Those who are well-versed in cinema continually complain about how certain actors and actresses just can’t seem to strike Oscar gold despite a slew of nominations (Johnny Depp, Annette Bening, for instance). And then there is that other group of thespians that just can’t seem to find the right film to catapult their prolific talents into a single nomination. Here are the Top 10 Actors Who Have Never Been Nominated for an Academy Award.
Note: This list is heavily male-oriented, but that’s not to disservice any female actors. Of the actors who I compiled that have never got nominated, though, the list just happened to skew widely male. That’s not to disservice many female actresses, though. It’s just that the majority of films are usually more oriented with male characters than female ones, thus making the Actor races a bit more heated than the Actress ones. Therefore, it seems as if more men get snubbed than women.
10. Malcolm McDowell
It seems that the Academy has been favouring meaty portrayals of villainous characters these past few years, giving honours to Heath Ledger, Mo’Nique, Javier Bardem and Daniel-Day Lewis for their deliciously brutal portrayals of people I’d rather not meet for lunch. So, how they ever managed to snub the mastermind behind the mesmerizing Alex DeLarge from Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange is almost as shocking as the subject matter in the film itself (he did end up receiving a Golden Globe nod, though). With almost 200 film, television and video game credits to his name, McDowell has become more synonymous with the quantity of his performances than their quality. Still, strong supporting work in films such as Gangster No. 1 and The Company (from the late Robert Altman) has shown that he’s still on the search for material that could land him on the Oscar shortlist.
9. Sam Rockwell
One of the most enthralling character actors of recent years, with bona-fide star-making turns in films such as The Green Mile and the little-seen gem Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Rockwell is one of our generation’s most colourful and diverse performers. He takes splashy supporting parts in big-budget productions, such as Iron Man 2 and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, while enforcing his sardonic, charismatic personality in little-seen independent fare like Moon and Snow Angels. Rockwell is one of the most bitterly funny comedic and dramatic actors of our time, but also has an impressive range. It’s only time until the Academy realizes his uncompromising grip on moviegoers (see Moon if you have any doubts on the previous sentence).
8. Marilyn Monroe
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but the chance for Oscar gold simply did not surmise for the actress born Norma Jeane Mortenson. Despite three Golden Globe wins (including one for Some Like It Hot), a supporting role in All About Eve (which won six Oscars), and a spot as the sixth greatest female screen legend of all time by the American Film Institute, she was never considered for a top honour by the Motion Picture Academy. This is a shame, considering her iconic comedic performances in the 1950s, from The Seven Year Itch to The Prince and the Showgirl, as well as her unforgettably effervescent persona which has never gone out. As Elton John put it in his 1973 single, Candle in the Wind, which was written about Monroe, “Your candle burned out long before your legend ever did.” Also, it was extinguished before the Academy got the chance to award her for a fine career of fantastic musical, comedic and dramatic work.
7. John Cusack
He’s one of Hollywood’s most charming, assured and all-around likable actors. He has an impressively dense resume (over 60 films in under 30 years) and has a real knack for choosing inspired, original screenplays (Say Antyhing…, Grosse Pointe Blank, Eight Men Out, Being John Malkovich) and can master both horror (1408, Identity) and comedy (Hot Tub Time Machine, High Fidelity) with the same sweet-natured, slightly cocksure underdog persona that’s become one of his staples. Even Roger Ebert said that having him in a movie instantly regards it as something worthy of praise. So why hasn’t he received any love from the Academy? Cusack should take out the boom-box, crank up the Peter Gabriel, and stand outside the Kodak Theatre until somebody notices.
6. Guy Pearce
One of the few tricks to launching a well-regarded career around the world is to choose good projects. The Australian actor started off with The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, was the best part of Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential (and given the ensemble, that’s quite a feat) and was simply unforgettable in Memento (unless you were his character from Memento). With remarkable range – he’s played everyone from Harry Houdini to Andy Warhol – and a knack for picking good scripts, such as the low-key The Proposition and Animal Kingdom, Pearce is one our generation’s most versatile and riveting performers. He recently gave memorable, if brief roles, in the last two films to take home Best Picture: The Hurt Locker and The King’s Speech. He’s on the Academy’s radar, but can’t seem to connect with the voters. Now… where was I?
