TIME's Oscar Guide

There are time when winning an Oscar is something you have to atone for. That was Tomei's lot in 1993, when she was named Best Supporting Actress for playing Joe Pesci's sleazy girlfriend in My Cousin Vinny. Instant Hollywood legend had it that Jack Palance called out the wrong name — in part because broad comedy isn't often rewarded with statuettes, and in part because... Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny!? Well, she's since made up for it, giving sharp, usually tart performances in indie films like In the Bedroom, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead and this Mickey Rourke remake of Rocky, on steroids. Tomei knows that her role, as a stripper who has a soft spot for the Mick, is already awash in lumpen sentiment, so she plays it as someone who's both dog-tired of her life and aware that it can only get worse from here. In the celestial scheme of things, if Vinny got Tomei an Oscar, The Wrestler should win her a Nobel. (Odds of winning: 10 to 1)