18. Sally Hawkins: Best Supporting Actress

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzGkMEe7AyI&w=584&h=390]

Sally Hawkins is one of the most reliably great actresses in Hollywood, giving the best performance of 2008 in the little-seen Mike Leigh film Happy-Go-Lucky. In a slow year for Supporting Actresses, it’s likely she’ll sneak in here as a Stella DuBois type torn between her loyalty to her adopted sister and her fiance. Hawkins’ role in Blue Jasmine isn’t as showy as Blanchett’s, but Sally Hawkins does amazing things with subtlety and quiet compassion. She breaks your heart.