Top 10 Actors Who Have Never Been Nominated For An Oscar
actors, oscars, academy, never been nominated, nominations, celebrities, raul julia, mia farrow, steve buscemi, john goodman, jeff daniels, donald sutherland, christopher lee, marilyn monroe, alan rickman, top 10, watchmojo,
Script written by Sean Harris
Winning one of these things is hard... But it's straight up impossible when you're never even in contention! Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down our picks for the Top 10 Actors Who Have Never Been Nominated for an Oscar!
For this list, we’ve looked at any actor or actress, regardless of era or genre, and have ranked the most talented never to have been given an Academy Award nomination.
#4: Jim Carrey
Top 10 Actors Who Have Never Been Nominated For An Oscar
Winning one of these things is hard... But it's straight up impossible when you're never even in contention! Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down our picks for the Top 10 Actors Who Have Never Been Nominated for an Oscar!
For this list, we’ve looked at any actor or actress, regardless of era or genre, and have ranked the most talented never to have been given an Academy Award nomination.
#10: Jeff Daniels
While we concede that “Dumb and Dumber” isn’t exactly prime Oscar material (for all its undoubted greatness!), what’s really stupid is Jeff Daniels’ general lack of nomination! His cinematic breakthrough came in the Oscar-winning “Terms of Endearment” - although he himself didn’t receive a nod - and he’s since collected alternative nominations throughout his career. Most notably, for both 1985’s “Purple Rose of Cairo,” and 1986’s “Something Wild,” he was shortlisted for a Best Actor Golden Globe.#9: John Goodman
Widely respected as one of the finest, most well-rounded actors of his generation, John Goodman’s never quite been good enough for the Academy! Probably best known for playing Dan Conner on the TV series “Roseanne,” Goodman’s big screen highlights include roles inOscar-hyped heavyweights, “The Artist,” “Argo” and “Flight.” He’s also been often linked to the Coen Brothers’ movies, and has starred in voice acting roles for Disney and Pixar. What more does he need to do??#8: Steve Buscemi
Another regular collaborator with the Coen Brothers, though Steve Buscemi often isn’t cast in a ‘lead role,’ it’s quite incredible that he’snever made a Supporting Actor shortlist! He played Mr. Pink in “Reservoir Dogs,” Seymour in “Ghost World,” and Carl Showalter in “Fargo” - for “Ghost World” in particular, Buscemi seemed to pick up every possible nomination apart from an Academy Award! The guy’s a unique talent, and it’s surely about time he got recognised??#7: Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow’s filmography reads like a roll call of Academy favorites, and yet she remains mysteriously underappreciated! She was recognised by both the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes for “Rosemary’s Baby,” while roles in “The Great Gatsby” and “Death on the Nile” could, and probably should, also have gotten her a chance at the golden statuette! An all-round Hollywood icon as well, Farrow’s undisputed acting royalty, but there’s a gap on her resume that really shouldn’t be there!#6: Raúl Juliá
A stage vet turned Hollywood star who was critically acclaimed (by most movie commentators at least...), Raul Julia was never able to convince the Academy! Probably best known as loveable scarester Gomez Addams in “The Addams Family” and “Addams Family Values,” he also gained alternative non-Oscar nominations for 1985’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and the 1994 TV movie, “The Burning Season.” As well as Addams, Julia has also acted as Dracula on stage, and as Victor Frankenstein on screen... Perhaps the panel members were just too petrified to pick him!#5: Martin Sheen
His back-catalogue is hard to beat, and he’s worked with the very best in the business... But still no nomination for Martin Sheen! “Badlands…” “Apocalypse Now...” “The Departed...” The list of great films in which he’s featured is phenomenal! Steven Spielberg has directed him, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Richard Attenborough - but none could land him acknowledgement from the Academy! The shunning of Sheen remains one of modern cinema’s great mysteries! #4: Jim Carrey
The second half of the “Dumb and Dumber” double act, like Jeff Daniels, Jim Carrey really should’ve won himself a nomination by now! A comedy legend, the star of “Ace Ventura” and “Bruce Almighty” has way more strings to his bow than just ‘being funny’! In particular, Carrey’s roles in “The Truman Show” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” earned him masses of critical acclaim! And yet he’s never even had a chance to get his hands on an Oscar!! Like a much-loved character of his, we just can’t lie - it’s a travesty!
#3: Marilyn Monroe
She was the epitome of the Hollywood lifestyle and an all-out fashion icon... But she never stood a chance of scoring the industry’s greatest accessory! Marilyn Monroe starred in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” but the Academy preferred other actors... “Some Like It Hot” earned her a Golden Globe, but the Academy didn’t ‘like it’ enough! Shortlisted for more Globes and twice by BAFTA, Monroe rewrote the rules of cinema, but couldn’t crack its supreme accolade!
#2: Christopher Lee
The first Christopher Lee film was released in 1948, the last in 2015... He has over 250 acting credits to his name, collected across a career spanning 7 decades... He was a Knight of the British Empire, and a recipient of the BAFTA Fellowship lifetime achievement award... But not a single Oscar nomination was ever his! Probably best known for playing the villain, the real bad guys in the otherwise much-celebrated Christopher Lee story are surely the Academy!
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
- Alan Rickman
- Sam Rockwell
- Ewan McGregor
- Kevin Bacon
- Scarlett Johansson
#1: Donald Sutherland
It’s time to appreciate the most under appreciated actor out there! Donald Sutherland is a cinematic legend according to literally everybody, except the Oscar shortlist selection panel! Sutherland made a name for himself in the early ‘70s with films such as “M*A*S*H,” “Kelly’s Heroes” and “The Eagle Has Landed,” while he’s well known to twenty-first century audiences because of roles in “Cold Mountain” and “The Hunger Games” franchise. An actor always at the top of his game, he not only deserves an Oscar nomination, he deserves to win one!
Do you agree with our list? Which overlooked actor did we overlook? For more top 10s that you will appreciate published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
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