# Who now is the best actor/actress without an Oscar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303 "2005-02-28T15:17:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/41 "2005-03-01T15:44:37Z")
**John Hurt**. I think he’s been nominated a few times in the past (nominated Best Actor for “The Elephant Man”), but no Oscar yet. ---
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/42 "2005-03-01T15:51:48Z")
I have always felt, seriously, that Jeff Bridges is very underrated. Edward Norton definitely deserves it the most though, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/43 "2005-03-01T16:14:31Z")
I wouldn’t say he’s the best actor without an Oscar, but a guy who deserves some consideration is good ol’ **Kevin Bacon** , who’s never even been nominated. He’s turned in some brilliant dramatic work (_Mystic River_ and _Murder in the First_) as well as some fine comedic performances (_Tremors, e.g._). He should have at least received a nomination for _Murder in the First_, in my view, and I though his supporting performance in _Mystic River_ was stronger and more subtle than the cartoonish turn by Tim Robbins (who actually won the Oscar). Probably the best actor without an Oscar is **Johnny Depp** , closely followed by **Gary Oldman** and **Edward Norton**. As for Actresses, I’d go with **Laura Linney** and **Kate Winslett**. Also, I think **Madeline Stowe** is a really fine actress who maybe didn’t get as many juicy parts as she should’ve over the years. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/44 "2005-03-01T16:16:00Z")
Oh yeah, and [Mary McDonnell](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001521/). ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/45 "2005-03-01T17:03:11Z")
These are all excellent choices, but not really a “Morgan Freeman” in the bunch. No great actors PLUS very famous. Most of these are just excellent actors. So while there seem to be many great actors and actresses out there, the A-Listers who can actually act seem to be taken care of? ---
**Author:** ![Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornelius_Tuggerson)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/46 "2005-03-01T17:26:22Z")
I agree with **Gary Oldman** mentioned above. I also think that **Paul Bettany** needs to get one for best supporting actor if nothing else. I mean come on - **Dogville** , **Master and Commander** , **Beautiful Mind** ; lets face it the guy is in everything and he consistently does a great job. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/47 "2005-03-01T17:34:03Z")
> [@watsonwil](#): > > These are all excellent choices, but not really a “Morgan Freeman” in the bunch. No great actors PLUS very famous. Most of these are just excellent actors. So while there seem to be many great actors and actresses out there, the A-Listers who can actually act seem to be taken care of? I’d call Winslet, Depp, and McKellen “very famous.” (The same is true for several others in this thread, but those are the ones who immediately spring to mind as “A-listers.”) ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/48 "2005-03-01T17:36:05Z")
Heh. I think we’re picking up on a Chris Rock distinction! 🙂 ---
**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:** [March 1, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/49 "2005-03-01T17:52:22Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > I wouldn’t say he’s the best actor without an Oscar, but a guy who deserves some consideration is good ol’ **Kevin Bacon** , who’s never even been nominated. Whoa re some other great actors that have never been nominated? I think Kurt Russell would qualify, even though he has done some clunkers, his work in _Miracle_ this past year could have easily earned him a nod in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/50 "2005-03-01T19:02:20Z")
49 posts and not one mentions **Jon Heder** ---
**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:** [March 1, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/51 "2005-03-01T19:33:12Z")
My first thought was Ian McKellan, but I see that others have beaten me to him. But how about Alan Rickman? I think it was a great tragedy that he wasn’t even nominated for Best Supporting in any of the Harry Potter movies. In fact, it doesn’t look like he’s been nominated for an Oscar at all (though he has a long enough list of other awards). ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/52 "2005-03-01T19:39:28Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Actually, the one Oscar Kubrick did win (and he did win a competetive one) was the one he didn’t deserve. Was that for a screenplay? They hardly count anyway as they seem to give them away in breakfast cereal boxes… how else do you account for Damon & affleck having one? Or was it a technical award - the ones they hand out before the audience arrives… mm ---
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/53 "2005-03-01T19:52:14Z")
