Some actors deliver great performances and get showered with awards. Others deliver great performances and just get hosed. We’re very glad Leonardo DiCaprio finally made it out of the latter list.
Of course, not everyone can win an Oscar; otherwise, the awards wouldn’t mean anything. But when you look at the actors and actresses who were denied an Oscar despite a record of consistently great work, you have to wonder what the Academy was thinking. Whether they were overshadowed or completely robbed, these are the brilliant actors who have never been honored with that much coveted gold statue.
1. Will Smith – This legendary actor (no pun intended) is one of the most celebrated actors out there. Many of us know Mr. Smith for his role as the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air or as one of his many, many action roles (Wild Wild West, Men In Black, I Am Legend, and more.) It may be surprising to learn that Will Smith has never won an Oscar, and before nominations were announced, it look like he might have had a shot at winning Best Actor for his role in the movie Concussion. While he was nominated for a Golden Globe this year, he lost out to DiCaprio, however, not even being nominated for an Oscar seemed like a huge snub on the part Academy. He has however, been nominated in the past, for his leading roles in Ali (2001) and the Pursuit of Happiness (2006).
2. Amy Adams – Before breaking into Oscar-worthy roles, Amy Adams was best known for taking roles nobody else wanted. However, she has come a long way since then, and has been nominated a total of five times! She was nominated best supporting actress four times, in 2006 for Junebug, 2009 for Doubt, 2011 for The Fighter, and in 2013 for The Master. At the 2014 Academy Awards, Amy Adams was nominated for Best Actress in a leading role for her role in American Hustle.
3. Johnny Depp – He has played so many roles at this point, you might not even know what he looks like. With roles as diverse as Edward Scissorhands, Captain Jack Sparrow, the Mad Hatter, and many, many, many more. He has been nominated three times, all for Best Actor, for his roles in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Finding Neverland, and Sweeny Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street.
4. Glenn Close – Glenn Close has been nominated for an astounding six Oscars but has never managed to take one home with her. She is one of the most accomplished actress’s in Hollywood, but has never taken one of those cool little statues. She has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress three times each. Her best support actress nominations include The World According to Garp, The Big Chill, and The Natural. She was nominated for Best Actress for her work in Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons, and Albert Nobbs. However, our favorite Glenn Close role was Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians.
5. Viola Davis – Viola Davis is the type of actress that steals any scene she is involved in. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Doubt, a movie in which she was only in a single scene. She was also nominated for Best Leading Actress for her role in The Help but lost out to Meryl Streep’s Iron Lady. She has, however, won several Tony awards, and she won a Primetime Emmy for How To Get Away With Murder. Her next role, Amanda Waller in DC Comic’s Suicide Squad, will probably not win her any awards, as superhero movies don’t tend to be nominated for these kinds of things.
6. Ralph Fiennes – Though probably best known for his role as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter saga (alongside Helena Bonham Carter), Fiennes has played roles ranging from M in some of the James Bond films to M. Gustave in the Grand Budapest Hotel. Fiennes has been nominated for an Oscar twice, Best Leading Actor for The English Patriotand Best Supporting Actor for Schindler’s List.
7. Helena Bonham Carter – Keeping with our theme of Tim Burton’s favorite people, Johnny Depp’s constant co-star, Helena Bonham Carter has also never won an Academy Award. She has 88 acting credits to her name and has been nominated for seven Golden Globes, three Emmy’s, and two Oscars, and has never won any of them! Either she has really, really bad luck, or the people behind award ceremonies hate her. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The King’s Speech and Best Actress forThe Wings of the Dove. She didn’t even get a nod for Harry Potter, which we consider travesty!
8. Hugo Weaving – Among the geek-side of the universe, there is no actor more deserving of an Oscar than Hugo Weaving, playing roles such as V in V for Vendetta, The Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger, Elrond in the Lord of the Rings and Agent Smith in The Matrix. The only reason Mr. Weaving hasn’t won an Oscar before is he doesn’t make “Oscar” movies, he provides amazing performances that could easily beat many of the Oscar nominees, however, the Academy hardly recognizes Fantasy and Science Fiction movies, which is a key reason why Star Wars: The Force Awakens was forgotten for the Best Picture award. However, anyone who has seen Hugo Weaving act, knows he’s one of the best actors around.
9. Tom Cruise – Heartthrob Tom Cruise has been nominated for three Oscars, but lost out to tough competition, including the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis and Michael Caine. He was nominated for his roles in Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire,and Magnolia.
10 Bradley Cooper – This hottie has been nominated for the Academy for a total of three times – for Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle and American Sniper. If it were upto us, we’d give him an Oscar for playing the sassy Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy even. But we can only hope he bags the golden guy soon enough.
