And the Oscar doesn’t go to: 20 great actors who’ve never been nominated for an Academy Award
A surprising number of A-listers have never earned the Academy's love
Film Features Actors
This year’s Academy Awards ushered in a historic number of first-time nominees; 16 of the 20 candidates in the acting and supporting acting categories are new to the Oscars. From longtime industry favorites like Jamie Lee Curtis and Bill Nighy to exciting newcomers like Paul Mescal and Stephanie Hsu, the 2023 class brought a rare infusion of fresh blood into cinema’s most prestigious awards race.
Countless other stars, though, are still waiting for their first taste of Oscar recognition—and a surprising number of them are acclaimed actors with decades of outstanding work behind them. Read on to see if your favorite unheralded (by the Academy, at least) actor made our list of the 20 best performers who have never been nominated for an Academy Award.
98 Comments
Jennifer Lopez? Give me a break.
Danny Glover should have been nominated and won for To Sleep With Anger. Not sure how you forgot that.
We’re just not going to talk about this?
I agree it is a crying shame Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton never got a nomination for Re-Animator, From Beyond, or Castle Freaks.
lol as soon as I saw the title I thought of Dr West. Combs was perfect for that role.
Stuart Gordon, that man who started as a champion and almost mentor for David Mamet and who always took acting and theatre seriously.
I was going to keep my “Yeah, she’s young and will win someday for some British prestige thing, but goddamnit Mia Goth should be nominated this year for Pearl, the Academy dismisses horror films” rant to myself, but instead I will draft in behind you here.
I would like to request consideration for Martin Sheen as well for this award and more acting awards in general, please.
Wow I can’t believe he’s never been nominated for an Oscar. He’s got numerous Emmy’s, Golden Globes, and SAGs.
The only real travesty here is Donald Sutherland.
Too soon to say Demi Moore could’ve been nominated for GI Jane?
This is gold. You’re my hero.
We could have had slappage 20 years ago!!
Let’s not conflate attractiveness and charisma with acting ability.
Yeah a lot of these fall into that category (Lopez, for instance). Good actors with solid screen presences but nothing that screams “best in class.”
Definitely worthy in the roles mentioned in the piece, though.. Selena, Hustlers (a surprise snub on Oscar morning), even Out of Sight! Probably her best work. Definitely could’ve rounded out the Oscar lineup instead of Meryl Streep in One True Thing zzzzzzzzzzzz
I think Out of Sight took people by surprise, plus it’s really grown in peoples’ estimation over the years. Soderbergh wasn’t yet the name he is today either, so it was probably initially received as a solid police/crime flick.
She could of been good if she concentrated on just acting and finding good scripts and directors.
I agree. Lopez was the much more interesting choice for a terrific performance. I know everyone loves Meryl but I don’t need to see her nominated for everything she is in.
Out of Sight should’ve been nominated for everything. And agreed, the best work JL ever did.
Agreed. But I’d go further as to say her performance in Hustlers was a little overrated. Sure, it’s best work for her, maybe, considering her catalog. But in isolation, I can see a dozen actresses playing the part just as well.
Yeah…tbh no one loves Idris Elba more than I do, but I can’t say he’s done anything deserving of an Oscar win yet. Not to say he doesn’t have the ability to do it, and one day he might, but I can’t say that based on the roles he’s had that he should have won yet. He’s awfully good, but it’s not a crime that he hasn’t won an Oscar yet. And Meg Ryan and Jennifer Lopez…just…no.
I was thinking Demi Moore. She’s the weakest part of A Few Good Men. Her sparring with Nicholson in the Cuba scene was good but anytime she gets a Sorkin monologue (e.g. confronting Cruise at the softball practice) it just sounds memorized rather than acted.
I feel she should’ve been nominated for Ghost. I bought every minute of her performance. She was perfection going through the stages of grief.But, that was a hard year. Kathy Bates in Misery, Angelica Huston in The Grifters, Steep in Postcards, Roberts in Pretty Woman. I suppose I would’ve given her the 5th slot and bumped Joanne Woodward in Mr & Mrs Bridge.
Yeah people still remember her performance from Ghost. No one even could tell you what Mr. and Mrs. Bridge was about.
I mean, that doesn’t really account for about 50% of these.
You can add Out of Sight to the list for Jennifer Lopez, she was fantastic in that. For Steve Martin, I would add The Spanish Prisoner.