5. Donald Sutherland
A Canadian treasure and a man who instantly adds weight and grace to every role he takes (even in sillier action fare like The Mechanic), Sutherland has had a stunning career. Even though he has been awarded for much of his career working in mini-series and programs on the small screen, he has failed to reach the Academy. Sutherland made his mark on the big screen early, with Klute, MASH and The Dirty Dozen and remained a voice of authority and grit in many fine character roles in the 1980s and 1990s (highlights: JFK, The Italian Job remake). With a career like this, you’d think he’d have had his due with the Academy long ago. Even his tremendously moving performance in Ordinary People (the 1980 Best Picture winner) couldn’t earn him a nomination. A Lifetime Achievement Award is well overdue, folks.
4. Joseph Cotten
Cotten was to his good friend and frequent collaborator Orson Welles what Karl Malden was to Marlon Brando, except the latter three mentioned here all walked off with statuettes. Best known for playing Welles’s closest companion in Citizen Kane, Cotten was also a compelling leading man, whether heroic (The Third Man), villainous (Shadow of a Doubt) or just plain grand (The Magnificent Ambersons). Probably since he played second fiddle to Orson Welles for much of his career, he sadly receives little fanfare from many film buffs, and he got this lack of appreciation from the Motion Picture Academy, as well. But Karl Malden walked away with an Oscar for A Streetcar Named Desire, even though it was Brando who gave the groundbreaking performance. Oh, well. Cotten, who died in 1994, remains one of Hollywood’s unsung heroes.
3. Peter Lorre
I wonder how it feels to encompass the lives of scum for much of your acting career. Regardless, Peter Lorre’s shifty criminals have a depth and complexity that it takes many other character actors who attempt to step into darker territory years to obtain. Best known as the serial lurking around Berlin in Fritz Lang’s chilling thriller M, even 80 years after the film’s initial release, Lorre was a masterful screen presence both in Europe and North America. Stateside, he gave scene-stealing turns in classics such as Arsenic and Old Lace, The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. He was also the first actor to ever play a James Bond villain, when he starred as Le Chiffre in an American television version of Casino Royale in the mid-1950s. Even nearly 50 years after his death, Lorre’s dark, disturbing turns are still the benchmark for cinematic villainy. Maybe the acting branch should wear an "F" on their back for failing to acknowledge such a fine performer.
2. Jim Carrey
Sure, he has his mantle stacked with Kid’s Choice Awards, MTV Movie Awards and People’s Choice Awards for his loopy slapstick routines. But while the Toronto-born star may be one of the most influential comic voices, faces and spirits to light up movie screens, that’s not to put down his weightier dramatic roles. He expressed remarkable depth in Peter Weir’s classic, The Truman Show, and then went on one year later to unparalleled heights in the performance of his career as Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon, a chameleon-like portrayal of madcap brilliance that somehow slipped under the Academy’s radar. Potent dramatic work in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, on top of his terrific comedy antics, have showed that Carrey is an undeniable presence in any project he touches. Possibly the greatest screen funny-man of his time, and a fantastic dramatic actor too, it’s time Carrey’s received his due.
1. Gary Oldman
If Peter Lorre ever needed to have his life given the big-screen treatment, Gary Oldman would be the man for the job. Ditto for every other actor on this list. But Lorre would be the best example, since from Lorre’s death in 1964, no actor has shifted so seamlessly between so many incarnate forms of evil as Oldman. He has mastered Dracula and Lee Harvey Oswald, while offering devilish turns in The Professional, Air Force One, The Fifth Element and countless others. The British star is one of the most eclectic performers currently working – even a shift into blockbusters hasn’t taken away from his dedication to his craft. In fact, I bet that many fans of Harry Potter (he plays Sirius Black) and Batman (Commissioner Gordon) don’t even realize it’s the same actor. Perhaps his role in the upcoming thriller, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy will finally get Oldman the recognition he has sorely lusted for. With his reptilian talents and an impressively wide array of roles (he has played both Sid Vicious and Ludwig van Beethoven to critical acclaim), Oldman instantly brings squeals of delight when he appears on screen. The fact that he has failed to earn an Oscar nomination is one of the most dumbfounding mysteries of cinema in our modern times.
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