# In retrospect: People who should have won Oscars but were never even nominated **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 14, 2011, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281 "2011-02-14T05:11:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/21 "2011-02-14T14:06:33Z")
**Three Kings** for Best Picture. John Wayne in **She Wore a Yellow Ribbon**. Boris Karloff in general, but specifically in **The Body Snatchers**. Karloff was ignored because he did horror, but he was a fine actor. **The Body Snatchers** is a chilling portrayal of softspoken evil. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/22 "2011-02-14T14:30:35Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Eddie Murphy was nominated for an Oscar for _Dreamgirls_ and he truly was good in the role, but I can think of several “actors who sing” and “singers who act” who could have done just as good a job. However, his roles in _Coming to America_ and _Bowfinger_ and even in a couple of his “latex comedies” (which like Scooby Doo- gross and puerile perhaps, BUT we’re going by acting job here) he gave performances that I can’t think of any actor who could approach in quality. Yeah, Eddie Murphy is a much more talented actor than the material he selects demonstrates. I remember watching _The Nutty Professor_ and seeing a moment of absolutely brilliant acting…which was then interrupted by a fart joke. He’s his own worst enemy. I think _Bowfinger_ is the last movie he \*or \*Steve Martin made that was actually funny. I’ve always been kind of pissed off that Noah Taylor didn’t get a Best Supporting Actor nod for playing the teenaged Helfgott in _Shine_, when I thought he acted Geoffrey Rush off the screen. He was also excellent in _Simon Magus_ but who saw that? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/23 "2011-02-14T14:45:43Z")
As I always answer these threads, Steve Martin in **All of Me**. Simply fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/24 "2011-02-14T16:21:53Z")
Marilyn Monroe in “Some Like It Hot” ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/25 "2011-02-14T16:24:24Z")
Claude Rains in _Notorious_. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/26 "2011-02-14T17:18:41Z")
People are mostly naming specific performances, but I’ll take the thread title literally, and name one superb actor who gave MANY Oscar-worthy performances, but never received a single nomination in his entire career: Edward G. Robinson. Not even NOMINATED for “The Cincinnati Kid” or “Key Largo” or “Soylent Green” or anything else? Hard to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/27 "2011-02-14T17:26:57Z")
Freddie Highmore. That kid brought me to tears in _Finding Neverland_. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/28 "2011-02-14T17:52:56Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I don’t know why you’d get raked for this. It was one of the best kid performances ever. Completely natural and believable. No precocious, Hollywood brat performance. He was a real kid that kids still relate to. My own kids love that movie, and it was made more than 20 years before they were born. It’s timeless, and Peter Billingsly’s guileless performance is a big part of the reason why. Good choice. I agree with all that, and I’ll add that Jean Shepherd (who wrote the story and cowrote the screenplay) deserved an Oscar for his narration (Supporting Actor, maybe?). His performance is just as important as Billingsley’s, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/29 "2011-02-14T17:53:21Z")
John Cazale for supporting actor for any of his movies. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/30 "2011-02-14T18:20:20Z")
Jim Carrey. I know, I know… But ‘The Truman Show’, ‘Man on the Moon’, and ‘Eternal Sunshine’ were all different personas, and he should have been at least nominated once. Didn’t see ‘I Love You Phillip Morris’ yet. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/31 "2011-02-14T18:34:04Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I don’t know why you’d get raked for this. It was one of the best kid performances ever. Completely natural and believable. No precocious, Hollywood brat performance. He was a real kid that kids still relate to. My own kids love that movie, and it was made more than 20 years before they were born. It’s timeless, and Peter Billingsly’s guileless performance is a big part of the reason why. Good choice. I thought your kids were teenagers? A Christmas Story was made in 1983. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/32 "2011-02-14T19:21:54Z")
Alan Rickman in the first _Harry Potter_ movie should have gotten Best Supporting. Before I saw it, I would have thought it impossible to do Snape right. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/33 "2011-02-14T19:42:53Z")
I don’t understand why Cary Grant’s two nominations weren’t for **Talk of the Town** or **Notorious**. ---
**Author:** ![SpartanDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@SpartanDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpartanDC)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/34 "2011-02-14T20:27:05Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Jim Carrey. I know, I know… > But ‘The Truman Show’, ‘Man on the Moon’, and ‘Eternal Sunshine’ were all different personas, and he should have been at least nominated once. Didn’t see ‘I Love You Phillip Morris’ yet. No, you’re dead on. The first and the third, especially. Playing Andy Kaufman takes a ton of skill, but playing the “everyman trapped in an existential crisis,” as he did in the other two movies, takes some _serious_ acting chops. “Eternal Sunshine” not getting a Best Picture nod is ridiculous in its own right – I thought it was the best movie of the year, if not the decade. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/35 "2011-02-14T20:32:03Z")
> [@SpartanDC](#): > > No, you’re dead on. The first and the third, especially. Playing Andy Kaufman takes a ton of skill, but playing the “everyman trapped in an existential crisis,” as he did in the other two movies, takes some _serious_ acting chops. “Eternal Sunshine” not getting a Best Picture nod is ridiculous in its own right – I thought it was the best movie of the year, if not the decade. Me too. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/36 "2011-02-14T20:53:21Z")
**Jeff Daniels** as the soda shop owner in _Pleasantville_. **Eli Wallach** as Tuco in _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/37 "2011-02-14T21:12:52Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] **Eli Wallach** as Tuco in _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_. [/QUOTE] His work in _The Magnificent Seven_ wasn’t bad, either. His bank story still gets a chuckle from me: “Once I rob a bank in Texas; your government get after me with a whole army… whole army! One little bank. Is clear the meaning: in Texas, only Texans can rob banks. Ha ha.” [they look at him in silence] ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/38 "2011-02-14T21:19:38Z")
The obvious answer here is Gary Oldman. He’s one of the greatest actors alive and he somehow has never been nominated for an Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/39 "2011-02-14T21:46:26Z")
Gene Wilder for _Young Frankenstein_, best comedic performance ever. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281/40 "2011-02-14T21:56:40Z")
Kevin Bacon, to me, is so enjoyable. I just love Footloose and Tremors. He’s done some good acting (Murder In The First and The Woodsman), and he’s also made some really poor choices (The Invisible Man). I would like him to do something really, really great someday and get an Oscar. Maybe now that his wife is finished with her TV show he’ll get serious, get a good movie role, and, you know, give a great performance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-retrospect-people-who-should-have-won-oscars-but-were-never-even-nominated/571281.md?page=3)