LA Story, as well. Great movie
Only a matter of time for a few of these. I see Blunt, Elba and McGregor all winning at some point. I think Carrey would already be off this list if he hadn’t gone so hard for Oscar bait like The Majestic. Still time though.Lane’s too much a stage animal, playing to the back row (which is fine). Martin also perhaps also a bit hammy, but I could see him pulling it off. Buscemi is one of the most interesting actors out there but likes to take offbeat roles that probably won’t get a nod. Agree he should have been nominated for Fargo through.Honestly surprised to see Goodman and Sutherland on the list.Cusack, Gere, Grant – all good/not great. My addition would be Alfred Molina.
You and I are on the same page for almost all of this. I would notch up Buscemi even a bit more than yourself, but I am also personally being influenced by his work on he Sopranos, which does not help for the Oscars.
Patrick Stewart obviously never had a ton of award-type roles later in his career (not that he hasn’t done some interesting stuff, like Green Room) but man it would have been cool for him to get nominated for Logan. I’m also always surprised when I remember Dick Van Dyke never landed an Oscar nomination, just by virtue of being beloved and around the business for nearly a century. Goodman should have gotten some kind of supporting nod at some point. He does indelible work crafting characters.
Got to do movies to take advantage of being beloved. He’s not done one single role in film that could have been Oscar bait for himself in the last 50 years.
Also how can they mention Elba’s first role to get him notice and not mention Stringer Bell on The Wire.
Came here to say this, and his role in “The Wire” was nearly a decade before “Luther” to boot.
While Richard Gere is Oscar free, he did have a gerbil up his butt once, so there is that.
That gerbil is laughing from gerbil heaven, as Richard Gere gets older, and more and more, he is remembered just for the gerbil story
Didn’t Sylvester Stallone take credit for starting that rumor?
Lol Stallone better not take credit for that, he’s got one of his own “floating” around: apparently he’s into the old Glass Bottom Boat (vomit emoji)
Kind of like Hugh Grant, also on the list. Tons of great roles, but first thing I remember is the blow job arrest.
I don’t immediately think of it, but that’s mainly crowded out by my annoyance in his “charmingly befuddled stammering guy” routine, which may just be his real self. He was even doing it in Lair Of The White Worm
High point of Jay Leno’s career, landing the first interview afterwards.“What were you thinking?”
Also curious about that question:
He has been good playing evil roles recently.
I can assure you, sir, none of us are laughing.
This is Kirsten Dunst erasure! Although I do think it’s likely she’ll get one soon enough,
But she was nominated last year?I agree though – she’ll probably win one at some point,
Wait, J Lo from Hustlers deserves an oscar?
I wonder if for Buscemi it is an association thing. I mean he has been in 5 Cohen bros movie, but he has also been in like 15 Adam Sandler movies. I can see that hurting his chances with some voters, but at the same time after being in that many Sandler movies he probably doesn’t care.
Two Tarantino movies too.
And he was in Airheads
Adam Sandler has been in even more Adam Sandler movies, and the fact that he wasn’t nominated for Uncut Gems might prove your theory.
Few of these surprise me. JLo is the one that just seems like clickbait to have here…she was good in ONE movie…and for some reason 50% of people don’t get what a shitty movie Hustlers was. Donald Sutherland is apparently a real jerk, so maybe that’s why for him. Some of these people it seems just missed, like Demi Moore could have easily been nommed for A Few Good Men even if she’s a pretty terrible actress overall; Hugh Grant could have been nommed for Paddington 2. But one thing most of the people on this list have in common is that they’re hot and not great actors. Buscemi is the best actor on this list, and should have been nommed for Fargo, but it’s hard to pick what other performances would have got him noms really…Reservoir Dogs was too far off the radar, Ghost World he would have had to be leading actor, etc. Hopefully he’s just content with being awesome and universally beloved. I hope the Coens give him one more big role before they pack it in. I also wholeheartedly agree with whoever said Alfred Molina…maybe it’s because his early work was mostly seen in England…Prick Up Your Ears is amazingFunnily, if Ewan McGregor had stayed on the “Shallow Grave” “Trainspotting” tip instead of wanting so badly to be boring he might have a nom by now.
McGregor took a big ol’ swing for the fences with American Pastoral, which proved a major misfire. Casting himself as a hulking blonde Jew so distinctive people called him “Swede” didn’t help. Shame too, what a great novel.
I remember that…that was a much bigger miss than casting Anthony Hopkins in The Human Stain
Moore actually surprised me the most, even though I think she’s not always the most amazing actress, she still has a massive amount of star quality, and the Oscars usually love that at least for a nom.
