This gentleman ^ is Mahershala Ali. He has a small but vital role in Moonlight, which I just saw over the weekend. I sort of lost count of how many times I cried during Moonlight, but I know the first time I cried was when Mahershala’s character, a drug dealer named Juan, takes the young Chiron swimming in the ocean for the first time, and Juan tells Chiron a story about Cuba. Throughout the film, there are incredible, stand-out performances – especially the trifecta performances of Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes as Chiron in the three acts of the film – but Mahershala is getting some significant attention for his role. And that’s exactly as it should be. I’m not going to do a spoiler-filled review of the film, because it’s not really that kind of movie. It’s made up of these incredibly small moments and extraordinary characters, and by the end of it, I was just full on sobbing.

While many believe that Viola Davis has Best Supporting Actress wrapped up already, the supporting actor race has been up in the air. I keep hearing Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water), Michael Shannon (for anything, but especially Nocturnal Animals), Dev Patel (he could be supporting or lead though) and Lucas Hedges (the young actor in Manchester by the Sea). While I haven’t seen any or all of those performances yet, I’m saying right now that I will burn something to the ground if Mahershala Ali doesn’t get an Oscar nomination. He really does give a traditional “supporting performance,” only appearing in the first act of the film, but his presence lingers throughout the next two acts in surprising and beautiful ways.

Thankfully, the critics seem to agree with me. Mahershala has been nominated for a Critics Choice Award, he’s picking up awards as part of Moonlight’s ensemble, and now he was just named the LA Times’ Film Critics Best Supporting Actor. The LAFCA also named Moonlight the Best Picture, and Moonlight’s director Barry Jenkins their Best Director. While I think Manchester by the Sea will be a favorite in the months to come, right now, Moonlight is picking up significant steam. I feel pretty confident that the film, director and Ali will all pick up major nominations. And I’ll say it right now: I hope Ali wins. He’s wonderful.

Also: Naomie Harris – who plays Chiron’s mother – is also being shortlisted for a lot of awards early on. I’m totally fine with her being nominated for everything, but… I actually thought her performance was the weakest of the film. Go ahead and yell at me if you’ve already seen it and disagree with me! But I walked out of the theater thinking that Ali should win everything, not Naomie.

Photos courtesy of WENN.