Considering the lack of stand-out supporting male performances — in terms of buzz, that is — the Golden Globe field in the Best Supporting Actor category remains wide open.

Apart from Christoph Waltz, winner of the best actor award at Cannes and probably the most widely praised supporting male performance of the year to date, the actors listed above are all stars.

Alfred Molina's concerned dad in An Education has a better chance at landing an Oscar nod, though like Anna Kendrick among the potential best supporting actress nominees he shouldn't be dismissed here just because your average moviegoer is unfamiliar with him.

Like Meryl Streep, who may be in the running for both Julie & Julia (above) and It's Complicated in the Best Actress – Comedy or Musical category, Stanley Tucci may end up with two Golden Globe nods as well — the other one for Julie & Julia. Yet, I'd say he'll probably be mentioned only for The Lovely Bones so Hollywood Foreign Press Association members can squeeze in one more nominated star.

Both Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin stand a good chance of being shortlisted in case they're classified as "supporting" actors. If one of them gets in, my guess is that Christopher Waltz, Cannes award or no, will be the one left out.

Other possibilities are: Peter Sarsgaard in An Education, Paul Schneider in Bright Star, and Lenny Kravitz in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire. And don't be too surprised if Heath Ledger gets another posthumous nomination, this time for The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.

Less likely candidates: Richard Kind in A Serious Man; Liev Schreiber in Taking Woodstock; Anthony Mackie in The Hurt Locker; Nicholas Hoult in A Single Man; Robert Duvall and Kodi Smit-McPhee in The Road; Richard Gere in Amelia; and Woody Harrelson in The Messenger.