USDemocrazy is back with the second in our series of Oscar predictions in advance of the big night on February 26.

Today we are looking at the “supporting” category. We like this award because supporting characters can easily be scene stealers and elevate a movie as a whole.

Here’s the finalists for Actor in a Supporting Role:

• Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
• Jonah Hill in Moneyball
• Nick Nolte in Warrior
• Christopher Plummer in Beginners
• Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

The biggest shocker here could be Jonah Hill who is best known for his comedic roles. This, his first dramatic role was very well-received and he provided a surprisingly strong foil to Brad Pitt in the film.

Max von Sydow’s performance in Extremely Loud… was extremely quiet as he had a very small part with no actual dialogue. We think he wasn’t quite as deserving as other actors this year, such as Albert Brooks in Drive or Patton Oswalt in Young Adult.

When Rise of the Planet of the Apes came out there was a huge campaign to recognize Andy Serkis for his motion capture work as the ape, Caesar. Obviously the Academy isn’t quite ready to tread those waters.

The favorite at this point seems to be Christopher Plummer, who already won the Golden Globe for his take on an elderly man who comes out as gay after his wife passes away. We think it will be a big surprise if this award goes a different way.

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Bérénice Bejo in The Artist
• Jessica Chastain in The Help
• Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids
• Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs
• Octavia Spencer in The Help

Another category with a pretty standard set of nominees with the exception of yet another comic performer.

This time it’s Melissa McCarthy who recently took home the Emmy for best comedic actress.  Though the Emmy celebrates television work some think her high profile performance in Bridesmaids helped boost her case.

This reminds us of Robert Downey Jr’s nomination from 2008’s Tropic Thunder for his incredible commitment in an out-there role as a white man pretending to be a black man. While we doubt McCarthy will win, it’s still pretty cool that comedic performers Like Hill and McCarthy are getting more respect.

We think the biggest snub in this category belongs to Shailene Woodley’s heart-wrenching and honest performance in The Descendants. Her only prior claim to fame was as the lead in Secret Life of the American Teenager. Who knew she was capable of such an affecting acting job? We are disappointed she didn’t make the cut.

If we continue using the Golden Globes as a predictor, then Octavia Spencer is the favorite for this category. She has been highly praised for her role in The Help, which featured a number of strong female performances.

But while we agree Jessica Chastain deserved a nomination, we really think it should have been for The Tree of Life, which required a more demanding performance than her role in The Help. She also had excellent performances in 2011 for Take Shelter and The Debt. We think she has a good chance of winning this category if the Academy lets her successful year influence their voting, and with that in mind we’d like her to win too.

What do you think about this crop of nominees? Who would you rather see nominated? Who do you think will win?