She did, and won the role. Her powerful and heartbreaking performance as
Ben Kingsley�s compassionate and loyal wife, Nadi, has already won her
the New York Film Critics Circle award for best supporting actress.
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 Patricia
Clarkson
Pieces of April
 his marks Clarkson�s first
nomination. In a performance she herself has described as funny, cruel and
heartbreaking, Clarkson plays Katie Holmes� abrasive and judgmental mother in
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Pieces of April. On the outs with her
rebellious daughter for years, and bitter after being diagnosed with terminal
cancer, Joy longs to make peace with
her daughter before it�s too late. Of her character, Clarkson told Tribute,
"I loved her beautiful sense of humor and ferociousness, and the fact that she
let everything hang out, warts and all." Also outstanding as the lost soul in
the touching film The Station
Agent, this could be Clarkson�s lucky year.
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Marcia Gay Harden
Mystic River
Three years ago, Harden won the
Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing Lee Krasner, wife of American
impressionist painter Jackson Pollock in
Pollock. Now she�s nominated for her portrayal of
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Celeste, another
troubled wife, married to a man (Tim
Robbins), she fears may be a killer. The intensity of her character,
haunted by doubt and uncertainty, will be tough for the Academy to overlook.
Harden jokes she may have to stroll the red carpet dressed in a muumuu. By
Oscar night, she�ll be more than seven months pregnant, expecting her second
child at the end of April.
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Holly Hunter
Thirteen
 scar winner Hunter (The Piano)
has another chance at the gold for her role in this harrowing drama. As Mel, a
struggling single mother, she lives out every parent�s nightmare, watching her
teenage daughter go from Barbie dolls to drugs, sex and body piercing, almost
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overnight. Hunter, who was also executive producer
of the film, realistically plays out the frantic pain of dealing with her
daughter�s teen angst and hostility, most of it aimed directly at her. Though
it was a very low budget film, Hunter says her involvement as a producer gave
her some control over the shooting schedule and to request minor rewrites of
the raw script before she agreed to accept the part.
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 Ren�e
Zellweger
Cold Mountain
She already took home the Golden
Globe for best supporting actress for this role last month. Now the frontrunner
in the Oscar race, Zellweger has quite a track
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record. She�s been nominated in the Best Actress
category for the past two years (Chicago,
2003 and Bridget Jones�s Diary,
2002). Her fiery, colorful role in Cold Mountain may finally make her a
winner. As Ada�s gutsy and independent companion, Ruby, Zellweger�s charismatic
performance brings a touch of comic relief into this dark and dramatic story.
Zellweger said she looks forward to celebrating the Oscar evening with her "Cold
Mountain friends."
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