It seems like there has at times been a little bit of “keep these hot kids away from our oscars!” or making Charlize Theron dress up like Pete’s Dragon to get one. The Oscars are (a) partly corrupt (see: Weinstein, Harvey) and (b) it’s taken them like 14 years to nominate someone in a Marvel movie…we get it, they are (other than three or four entries in the expanded Best Picture category each year) art v. commerce lol. But that has also led them to give the award to just the wrong person sometimes. Demi Moore could have been at least nominated that year, and Tom Cruise famously should have won over Michael Caine’s not-as-good-as-usual performance in the mostly forgotten The Cider House Rules
JLo’s a competent actress. Oscar nominee? Not that I’ve seen.
Birdcage was 1996, not 1994, get it together.
Jennifer Lopez?! It’s the Oscars, not the fucking Teen Choice Awards.
J Lo…Sure.
Yeah, I agree with someone else that mentioned J Lo is probably there to insure the comments get going.
Getting nominated for Selena wouldn’t have been crazy, but yeah it’s not like she has a career where I’m like “what, never even *nominated*?” like Sutherland, which legit surprised me. I just assumed that somewhere along the line he’d have gotten one.
I do think there’s something to be said with Donald Sutherland that while it is a huge surprise when you look at the years of some of his biggest movies and who was nominated/won, it’s also just a reminder that that chunk of time was CRAZY in terms of amazing performances.
Hugh Grant, really? I didn’t know his reputation was on the way back up. I was looking at Sense and Sensibility recently and thinking just how strong the cast is, even in the secondary parts, with HG being the only obvious weak link.
Let me correct Hugh Grant’s “Could have been nominated for” list to include About A Boy. Sure sure, I know it isn’t an Oscar rewarding type of role, but that’s far and away my favorite movie on his resume.
I about fell over when I learned Nicholas Hoult was the kid from that movie.
There are fans of the movie Out of Sight that SCREAM about J.Lo (and the other actors) getting snubbed for that movie. A critical review of Lopez’s film roles would highlight her performance of Karen Sisco as Oscar-worthy.
Would like to note, historically speaking, Edward G. Robinson. Typecast as a gangster, he still put on major performances in other genres – even comedies – and was constantly denied an Oscar nomination. Double Indemnity, where he played the good guy insurance partner to Fred MacMurray’s scheming lead role, should have been a no-brainer Supporting Actor nom. And his role as Rocco in Key Largo remains iconic to this day.
Great response, thanks. I would like to add his portrayal of Sol in Soylent Green: poignant and quietly powerful. I cry every time.
Edward G. Robinson was one person on my “If they are going to mention people who are dead, then why not X” list.
Another one on that list that might surprise some people is Boris Karloff, who got pigeonholed as a horror movie actor – to the point that he was considering quitting acting until Val Lewton hired him. But in my opinion, having seen both performances, Karloff’s performance in The Body Snatcher was more deserving of the performance that actually won that year (Ray Milland for The Lost Weekend), great as the winning performance was. But there was no way they were going to nominate someone for a performance in a low-budget B picture.
I enjoy the Oscars and always want who I believe is the most deserving to win but I also don’t get upset when they don’t. Because EDWARD G ROBINSON was never nominated during his career and that is, arguably, one of the most egregious omissions of all time.
Parker Posey (Party Girl, House of Yes, Waiting for Guffman)Melanie Lynskey (Heavenly Creatures, Hello I Must be Going, Sweet Home Alabama)
Correct
Idris Elba made a name for himself in British television with the award-winning detective series Luther,
Quite a performance by Oscar winner Jason Robards in the Steve Martin clip.
Everyone’s great in that movie, and holy shit what a murderer’s row. I know many feel the ending is too pat given the chaos that reigns throughout the rest of the film but there’s not a false performance anywhere.
JC, Robards’ character says he’s 64 in the clip but he was 67-ish. He looks almost 80 to me. I guess people really did age faster back in the day.
20 great (English-speaking) actors who’ve never been nominated for an Academy Awardftfy
Jennifer Lopez is not a great actor, so not sure why she’s listed here. Demi Moore really ain’t anything special either.
John Goodman deserved, at the least, a nomination for “True Stories.” Hugh Grant was terrific in “Florence Foster Jenkins,” and Donald Sutherland was the best thing in “Ordinary People.”
Lopez’ best role was only due to the fact she had insane chemistry with Clooney and was directed by Soderbergh in a fantastic screenplay penned by Scott Frank. See also: Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich. Say what you will about Soderbergh but he got performances out of these women no other director has ever been able to.