> [@faldureon](#): > > I agree with **Gary Oldman** mentioned above. I also think that **Paul Bettany** needs to get one for best supporting actor if nothing else. I mean come on - **Dogville** , **Master and Commander** , **Beautiful Mind** ; lets face it the guy is in everything and he consistently does a great job. Good call on Bettany, although I have to admit I wouldn’t have remembered his name without you first posting it. He was fantastic in Master and Commander, and don’t forget about A Knight’s Tale 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/54 "2005-03-01T20:27:32Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > Oh yeah, and [Mary McDonnell](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001521/). Oh yes. I was wondering what she’d been up to lately. I adored her in Passion Fish and that Kevin Costner western. Did Debra Winger ever win? She was one of the best things about 1980’s movies. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/55 "2005-03-01T21:48:56Z")
> [@mamboman](#): > > Was that for a screenplay? They hardly count anyway as they seem to give them away in breakfast cereal boxes… how else do you account for Damon & affleck having one? I would argue that Matt Damon earned his Oscar – _Good Will Hunting_ was quite a good film, I think. I would also argue that Ben Affleck didn’t do much during that writing process except put his name on the cover and cash the paycheck. Seconds to **Chronos** ’ nomination (ha!) of Alan Rickman – if the Academy thinks Denzel Washington earned an Oscar for _Training Day_, then Rickman certainly should have won an Oscar for _Die Hard_. Seriously. That is one seriously awesome part, and extremely well-played! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/56 "2005-03-01T21:58:14Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > I would argue that Matt Damon earned his Oscar – _Good Will Hunting_ was quite a good film, I think. I would also argue that Ben Affleck didn’t do much during that writing process except put his name on the cover and cash the paycheck. Are you saying that for a reason other than “Ben Affleck is stupid?” > [@BubbaDog](#): > > 49 posts and not one mentions Jon Heder Oh come on. People are talking about Ian MacKellen and Kate Winslet and people with long, stellar resumes, and Jon Heder might be the best actor never to win an Oscar? He did one cult movie. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/57 "2005-03-01T22:05:04Z")
> [@mamboman](#): > > Was that for a screenplay? They hardly count anyway as they seem to give them away in breakfast cereal boxes… how else do you account for Damon & affleck having one? Or was it a technical award - the ones they hand out before the audience arrives… > > mm Pretty insulting to screenwriters. They give out two screenwriter awards each year, how is this like giving them out in ceral boxes? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/58 "2005-03-01T22:10:07Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > Pretty insulting to screenwriters. They give out two screenwriter awards each year, how is this like giving them out in ceral boxes? Charlie Kaufman writing three of the most original movies in ages and winning one Oscar for it _has_ to prove they give them out in cereal boxes. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/59 "2005-03-01T23:07:29Z")
> [@mamboman](#): > > Was that for a screenplay? They hardly count anyway as they seem to give them away in breakfast cereal boxes… how else do you account for Damon & affleck having one? Or was it a technical award - the ones they hand out before the audience arrives… Actually, somewhere in between. Despite getting 3 nominations for Picture, 4 for Director, and 5 for Screenplay, the only Oscar he won was for Visual Effects for _2001: A Space Odyssey_, which is an artistic award, but in a technical field. Now obviously, _2001_ deserved this Oscar (amazingly, the only one it won), but the problem is that Kubrick didn’t do more than design, or conceptualize, the effects. He didn’t actually execute them, beyond his capacity as director and de facto supervisor of the production. This would be similar to giving George Lucas the Visual Effects Oscar for _Star Wars_ or Spielberg the V.E. Oscar for _E.T._. What’s even worse is that, by having Kubrick assume credit for the work of the actual V.E. supervisors, it prevented some deserving people (especially Douglas Trumbull, who’d go on to do _Close Encounters_’s effects) from ever winning. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303/60 "2005-03-01T23:12:12Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Charlie Kaufman writing three of the most original movies in ages and winning one Oscar for it _has_ to prove they give them out in cereal boxes. 😕 Better than 0-for-3. I wouldn’t given him the Oscar for the other two anyway, but he was certainly richly deserving of this one (his best, too) and the Academy suitably delivered. A little justice does squeak through on occasion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-now-is-the-best-actor-actress-without-an-oscar/292303.md?page=4)