Supporting performances are the glue that holds a film together, the pretty wallpaper that sets the stage, the mirror that reflects the grand show of the stars. And so it's when those supporting performers blast out of the background and steal the spotlight for themselves, if only for a moment, that you realize how powerful and touching and funny and sad their work is, too. Here are the actors who did it all best in 2006: held up their costars while distinguishing themselves at the same time ... and the scene in which they cinched it:

Best Supporting Actor

1. Mark Wahlberg, The Departed [my review]: the contest of insults with Alec Baldwin

2. Paul Dano, Little Miss Sunshine [my review]: the stop-the-car-I-gotta-get-out sequence

3. Daniel Craig, Infamous [my review]: to kiss Capote? or to kill him?

4. Freddy Rodriguez, Bobby [my review]: watching the ambulance pull away, thunderstuck

5. Adam Beach, Flags of Our Fathers [my review]: insisting he's not a hero

Best Supporting Actress

1. Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal [my review]: juggling lovers on Christmas Day

2. Janet McTeer, Tideland: sewing lessons on a less-than-lifelike dummy

3. Geraldine Hughes, Rocky Balboa [my review]: pride makes her refuse a job

4. Marcia Gay Harden, The Dead Girl: writing a check, or an address?

5. Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls: and she is telling us she is not going

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