And the Oscar Doesn’t Go To: Actors, Actresses, and Directors That Have Surprisingly Never Been Nominated

When the Oscar nominations were announced last month, the following names were not among them. Nor were they ever called in any previous year.

These are five actors, actresses, and directors that you may be very surprised to learn have never even been nominated for an Academy Award. This year might have taken Michael Keaton and Patricia Arquette off the list, but there are still more waiting for their time to shine.

The conditions for this list are that the person is still alive and active, and that they have never been nominated in any category at all.

-ACTORS-

Kevin Bacon

Yes, as in “Six Degrees of.” Bacon has been in the casts of notable Oscar contenders like Apollo 13 and Mystic River, but their nominations have never extended to him. He earned high praise for his turns playing against type in pictures such as Murder in the First and The Woodsman, but no Academy acknowledgment.

Jim Carrey

Jonathan Cane of Tailslate.net once said: “That Jim Carrey is Oscarless, is nothing short of a cinematic travesty.” His performances in Man on the Moon and The Truman Show earned him Best Actor Golden Globes, and a nomination from them for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. That one did get a number of Oscar nominations, but not for Carrey.

Richard Gere

Days of Heaven, American Gigolo, An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman. All have stood the test of time as iconic films, most received Oscar attention, none of said attention given to Gere.  Most recently, his role in Arbitrage earned him critical recognition and a Golden Globe nomination, but again no Oscar nod.

Martin Sheen

Sheen was also ignored as the lead of a ‘70s Terrence Malick touchstone, Badlands in his case. But the most surprising overlook is for Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola’s masterwork that ranks up there with the two Godfathers. He is still impressing in film however, such as in The Way, and has won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his television work.

Donald Sutherland

While nowadays it gets slagged for being the film that bested Raging Bull, Ordinary People was the Oscar champion of its year. It’s puzzling how it could have had nominations (and eventual wins) in nearly all major fields except for its lead actor. M*A*S*H, Klute, and Threshold among others also had potential for him.

-ACTRESSES-

Claire Danes

Danes is one of the most well-renowned actresses for television work, having so far collected 4 Golden Globes and 3 Emmys for Homeland, Temple Grandin, and My So-Called Life. But she has yet to parlay that success to her big screen roles. Of those she has had some prestigious ones like Shopgirl, Little Women, The Rainmaker, and the title part in Romeo + Juliet.

Mia Farrow

Despite the lengthy partnership, it seems Woody Allen wasn’t able to do for her what he did for Diane Keaton. Farrow is a Golden Globe winner as Most Promising Newcomer in 1965 and was nominated 8 other times, including Rosemary’s Baby, John and Mary, Broadway Danny Rose, The Purple Rose of Cairo, and Alice. Most recently she worked with Todd Solondz in Dark Horse.

Isabelle Huppert

Huppert has been working steadily for decades across the globe. She holds the records for the most Cesar nominations (14, winning once for La Cérémonie) and the most films in official competition at Cannes (16; won Best Actress twice for The Piano Teacher and Violette, and is only one of four women to do so). How she’s eluded Academy attention is a mystery.

Scarlett Johansson

This is probably the most perplexing entry. Year after year she turns up in films that should net her nominations, but it never happens. Ghost World, An American Rhapsody, Lost in Translation, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Match Point, The Prestige, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Don Jon, even all the way back to Manny & Lo.

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Leigh had a very similar career trajectory in the ‘80s and ‘90s. She received numerous awards and nominations with Last Exit to Brooklyn, Single White Female, Georgia, Short Cuts, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Dolores Claiborne, The Machinist, and Margot at the Wedding, but zilch from the Academy. But as one of Quentin Tarantino’s Hateful Eight, she may yet get her chance.

-DIRECTORS-

Larry Clark

Clark started out as a photographer and has had his work showcased in prominent museums. His shift to filmmaking has yielded works that have been highly controversial but highly riveting and relevant such as Kids and Bully. Not to mention Ken Park, a film that’s banned in Australia and unseen in the states since a festival showing.

David Cronenberg

Be it fantasy/horror/sci fi like Videodrome, The Fly, and Naked Lunch, or provocative drama like Dead Ringers, M. Butterfly, and Crash, Cronenberg has established himself as one of a kind. Last decade he turned to gritty crime drama with A History of Violence and Eastern Promises, both of which did pick up other nominations.

Brian DePalma

DePalma has faltered quite a bit (Redacted, anyone?), but when he’s on his game, he delivers in spades. Carrie and The Untouchables were both multiple Oscar nominees (and a win for the latter) but not for direction. Other films of his such as Sisters and Blow Out that featured top-notch direction from him were similarly ignored.

Abel Ferrara

Bridging the gap between Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, Ferrara has not been as recognized. Works of his such as King of New York and especially Bad Lieutenant showcased great skill. Even his early films that seemed mere exploitation on the surface level like The Driller Killer and Ms. 45 went for deeper themes such as paranoia and insanity.

Jim Jarmusch

A favorite of the Criterion Collection, Jarmusch is one of most prominent auteurs to emerge from the ‘80s. He’s written and directed highly-regarded features like Stranger Than Paradise, Down by Law, Night on Earth, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and Broken Flowers, as well as gotten into documentaries with Year of the Horse. No Academy notice for any of it.