AOL of all places, have got an interesting list of twenty actors who have never been nominated for an Oscar and a bunch of them are quite surprising and a little baffling when you see their body of work.
Like I’ve said before, I love the Oscars and will no doubt be watching the ceremony live in the early hours of Monday morning next week but sometimes some actors don’t get the recognition they deserve for certain performances in their career.
So take a look at the list, which surprise you the most?
1. Jim Carrey - A far better actor than the “one trick comedy actor” label that he is sometimes branded with. An amazing performance in The Truman Show went un-noticed, along with fine work in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Man on the Moon.
2. Meg Ryan – Actually, you know I’m not all that surprised by this one, I’ve never thought she was much of a dramatic actress.
3. Richard Gere – Much like Ryan, most of his famous work has been in romantic comedies meaning his Oscar roles have been limited. Surprisingly over-looked in Chicago, when everyone around him virtually was nominated.
4. Sandra Bullock – Great actress, but again romantic comedies have been all too frequent in her career. Recent dramatic performances in Crash and Infamous may have been over-looked, but they may possibly show her future intent?
5. Steve Martin – Wow, I nearly rolled off the chair with this one? He’s never been nominated, really? Again though, a career in comedy hasn’t been favourably looked upon by the academy.
6. Kevin Bacon – One of the most under-rated actors of the 90’s.
7. Jeff Daniels – Not surprised.
8. Bruce Willis – One of the biggest movie stars of all time, and IMO a very fine actor. The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and 12 Monkeys show how good his acting chops are and you know his performance in Die Hard was amazing. It truly was. I’m confident he will get his nomination at some point.
9. Martin Sheen - Apocalypse Now anyone?
10. Scarlett Johansson - I’m surprised by how anyone people call her talent less. Her performances in Lost in Translation and Match Point were fantastic and she’s still so very young. Long way to go in her career yet!
11. Matthew Broderick - Not surprised.
12. Jeffrey Wright – Not surprised, although he was impressive in Syriana.
13. Maria Bello – Great in A History of Violence, but probably not Oscar worthy.
14. Donald Sutherland – Great actor, extremely surprised by this one.
15. Ewan McGregor – Surprised by this one. Performances in Moulin Rouge and Big Fish must have been considered.
16. John Cusack - One of my favourite actors.
17. Isabella Rossellini – Great veteran actress. Amazing in Blue Velvet.
18. Dennis Quaid – Under-rated actor who doesn’t get enough meaty roles.
19. Steve Buscemi – Extremely surprised by this one. Brilliant actor who can transform himself completely into any role. Performances in Reservoir Dogs, Ghost World and Fargo shouldn’t have gone unnoticed.
20. Maggie Gyllenhaal – Like her quite a bit actually, great in Secretary and Mona Lisa Smile. Yet to see her in Sherrybaby, but I would be pleased if she got cast in The Dark Knight.
So that’s the list, any big surprises there for anyone?
Bruce Willis I was extremely shocked about.
3 Comments
Are these really that surprising? Like you said, people like Steve Martin fall through the cracks because comedies are not looked on seriously.
Buscemi a chameleon? I entirely disagree. He plays the same loveable smarmy slimeball in every role.
I think, out of these, Sutherland surprises me the most.
I have to disagree with some on the list like Meg Ryan, Richard Gere, Steve Martin, Matthew Broderick & Dennis Quaid. All of those are fine or at least okay-actors but I don’t think that they ever gave an Oscar-worthy performance.
Scarlett Johannson & Maggie Gyllenhaal are still young, and I expect them to win a statue in the near future. Sandra Bullock and Ewan McGregor might get too some nominations in the near future, but they have to be careful with their roles-choices.
But where the hell is Christian Bale??????? He is just amazing in almost everything he does. In my opinion he gave at least two Oscar worthy performances. In ‘Empire of the Sun’ and ‘The Machinist’ – both great movies with superb performances.
‘American Psycho’ was brilliant too but I think it just isn’t Oscar material. But maybe ‘Rescue Down’ will finally end this injustice.
In my opinion James McAvoy and Rachel McAdams will be future Oscar-winners. McAvoy was just brilliant in ‘The Last King of Scotland’ and Rachel McAdams is amazing in everything she does, even in comedies one can see her huge huge talent
Yeah Christian Bale is a strange one for them to leave out. You know, he was magnificent in The Machinist, his method acting and lengths he went to give a realistic portrayl of a man wasting away could have been worthy of a shout.
Rachel McAdams totally lights up the screen with every movie the girl appears in. She really is the next big thing.