Actors you can't believe have never been nominated for an Oscar

“M*A*S*H," “Klute," “Don’t Look Now," “Invasion of the Body Snatchers," “Ordinary People”… nothing. Sutherland long ago aged out of leading man roles, which opened him up to plentiful opportunities as a character actor, but nothing has caught the fickle Academy’s favor. He's quite good in 2020's "The Bright Orange Heresy", but the pedigreed thriller's mixed reviews killed its awards prospects. It feels like it’s going to take the efforts of a Quentin Tarantino or a Paul Thomas Anderson to find the right supporting role to finally get Sutherland some Oscar love.

She was America’s sweetheart throughout the ‘90s thanks to her ultra-charming and funny performance in the rom-com classic “When Harry Met Sally…," but Oscar voters passed on that iconic movie and everything that ensued. Had “Joe Versus the Volcano” been recognized as a masterpiece in its time, her virtuoso three-character turn would’ve been a no-brainer nomination. She played against type as a hard-case Gulf War tank commander in “Courage Under Fire” but failed to dazzle critics or voters. She’s ripe for a comeback performance. Who’s going to write it for her?

Talking out of his backside in “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” transformed Jim Carrey into a comedy superstar, but this decidedly inelegant comedic bit might’ve made him persona non grata with the more refined members of the Academy. It has to be something like that. Because there’s no reasonable excuse for Carrey failing to make the acting categories for “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," “The Truman Show," “Man on the Moon” and “I Love You Phillip Morris." Now watch him get nominated for his immensely entertaining performance as Dr. Robotnik in the otherwise lousy "Sonic the Hedgehog."

Curtis’ “A Fish Called Wanda” co-star Kevin Kline won a Best Supporting Actor for Otto “Don’t Call Me Stupid” West, but she couldn’t get so much as a measly nomination for her deliciously conniving portrayal of Wanda Gershwitz. Having gotten started in horror films, Curtis has both embraced her Scream Queen status and expanded far beyond it. She’s proved particularly adept at comedy in classics like the above, “Trading Places," “Fierce Creatures," “Freaky Friday." She richly deserved a nomination for “Freaky” and, most recently, as the steely center of the Thrombey clan in “Knives Out."

Seriously, Academy? Not one freaking nomination for Steve Buscemi? Nothing for “Miller’s Crossing," “Reservoir Dogs," “Trees Lounge” (as actor/writer/director), “The Big Lebowski," “Ghost World” or his hysterical take on Nikita Khrushchev in “The Death of Stalin”? Like Turturro, he’s been one of the most reliably great character actors in American film for almost 40 years; it’s high time an awards publicist pushes him hard for something. Alas, it probably won't be for his fine supporting performance in "The King of Staten Island," where he's overshadowed by Bill Burr.

The blacksploitation legend was never seriously considered for her 1970s classics (your loss, Academy), but she was very much in contention for her tough-and-tender portrayal of a flight attendant whose smuggling side-business gets her in hot water with the Feds and her gunrunning employer in "Jackie Brown." The Academy inexplicably passed on a nomination, and Ms. Grier has not been able to land a buzzy role since. Hollywood really stinks sometimes.

Beloved for decades and multitalented, Steve Martin could’ve made the top five in the acting and screenwriting categories for classics like “Roxanne," “L.A. Story” or “Bowfinger." In hindsight, we can now call it a crime that he failed to receive consideration for the zany masterpieces “The Jerk," “The Man with Two Brains," “All of Me” and the ingenious noir-comedy, “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid." And then there’s the holiday classic “Planes, Trains and Automobiles." Martin hasn’t starred in a film since 2011’s “The Big Year," so if/when he ever returns he could be a comeback favorite.

Fifty-five years as a household name and critically acclaimed actor, and Mia Farrow doesn’t have a single Academy Award nomination to show for it. A partial list of films for which she was snubbed: “Rosemary’s Baby," “A Wedding," “Death on the Nile," “Broadway Danny Rose," “Crimes and Misdemeanors." The one that stings the most is “The Purple Rose of Cairo” — a perfectly sweet and funny and heartbreaking performance in a perfect movie. Farrow's been absent from the big screen since 2011, which means she's primed for a juicy comeback performance that might finally earn her Academy recognition.

You’d think the Academy would’ve found a way to recognize this masterful character actor at least once throughout his brilliant 40-year career, but like too many character actors, it’s possible he is taken for granted. The most egregious snubs: “Five Corners," “Do the Right Thing," “Miller’s Crossing," “Barton Fink," “Quiz Show," “The Big Lebowski” and as Fatoush “The Phantom” Hakbarah, “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan." Turturro brought his beloved "Lebowski" character, Jesus Quintana, back to the big screen this year in "The Jesus Rolls," but the film stiffed with critics.

The Chinese superstar did the vast majority of her best work in her homeland, and a sliver of it made its way to the U.S. — generally when she was paired with Jackie Chan (e.g. “Police Story 3: Supercop”). She seemed primed for a nomination with her lovely performance in Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," but the Academy inexcusably snubbed all of the performers. Despite critically acclaimed turns in “Memoirs of a Geisha," “The Lady” and “Crazy Rich Asians," she’s still looking for that first nomination.

