MovieChat Forums > Paper Moon (1973) Discussion > I think Ryan ONeal should also have been...

I think Ryan ONeal should also have been nominated


Does anyone else think Ryan ONeal gave the best performance in the movie. I think Tatum ONeal was fantastic and deserved the Oscar, but Ryan was thereby overshadowed, and not even nominated. I thought he was amazing in Paper Moon.

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Yes I think he was awesome.

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I agree. I was surprised to find out that he wasn't nominated - especially since Madeline Khan was!

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Well, Ryan would have been in the Lead Actor category. That year that list was:

WINNER
Save the Tiger: Jack Lemmon
NOMINEES
Last Tango in Paris: Marlon Brando
The Last Detail: Jack Nicholson
Serpico: Al Pacino
The Sting: Robert Redford


Granted that Ryan O'Neal gave a very good performance here. But are you really surprised that O'Neal didn't finish ahead of any of those five? Remember that the Academy has always had a strong tendency to downgrade comic performances (nobody ever said that was fair). And, out of idle curiosity, which of those five would you take off the nominees list?

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I would take Redford off the list. His performance in The Sting did not deserve a nomination, especially over O'Neal.

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In 1973, no way. I count at least 10 lead performances in that years American film who´d deserved it more. And Paper Moon is undoubtedly his offspring´s film; it´s her that carries it acting wise.



"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

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I need to see more films from the year to comment on whether he deserved a nomination but given he was in a hit, was a recent past nominee and the studio presumably spent a ton of money campaigning for him, I'm a little surprised he was snubbed. Not hugely, though - the male acting categories are usually very competitive for nominations and that seems to be the case this year with Steve McQueen and George Segal also missing out.

Anyone read his book? Does he mention the snub?

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Ryan and Tatum were compatible... Certainly playing off one another. They were a great team! Such a cute movie in a way.

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Retro is heavily playing this. This is one of my Top 10 all time favorite movies.

Totally agreed.

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I think O'Neal did a great job on the movie, but perhaps he lacked at least one scene to showcase the character's full acting potential, perhaps by making the scene of him looking at Addie longer.

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I agree, this was probably Ryan O'Neal's career best performance. Unfortunately for him, his daughter stole the show. As it turned out, this became a point of contention within the family, as Ryan was very bitter about being snubbed. This may have even a source of the complete dysfunction within the family, which led to father and daughter to become estranged for decades.

Still, this film is a treasure, and holds up favorably to any other film made that year. The ultimate irony is that the characters in this film were pretty similar to the actors who portrayed them.

"For dark is the suede that mows like a harvest"

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Ryan O'Neal should have been very happy for his daughter! A parent should always want the very best for their child and be proud of their child's achievements.

That said, I thought his performance in this movie was excellent.

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I think plenty of scenes did it for me...the "eat your coney island" argument scene, the scene when he told Addie that they'd be having company on their trip (flustered and nervous before a mere girl) and the "wrasslin" scene, in particular. Damn, every single thing he did in the entire movie...things seemingly so insignificant as checking his watch when he was considering the $200 payoff, winking at Addie after knocking out Leroy, and putting the gold cap on his tooth before going into his Bible-selling spiel.

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Ryan's best role ever, criminally overlooked come Oscar time!

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