YES!Emily Blunt- Not surprised. Not important enough in Prada, and Mary Poppins? Naw. Those aren’t it. But she’ll get hers. I’m sure of it.Steve Buschemi- Not surprised. He’s that guy everyone takes for granted how much they appreciate him. Could be the story of his life.Jim Carrey- Not surprised. The Academy has looked down their nose at him forever. But I don’t want him to stop trying. John Cusack- A little surprised. But I’m not a big fan him, so it’s whatever.Idris Elba- Surprised! He might be the single most universally loved actor in the industry right now. It’s coming.Mia Farrow- Surprised! I thought she had been for Rosemary’s Baby. Learn something new every day. Richard Gere- I think he’s the weak link in Chicago, they were right to snub him, and that leaves him with no reasons why he should be an Oscar nominee. Danny Glover- A little surprised. A class act and industry mainstay. The Color Purple was it. I fear time has run out. John Goodman- Not surprised. But he’s so reliable, maybe I should be surprised. What if I added his drug-dealing supporting role to Denzel in Flight? Hugh Grant- Surprised, but I’m fine with this. He’s another one of those guys I never cared for. But I did like him in Nine Months.Nathan Lane- Surprised! I read somewhere the Oscars were invented for Nathan Lane, probably by Nathan Lane. Look it up.Jennifer Lopez- Not surprised. She can be pretty good. But my threshold of Oscar nominations needs to be better than just ‘pretty good.’Steve Martin- Not Surprised. The Academy has been confusing Parenthood with Father of the Bride same as me, for years. Ewan McGregor- Surprised! And it pisses me off. Marilyn Monroe- Surprised, but I shouldn’t be. It’s well documented the industry was happy to be titillated by her, but didn’t think much of her.Demi Moore- Not surprised, but it’s not fair. She holds Ghost together (otherwise it’d be cheesy) and kept Cruise grounded in A Few Good Men. I’ve always thought she was underrated.Meg Ryan- Lol.Donald Sutherland- Surprised! He’s always felt so prestigious any time he shows up. Like he’s already got 10 of these. Bruce Willis- Not surprised. But I’m willing to bet he would have if he kept making movies like The Sixth Sense.Robin Wright- Surprised! Wouldn’t have happened when she was younger, but currently? I’m waiting any minute now.
I honestly thought Blunt had been nominated for Young Victoria so I was a little surprised.
Really surprised Donald Sutherland hasn’t been nominated.Thought Richard Gere was nominated for An Officer and a Gentleman, but he was not (did get a Golden Globe nomination)
I assume they’re already printing one of those “You got it rough in the aging department here’s a lifetime achievement one” trophies for Willis.
Donald Sutherland not having any nominations is patently absurd.
Because this list is laughably only including predominantly English-speaking actors, let’s mention some of the most egregiously snubbed from other parts of the world.I’ll start. Toshiro Mifune. Setsuko Hara. Tony Leung. Maggie Cheung. Hanna Schygulla. Gael García Bernal. Jean-Louis Trintignant. Giulietta Masina.
No mention of the great Ed Harris? Hard to believe…he never misses and has had a long string of terrific performances. He’s long overdue, but perhaps he’ll get one for his entire career.
I will agree with your Ed Harris & add: Fred Ward
Ed Harris has had four Oscar nominations, he doesn’t count for this list
Why do people (media people) insist Jennifer Lopez is an award-worthy actress?? She is a decent actress, but has never risen to that level. Hustlers, in particular, is so overrated, I honestly don’t get the appeal of the performances nor the sympathy shown the real-life women. So baffling!
Although it’s a limited series and not a movie, please see Emily Blunt in The English.
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Clearly Marilyn Monroe should have starred in Blonde.
James Earl Jones should have gotten nominated (and won) for Best Supporting Actor for FIELD OF DREAMS.
I want a special award for John Goodman’s line-reading in Argo of “I can teach a rhesus monkey to be a director”.
Please submit a follow-up column/slideshow…”slidelumn?”…re:“Our Bad” Consolation Oscar wins to make up for shit they should’ve won it for instead. I’ll start:Jerermy Irons cryptically thanked David Cronenberg for his (ironically titled, in context) Reversal of Fortune Best Actor win, because everyone assembled knew he was really winning for his career height work in Dead Ringers.Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman? Seriously?Same with Newman winning for Color of Money.Zellweger for her Granny Clampett impersonation in Cold Mountain instead of her screen-melting turn as Roxie Hart.
Purple Rose of Cairo is my favorite Mia Farrow performance (and Woody Allen picture), but one role I really thought would’ve gotten her a nomination was Broadway Danny Rose. She’s so brassy and “different than Mia Farrow” I would’ve thought the Academy would’ve taken that bait in a heartbeat.
If we’re going the “dead people” route, I’ll recommend four that IMO should have been nominated but weren’t: John Cazale for “The Godfather Part 2″, Strother Martin for “Cool Hand Luke”, Richard Pryor for “Lady Sings the Blues” or “Blue Collar” and Larry Hagman for “Fail Safe”.