The star of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” had a heart attack on set but brushed himself off and got back in the game. His reward: a great big Academy Award snub for Best Actor. (Al Pacino should’ve been the odd man out that year for his histrionic turn in “…And Justice for All.") Sheen’s career is loaded with excellent performances in classics like “Badlands," “The Dead Zone," “Gettysburg” and “The American President," but the Academy has, to date, no love for Captain Willard.  

Thandie Newton was likely denied her first Academy Award nomination when Jonathan Demme’s “Beloved” showed up DOA at the box office in 1998, but what’s the excuse for “Besieged," “Crash” (she gave one of the few genuinely great performances in that godforsaken movie) and “For Colored Girls”? She’s currently doing career-best work on HBO’s “Westworld," so maybe she doesn’t need movies or Oscars.

The British leading man appeared to be well on his way to Oscar glory with immensely appealing star turns in “Four Weddings and a Funeral," “Sirens” and “Sense and Sensibility," but then he encountered a little PR turbulence, which sullied his fresh-scrubbed image. He reinvented himself as an incorrigible cad in “Bridget Jones’s Diary," which felt awards-worthy, but nothing. “About a Boy," “Love Actually” and “Cloud Atlas” offered faint opportunities, but it felt like it was finally his time when he earned enthusiastic raves for his portrayal of the villain in “Paddington 2." The BAFTAs saw fit to nominate him, but the Academy once again turned up its nose.

Emily Blunt is 36, so you want to believe she’ll eventually get hers, but lots of the distinguished folks on this list have been at it for a long time. The Academy should’ve got her early for “My Summer of Love” or “The Devil Wears Prada." She was also more than worthy in “Edge of Tomorrow," “Sicario” and “A Quiet Place." “Mary Poppins Returns” felt like a fait accompli, which underscores once again the danger of calling favorites before you’ve seen the movie. She'll likely be in the mix again when John Patrick Shanley's "Wild Mountain Thyme" gets released.

John Goodman. Seriously. Not one damn nomination. Name an iconic performance: Walter Sobchak in “The Big Lebowski," Madman Mundt in “Barton Fink," Gale Snoats in “Raising Arizona”… just about every single time he’s worked with Joel and Ethan Coen, he’s been worthy of Academy recognition. But as with the other character actors on this list, there’s a sense that the big guy gets taken for granted. Thus is the literally thankless life/career of a character actor.

The television veteran is good on Emmys, but she’s been so great in so many movies that you can’t help but be shocked that the Academy has never nominated her. Her best opportunities came in the 1970s and ‘80s with “Pete ‘n’ Tillie," “The Front Page," “A Wedding," “The Four Seasons” and “Annie” (which would’ve been a done deal had the movie been merely average). She’s made only three live-action features in the last 38 years, the third being next year’s “Sorta Like a Rock Star” from “Hearts Beat Loud” director Brett Hawley. Might be something.

Wright is one of our finest stage actors and has a Tony Award for “Angels in America: Perestroika” to prove it. He won an Emmy with the same character for Mike Nichols’ adaptation of Tony Kushner’s play and has been nominated two more times for his sensationally layered work in “Westworld." The Oscars are another shameful story. Despite plaudits for “Basquiat," “Ride with the Devil," “Shaft," “Cadillac Records” and “Hold the Dark," the Academy has yet to give the phenomenal performer his due. If Wes Anderson's "The French Dispatch" qualifies this year, Wright could have his best shot at a nomination in some time.

Moore appeared to have more promise than most of her Brat Pack cohorts, and if we’re judging by the box office metric, she made good on that potential. But memorable performances in “About Last Night…," “Ghost” and “Mortal Thoughts” suggested that a prestige run was in the offing. She had a shot with “A Few Good Men” and was supposed to be in the hunt with Roland Joffé’s “The Scarlet Letter” alongside co-stars Gary Oldman and Robert Duvall. Then people saw the movie. Other attempts at Oscar-friendly roles — “Stripteāse," “G.I. Jane” and “Passion of Mind” — were non-starters.

The two-time Emmy winning star of “Moonlighting” flipped his career script by largely eschewing comedic roles in favor of becoming an action star. Should the Academy have nominated him for his indelible portrayal of John McClane in “Die Hard”? Absolutely. But let’s be realistic here. He occasionally took serious parts in films like “In Country," “Mortal Thoughts” and “Billy Bathgate," but Willis never felt like a true contender until his turn as a palooka desperately trying to retrieve his father’s watch in “Pulp Fiction." Since then he’s broken up his paycheck gigs with the occasional prestige-y movie (“Moonrise Kingdom," “Looper” and “Motherless Brooklyn”), but the Oscars have thus far denied him.

