Characters Portrayed by Oscar Winners: Part III Quiz

Answer: Edna Spalding

Sally Field is an American film and television actress. Sally Field won her second Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Edna Spalding in the 1984 drama film "Places in the Heart". Edna Spalding tries to raise her two children on their farm after her husband, the local sheriff, is killed.

She takes on a black drifter (Moses) to help her run and save the farm which does not go down well with the white population. Eventually they produce cotton thanks to Moses, which also aggravates the white population. Moses's life is threatened by the Klu Klux Klan but all works out in the end in the local community.

Answer: Fast Eddie Felson

Paul Newman (1925-2008) is an American actor who has received Academy Award nominations in five different decades. Besides his Honorary Award in 1993 he won his only Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1986 drama "The Color of Money". The film " The Color of Money" is a continuation from Newman's movie of 1959, "The Hustler". 25 years later Fast Eddie Felson is now retired, but decides to take on a young hustler, just like himself of years gone by, by the name of Vincent Lauria (Tom Cruise).

He decides to teach Vincent about pool hustling.

Answer: Loretta Castorini

Born Cherilyn Sarkisian but better known as Cher, she is an American actress and singer. She was part of the folk rock duo of "Sonny & Cher" with her former husband Sonny Bono. As a duo they had many chart topping singles but it was in the 1987 movie "Moonstruck" that Cher won her first Academy Award for Best Actress. Loretta Castorini was a 37 year old Italian-American widow who lived with her parents.

She becomes engaged to Johnny (Danny Aiello) but while Johnny is overseas she falls in love with his younger brother.

Answer: Raymond Babbitt

Dustin Hoffman won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1980 movie "Kramer vs. Kramer". His second Oscar came with his role as Raymond Babbitt in the 1989 movie "Rain Man". Raymond Babbitt is an autistic savant, meaning he has impaired social interaction but at the same time can demonstrate other capabilities in excess what one would consider normal.

The other sibling, Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), is left little of his father's multi-million estate and learns that he has a unknown brother (Raymond Babbitt) who is living in a mental institution, who is the major beneficiary of the estate. Charlie tries to obtain the bulk of the estate from his brother but eventually gets to admire and understand Raymond and is finally proud to have him as family.

Answer: Clarice Starling

Jodie Foster won her first Academy Award as Sarah Tobias in the 1988 movie "The Accused". Her second Academy Award was her role as Clarice Starling in the horror thriller "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991). Clarice Starling is an FBI trainee and is assigned to interview a former psychiatrist and imprisoned cannibalistic serial killer named Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins).

The purpose of the interviewing of Lecter is that the FBI hope he may be able to give insight to the capture of a serial killer who is at large and who skins his female victims's corpses. Anthony Hopkins won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

Answer: David Helfgott

Geoffrey Rush is an Australian actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as David Helfgott in the biographical drama "Shine" (1996). David Helfgott is an Australian concert pianist who studied at the Royal College of Music in London, but later suffered a mental breakdown and spent many years in mental institutions.

The movie received seven Academy Award nominations, winning just the one for Geoffrey Rush.

Answer: Marge Gunderson

Frances McDormand won her Academy Award as Marge Gunderson in the 1996 black comedy crime movie "Fargo". Marge Gunderson is seven months pregnant and the chief of police of the city of Brainerd near Fargo. She investigates road-side homicides after a car salesman, who is in financial trouble, hires two criminals to kidnap his wife for a huge ransom from her wealthy father.

There are a number of killings and double-crosses during the movie but eventually Marge Gunderson solves the crime.

Answer: Jimmy Markum

Sean Penn won the Academy Award for his portrayal of James "Jimmy" Markum in the crime drama movie "Mystic River" (2003). The movie was directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. The movie received six Academy Award nominations, winning two, being Best Actor (Sean Penn) and Best Supporting Actor (Tim Robbins).

The story is about three young friends (Jimmy, Dave and Sean) growing up in Boston who go on to lead different lives. They continue to live in the same area but circumstances of the killing of Jimmy Markum's daughter drag the former friends together with unusual results. Sean (Kevin Bacon), who is now a detective, investigates the killing and Jimmy kills Dave (Tim Robbins) thinking he was the killer of his daughter, only to find that he was innocent.

Answer: Margaret Thatcher

After two Academy Awards ("Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Sophie's Choice") Meryl Streep won her third for her role as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" (2011). Meryl Streep portrays the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in her later years of political life and retirement.

The role of Thatcher in her early political life was played by Alexandra Roach. Many critics claim that Streep's role of Margaret Thatcher is one of her greatest screen performances.

Answer: Idi Amin

Forest Whitaker won his Academy Award for Best Actor as he portrayed former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film "The Last King of Scotland".
The film is a mixture of fact and fiction based on the life of the Ugandan dictator who enjoyed giving himself imperial titles and one of them was King of Scotland.