Twenty Nominated Icons That Never Won Oscars
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
While we do celebrate the Academy Awards, it’s safe to say that they have been wrong quite often. Last year, I went over which noteworthy stars and directors were never nominated at all. This year, I’d like to focus on those that were nominated but never actually won an Oscar. If this is anything like last year’s list (of which only one change has happened so far: Jamie Lee Curtis finally has an Academy Award nomination!), I’m worried that those that are still with us will remain winless, which is a big shame (although one particular mention below can break this spell March 12th, so fingers crossed; I don’t mind having a quickly dated list as a result). Who are some of the biggest names in film history that have been nominated but have never won an Academy Award? Let’s find out!
Note: At least a couple of the icons below have been given honorary Academy Awards; these do not count for this list. I’m focusing specifically on competitive wins, especially since a large portion of the names below are considered amongst the strongest talents in acting history.
Additionally, I know I have left many names out. There aren’t the only names worth mentioning, and I’m sure I will make a second or third list in the future, so hang tight if your favourite example isn’t here.
Amy Adams
From the girl next door that seemingly came out of nowhere to acting mainstay, Amy Adams quickly accrued half a dozen Academy Award nominations with zero wins to her name. I feel like her time will come eventually, since she is revered as one of the most beloved stars of our time, but I do hope that her film selection improves (the last few releases have not been great).
Lauren Bacall
One of the biggest names of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Lauren Bacall has starred in many classics; even those that aren’t proficient in the older years of American cinema know who she is. Oddly enough, not only has Bacall never won an Oscar, she’s only been nominated a measly once (that may be the bigger surprise to me). She was graced with an honorary award, but that definitely doesn’t feel like enough.
Angela Bassett
While Angela Bassett can win an Academy Award for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in a week and a half, she presently still remains winless. Under-nominated and under-appreciated, Bassett has has an illustrious career as a lead and supporting actor which may be entering its renaissance with this latest awards season stretch.
Richard Burton
Often considered one of the greatest traditional thespians, Richard Burton has been nominated an astronomical seven times without a single win (his on-again-off-again wife Elizabeth Taylor won two). Despite his box office and critical success, Burton just never seemed to break through and earn an actual Oscars win for his efforts.
Montgomery Clift
Huge during his prime, Montgomery Clift was highly innovative in Hollywood, thanks to his method acting breakthroughs and his shakeup on the industry side of acting (with performers determining contracts on their own terms). While a multiple time nominee, Clift didn’t snag an Academy Award, which is a shame.
Glenn Close
One of the more well known stars to be shut out of the Oscar winning club, Glenn Close has an astounding eight nominations so far (spread across her entire career, from the 80s until the early 2020’s so far). I’m not sure what more it’ll take for Close to finally win, seeing as she is one of the most acclaimed and talented thespians of all time.
Willem Dafoe
As talented as Willem Dafoe is, it almost feels miraculous that he’s been nominated for some of the work he’s been recognized for, given how daring his role selections usually are. With this in mind, I’m still not happy that he has yet to earn an Academy Award win when he has brought audiences to unorthodox cinema and acting time and time again.
Laurence Fishburne
A huge name on both screens large and small, Laurence Fishburne has been a part of major projects since the start of his career (with Apocalypse Now). I feel like Fishburne has been around long enough and has captivated audiences so many times that an Oscar win only makes sense by now.
Greta Garbo
A career that skyrocketed as quickly as it ended, Greta Garbo’s brief control over the world of film is one of the greatest takeovers in the industry’s history. With a handful of nominations, Garbo sadly never won an Oscar during her reign, despite securing four nominations and being a part of a Best Picture winner (Grand Hotel) in such a short time frame.
Ed Harris
Ed Harris kind of seems like the guy that people forget is incredible or even around until he mysteriously pops up in so many films we check out. He always steals each scene he is in: always. While getting the job done and being hypnotizing on such a consistent basis, Harris has yet to win an Oscar.
Sessue Hayakawa
It’s a bit of a stretch to say that Sessue Hayakawa was going to win an Academy Award, given how limited the award’s pool was many moons ago (they really focused on honouring non-international films again and again), but the Japanese legend was unmissable during the silent era, in Asian talkies, and even world wide in the latter years of his career: he was finally recognized by the Oscars for The Bridge on the River Kwai, but a win for his legacy and achievements in cinema would have been much sweeter.
Isabelle Huppert
Despite being your favourite actor’s favourite actor and being compared amongst the greatest of all time (which, let’s face it, she easily is one of the best), Isabelle Huppert not only doesn’t have an Academy Award: she has only been nominated once. Known for her daring films and vulnerable performances, it’s an actual crime that this untouchable talent hasn’t been honoured more.
James Earl Jones
Because of the many classic franchises and films he is a part of, I think people just assume that James Earl Jones has won an Academy Award for acting. He does not, although he has been nominated for The Great White Hope). He was given an honorary Oscar in 2011 which kinda gives him EGOT status (given to those that win at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony), but not quite. It’s James Earl Jones, though, so I say we just give it to him.
Catherine Keener
Another actor that just shows up randomly in whatever we are watching, Catherine Keener is almost unrecognizable in so many roles. For that alone, it seems like she would have snuck in an Oscar win or two. This is not the case, but at least her transformative capabilities have been nominated a couple of times.
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr has been a part of so many masterpieces that I often forget that this is the same person in each of them (her being one of the more chameleon-esque stars of her time also doesn’t hurt). She was recognized by the Academy a whopping six times, but she didn’t win a single award after all that; she was given an honorary statue, at least.
Marcello Mastroianni
One of the main reasons why Italian cinema took over the world for a little while, Marcello Mastroianni was one of the rare international stars that made a splash in America; enough that he was even nominated a staggering three times for Best Actor (this seems impossible, given how narrow minded the Academy Awards certainly once was with mainly honouring English-speaking works). Sadly, Mastroianni never won an Oscar, but he damn well should have if the Oscars were (finally) willing to go this far already.
Peter O’Toole
Probably the name that hurts the most here: if Peter O’Toole isn’t the greatest actor of all time, he is unquestionably in the top five. Another eight time nominee, O’Toole seemed to always be nominated in the toughest years, losing to career-best performances by Gregory Peck (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Robert De Niro (Raging Bull), amongst others. He’d be given an honorary award before he sadly passed, but we all know that isn’t enough for one of the greatest to ever act.
William Powell
The biggest shock I had was realizing that William Powell was never awarded an Oscar. I think I automatically assumed he had one because of his untouchable presence and legacy in Hollywood, and he was most certainly associated with enough classics to fool me (he was nominated three times, at least).
Barbara Stanwyck
Another shock for me was learning that Barbara Stanwyck, one of the greatest stars in the history of film, was only an Academy Award nominee without a competitive win. She was given an honorary award in 1982, but, come on, it’s Barbara Stanwyck: one of the first untouchable stars of the talking pictures era! Associated with enough masterpieces across many years, it feels quite stupid that she was never awarded an Oscar statue.
Michelle Williams
Finally, we end with Michelle Williams: one of my favourite actors working today. It’s no secret that she is a multiple time nominee without any wins (although a Best Actress win for The Fabelmans is possible, I do doubt this will happen March 12th). I still feel like her time will come, given how she nails each and every single role I’ve ever seen her do, but I cannot help but feel like she was already due a win or two by now.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.