Awards prognosticators thought J-Lo was a lock for her first Oscar nomination in 2020. But while her bravura turn as a streetwise stripper in "Hustlers" earned her a SAG nomination and a Golden Globe win for Best Supporting Actress, the Academy inexplicably snubbed her again - as they did in years past for  “Selena" and “Out of Sight”. Hopefully, this miscarriage of justice will get rectified in the near future (though Jim Carrey might advise Lopez to not get her hopes up).

There was a sense early in Gere’s career that he was getting cast in high-profile prestige films like “Days of Heaven," “An Officer and a Gentleman” and “The Cotton Club” more for his matinee-idol looks than his actual talent. Though he’s been more than happy to coast on his sex appeal in tripe like “Pretty Woman," “First Knight” and “Runaway Bride," Gere’s given a lot of fine performances. Along with those first three, there’s “Breathless," “Sommersby," “Arbitrage," “Unfaithful” and an absolutely deliciously nasty turn as a crooked cop in “Internal Affairs."

Rene Russo is one of the least-appreciated actors working today, which might explain (though not excuse) why the Academy hasn’t wised up and nominated her for a single Oscar. She wasn’t a serious contender for her excellent work in “In the Line of Fire," “Get Shorty" or “Tin Cup," but she should’ve been. She was outright snubbed for “The Thomas Crown Affair” and “Nightcrawler."

The brilliant Irish actor won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for “In Bruges” at the 2009 Golden Globes, but the Academy, with its narrower group of nominees, couldn’t fit him in. Farrell’s well-publicized struggles with substance abuse threatened to derail his career early on, but he’s been clean and sober for well over a decade. It’s time for the Oscars to stop screwing around and recognize him the next time he gives a performance on the dizzying level of “In Bruges," “The Lobster," “The Beguiled” or “Widows."

The “Scandal” star is a three-time Emmy nominee, but she’s still waiting for her first invite to the Dolby Theatre. She was shut out for “Ray," “The Last King of Scotland," “Night Catches Us” and “Django Unchained," which all looked like genuine possibilities coming into awards season. Her workload seems to be trending toward television, but perhaps she’ll be a big-screen standout in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming “Prom" (due this December from Netflix).

Snipes’ career trajectory seemed to be trending toward prestige-type films, what with his positively electric performances in films like “New Jack City," “King of New York," “Mo’ Better Blues” and “The Waterdance." But he became a box office darling in 1992 with “White Men Can’t Jump” and “Passenger 57” and fully embraced the success. He was never less than compelling in fun stuff like “Demolition Man," “Drop Zone,” “Money Train” and the “Blade” movies, but financial difficulties turned him into a direct-to-video star for the better part of a decade. Thankfully Spike Lee has him creatively engaged again. He was a long shot for his splendid portrayal of D’Urville Martin in “Dolemite is My Name," but the Academy snubbed the film entirely.

There are many arguments against the relevance of the Academy Awards, but here are two of the most damning: Maggie Cheung was denied Best Actress nominations for Wong Kar-wai’s “In the Mood for Love” and Olivier Assayas’ “Clean." They’re only two of the best performances of the last decade, and they were never seriously considered because of the Oscars’ foreign-language-performance blind spot. That she hasn’t appeared in a feature film since 2010 is a tragedy, but she seems happily retired for now.

If the Academy doesn’t get its act together soon, we’re going to have to crash the Pork Chop Express through the doors of the Dolby Theatre. Though Russell has favored action films and crowdpleasers throughout his career, how will we explain to our children the lack of acting nominations for “Silkwood” (for which he was a legit contender), “The Thing," “Big Trouble in Little China," “Tombstone," “Death Proof," “The Hateful Eight” and, what the hell, “Tango & Cash”? He's revered by Gen X filmmakers. Maybe Rian Johnson, Wes Anderson or Sofia Coppola can finally get him over the top.

Though he’d been a working actor for almost 20 years, it felt like Delroy Lindo came out of nowhere when he stole multiple scenes from Denzel Washington in “Malcolm X." His portrayal of numbers runner West Indian Archie is a study in quiet power and, eventually, physical/mental ruin. Lindo got some prominent supporting parts in “Crooklyn," “Clockers," “Get Shorty," “Ransom," “Broken Arrow” and “The Cider House Rules," but he couldn’t crack the always competitive Best Supporting Actor category. He’s worked less steadily over the last 10 years, but with an actor this talented it takes only one perfect role to get back in the game. That role should've been the PTSD-suffering Vietnam veteran, Paul, in Spike Lee's "Da 5 Bloods," for which he's earned widespread acclaim in 2020, but the Oscars blew it yet again. What's wrong with you, fools?

Thompson’s career hit hyperdrive with the one-two punch of “Selma” and “Creed," and she should’ve definitely received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for the latter. The Oscars seem to go for male superhero performances, so why wasn’t she seriously considered for the scene-stealing drunken swagger of her Valkyrie portrayal in “Thor: Ragnarok”? She was downright majestic as the performance artist Detroit in “Sorry to Bother You” and should’ve won Best Supporting Actress for her “The Last Dragon” bit alone. Her next best shot will be Rebecca Hall's "Passing," which should be eligible for the Oscars this year.