[SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from Netflix’s Train Dreams.]

There’s a saying in show biz: there are no small roles — just small actors. Case in point: Alfred Hsing in Netflix’s Train Dreams.

Clint Bentley’s adaptation of Denis Johnson’s award-winning novella — already singled out as a contender in the Oscars sweepstakes — trails the life of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), a woodsman and railroad hand at the dawn of the 20th century.