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20 Popular Actors Who Have Never Been Nominated For An Oscar; From Jim Carrey to Keanu Reeves
As 2024 Oscars makes the news for snubbing Barbie's Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig; here are 20 other actors that deserved to be recognized by the Academy Awards but shockingly weren't.
Until or unless you've been living a rock in a desert somewhere, you'd know that the Oscars have snubbed this year's biggest film's lead and its director. Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig have been making news left, right, and center because according to netizens, Barbie has been robbed of the Best Actor and Director nomination. But people who keep up with the Academy know, this isn't the first time a deserving candidate was robbed of a nomination at the prestigious awards. So today we look at some of the most surprising actors who have never been nominated for an Academy Award.
Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey's Oscar snubs throughout the years might be one of the most infuriating of them all, on power with Greta Gerig and Margot Robbie's. Carrey has led many iconic films, but the ones he was expected to get an Academy nomination for were the 1998 The Truman Show and 2004 Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. However in the end, it wasn't to be.
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves' Matrix was a trailblazer in sci-fi dystopian storytelling, it changed what audiences expected from the genre. Reeves is one of the biggest names in Hollywood, and while he's presented the Oscars to many stars, the Academy Award has evaded him for years now.
David Oyelowo
David Oyelowo is hands down one of the most gifted actors of our generation, so when the Oscars snubbed him for playing Martin King Jr. in widely renowned Selma, it came as a shock to many. In 2014 the the actor's name was making rounds throughout the industry and was one of the top contenders at all the other award shows.
Idris Alba
Idris Alba has been a GOAT of the industry for a while now. But his biggest shot at an Academy Award came in 2015 with his movie Beasts of No Nation, which became widely acclaimed earning his a Golden Globe nomination and much more. However in the end the apex award was not in the cards for him.
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez is the full package, an actress, singer, and dancer. She has been nominated and won many prestigious awards in her long career for her songs, to her acting chops, but one award has evaded her, an Oscar. Jennifer was in contention for her role in the widely acclaimed movie Hustlers, but in the end was nominated.
Hugh grant
Hugh Grant made a name for himself in the '90s playing the most googly-eyed heartthrobs in rom-coms. While this particular genre is not big on scoring Oscar nominations, many still believe that Grant was robbed of an Academy nomination for About a Boy and Four Weddings and A Funeral. Particularly because both these films got a nod at the awards.
Richard Gere
In the '80s and '90s, you couldn't go a year without hearing or reading about what new project Richard Gene had in the works, from movies like Pretty Woman to Hachi: A Dog's Tale, the actor has stayed relevant in an industry that forgets stars way too soon. So one can understand why many of his fans might be shocked to know that he's yet to earn a Oscar nomination.
Steve Martin
Steve Martin is a respected veteran of the industry, nowadays his younger fans know him for his leading role in Only Murders in the Building alongside Selena Gomez. However, his characters in classics like Pennies from Heaven and Father of the Bride has earned him much love, but sadly not an Oscar.
Emile Hirsch
Emile Hirsch is an exceptionally soulful actor, and nowhere was it more evident than in his movie Into the Wild. This biographical film where he took on the leading role of Christopher McCandless, brought many to tears. Hirsch gained many nominations during the 2008 awards season, including a Critics Choice award, but in hindsight, surprisingly an Oscar was too out of reach.
Pam Grier
Pam Grier's performance in Jackie Brown as the titular character earned her and her co-star Samuel L. Jackson Golden Globes nomination, but were unsuccessful in securing an Oscars nod. Nonetheless, Quentin Tarantino still stands despite the test of time to be just as good as it was when it first came out in 1997.
Catherine O’Hara
Gen Z knows her as Daily Soap actress Moira Rose from Schitt's Creek, but O'Hara has been in the industry for decades and has led a successful career. She's been part of some of the most iconic movies in the 80s and 90s, from Beetlejuice to Home Alone, so it would come as a big surprise to many of her fans that she's never been bestowed with an OScar nomination.
Zoe Saldana
Zoe Saldana's performance as Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is nothing to look past, as well her role in Star Trek elevated the film's stories. However, her role in Avatar is what many fans thought would win her, her first Oscar nomination, but alas it wasn't to be.
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon is unarguably one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. A veteran of the industry, he's starred in many hit and acclaimed movies, but none had the shot of getting an Oscar nomination like his role on Apollo 13. In 1995, the movie had left fans in a frenzy, so it's a surprise that an Academy Award was too far off a dream for the actor.
Martin Sheen
Today Martin Sheen is best known for his role in The West Wing, many of his movie characters are just as deserving of recognition as Jed Bartlet. Notable his best shot at an Oscar came during the 1980 Oscars for his leading role in Apocalypse Now, and in 2007 for his supporting role in The Departed.
Danny Glover
Danny Glover was given an honorary humanitarian award from the Academy in 2021, but it's his acting powers that should've won him an Oscar years ago. While he's known for playing Roger Murtaugh in Lethal Weapon, his many other roles were deserving of recognition, like The Last Black Man in San Francisco, The Colour Purple, and many more.
Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis is one of the most famous actors in Hollywood today, millennials and Gen X grew up on his classics. Iconic movies like Pulp Fiction, and Die Hard are some of the most notable films to have ever come out of the industry, so it is beyond shocking that Willis wasn't nominated for either of these.
Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig has been a whole generation's James Bond. But just because the actor has made a mark for himself as an action hero playing Agent 007 perfectly to the T, doesn't mean he doesn't have the top acting chops for an Oscar. Craig's work in the Kvies Out franchise as Benoit Blanc has been recognized with two Golden Globes nominations over the last few years.
Thandiwe Newton
Thandiwe Newton's biggest chance to get an Oscar nomination to her name came in 2005 with her movie Crash. Even though in hindsight, many would tell you that Paul Haggins' directorial didn't deserve the hype and praise it got that year; going as far as winning the best picture at the Apex Awards. Newton did most of the emotional heavy lifting in the film, so it was a shock when Matt Dillon was nominated for supporting actor but she didn't secure any mentions.
Molly Ringwald
For three consecutive years, Molly Ringwald was on a roll, churning out one classic after another. She starred in 16 Candles in 1984, Breakfast Club in 1985, and Pretty in Pink in 1986. But surprisingly not only was she not only snubbed by the Academy Awards but also by the rest of the precious awards as well. Ringwald only has one Golden Globe nomination so far in her long-spanning career, which came in 1983 for her role in Tempest.
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston has been in the industry for years now, most famously known for her role in FRIENDS as Rachel Green. However, since then she has starred in many acclaimed movies, including We're the Millers and more, but sadly she hasn't been able to earn an Oscar nomination.
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