What do Jared Leto, Dan Ackroyd, Rami Malek, Jennifer Hudson and choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov all have in common? They’ve all been nominated for an acting Oscar – and in some cases won. In contrast, what do Donald Sutherland, Martin Sheen and Mia Farrow all have in common? They’ve not received a single nomination between them from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Actors can try for most of their careers to get some recognition from the Academy. Matthew McConaughey, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Bridges are three examples of great actors who toiled away for decades before a late-career renaissance story finally bagged the big one.
The year 2025 has produced a few resurgences too, with Guy Pearce, Isabella Rossellini and Demi Moore – all actors who have definitely deserved recognition before – landing elusive Oscar nominations.
Every year, there are debates about which acclaimed performances were snubbed by the Academy; while those discussions are always worthwhile, it’s worth sparing a thought for the many superb actors who have never even made it to the dance.
Here are 27 of the best actors to have never been nominated for an Oscar.
27. Zendaya
At just 28, Zendaya still has plenty of time on her side to eventually bag an Oscar nomination. However, when her Dune co-star Timothee Chalamet is already on two nods, you can’t help but feel that she’s being snubbed, especially when she’s turning in cerebral performances like she delivered in Challengers.
26. Adam Sandler
It’s fair to say that many of Adam Sandler’s films probably shouldn’t be nominated for Oscars, although we’re sure that his fans could make very convincing cases for Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer. His exhilarating turn as a chaotic gambling addict in Uncut Gems should have been his moment but he was again denied the privilege of being considered one of the best in his field.
25. Steve Martin
Much like Sandler, Martin has most likely been overlooked by the sheer virtue of appearing in too many comedy movies (despite being very funny in them). The actor, whose hits include Father of the Bride, Parenthood and Planes, Trains and Automobiles, has hosted the awards three times and did receive an honourary Oscar in 2014 for his contributions to motion pictures.
24. Tahar Rahim
Traditionally, actors who predominantly appear in foreign language films have been largely ignored, leaving a dearth of amazing talent going completely unacknowledged. One of the most egregious victims of this in recent years is French actor Tahar Rahim, who has consistently put in fascinating and spiritual performances since his breakout role in 2009’s critically acclaimed A Prophet.
23. Pam Grier
Anyone who has watched Quentin Tarantino’s underrated crime caper Jackie Brown would have presumed that the one acting nomination the film received would have gone to lead star Pam Grier, for her performance as the canny lead heroine. As you’ve probably guessed, that didn’t happen. That nomination instead went to Robert Forster for a worthy supporting part – but make no mistake, this should have been Grier’s year.
22. Jennifer Lopez
Let’s make no bones about it: Jennifer Lopez was done dirty when she wasn’t nominated for her hypnotic performance in the 2019 crime drama Hustlers, a role that was recognised by nearly every critics’ circle going. Lopez later talked about the snub in the Netflix documentary Halftime, stating that it resulted in her having “very low self-esteem”.
21. Andie MacDowell
It’s not just men who have been ignored for comedy roles by the Academy. Andie MacDowell was more than deserving of nominations for her parts in big 1990s hits such as Groundhog Day and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Even a darker and highly praised part in Steven Soderbergh’s Palme d’Or winner Sex, Lies, and Videotape failed to gain her a nomination.
20. Kevin Bacon
With a career that started in the late 1970s, Bacon starred in numerous films that were embraced by the Academy, including JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River and Frost/Nixon – but was never recognised for his acting. It’s a shame there isn’t an Oscar for adverts because he would have surely wrapped up at least half a dozen for his EE ads.
19. Idris Elba
Although better known for his work in TV, in shows like The Wire and Luther, Idris Elba has done his fair share of meaty film roles that should have got more love from the Oscars. His Nelson Mandela biopic, Long Walk to Freedom, would have been a shoo-in for a nomination in a bygone era but let’s not forget his monstrous performances in 2015’s Beasts of No Nation.
18. Meg Ryan
Best known for her roles in rom-coms like When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle, all of which deserved recognition, Meg Ryan has proven herself to be a shockingly versatile actor when called upon. Her performances in When a Man Loves a Woman and In The Cut, as women struggling with their own demons, would usually tick all the boxes of the Academy voters – but not in Ryan’s case.
17. Alfred Molina
Quite how Alfred Molina’s decades-long career has never generated a single Oscar nomination is a mystery. The British-American star has put in memorable performances in everything from coming-of-age drama An Education to blockbuster fare such as Spider-Man 2. Even his singular show-stealing scene in Boogie Nights is better than many actors achieve in their entire careers.
16. Paul Dano
It’s almost bizarre that Paul Dano hasn’t already been nominated for multiple Oscars by this point. The 40-year-old has consistently starred in critically acclaimed films that earned an abundance of awards, including 12 Years a Slave and Little Miss Sunshine. There Will Be Blood, which earned Daniel Day-Lewis his second of three Oscars, arguably wouldn’t work without the opportunity for Day-Lewis to play off Dano’s underrated performance as twin brothers.
15. Marilyn Monroe
As proven by recent snubs for Challengers and Queer, the Oscars have always had a problem with sex – and as the biggest sex symbol of all time, it’s perhaps no surprise that Marilyn Monroe never got a look in with the Academy. The oversight was most egregious when it came to Some Like it Hot: Monroe was snubbed while lead actor Jack Lemmon was nominated – despite Monroe being arguably the funniest thing in the entire film.
14. Oscar Isaac
Oscar Isaac’s breakout role in 2013’s Inside Llewyn Davis propelled him to A-list status overnight but his soulful performance as a troubled folk artist wasn’t deemed good enough for an Oscar nomination. Neither were critically lauded roles in A Most Violent Year, Ex Machina, The Card Counter or Dune. Not even sharing a name with the actual statuette has been good enough for Isaac.
13. Hugh Grant
As a national treasure in the UK, it will come as no surprise that Hugh Grant has been nominated for five Bafta awards and won one, for Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1995. He’s received just as many Golden Globe nominations – but Oscar recognition has evaded him so far. Was Paddington 2 not enough to warm their hearts?
12. John Cusack
Cusack is rarely an actor who courts awards attention, mostly due to his penchant for playing neurotic and self-righteous characters. Yet at the peak of his powers, he consistently starred in awards-friendly films such as Being John Malkovich, The Thin Red Line and The Grifters, all of which resulted in zero Oscar nominations. Surely he’s overdue a Matthew McConaughey-style renaissance soon.
11. David Oyelowo
Despite playing multiple roles that seemed Oscar-bound, including the great Martin Luther King Jr in 2014’s Selma, David Oyelowo has never even been nominated for an Academy Award. The aftermath of the Selma snub spawned the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, with Oyelowo calling the lack of acknowledgement from the Academy “unforgivable”.
10. Ewan McGregor
It’s hard to believe that McGregor, whose career includes iconic performances in Trainspotting, Moulin Rouge and Shallow Grave, has barely mustered any awards recognition, let alone from the Oscars. The Scottish actor has found far more success in the world of television, winning a Golden Globe for Fargo and an Emmy for Halston.
9. Donald Sutherland
Sutherland’s snub for his moving role in the heartwrenching Ordinary People is viewed as one of the biggest oversights in Oscar history. Although the 1981 field was stacked with acting heavyweights such as John Hurt, Peter O’Toole and eventual winner Rober DeNiro, Sutherland’s portrayal of a good-natured father struggling to contain his sadness surely deserved some love.
8. Rita Hayworth
Much like Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth possibly suffered from having too much sex appeal, which might have gone against her in the more conservative 1940s. An icon of film noir, Hayworth is positively explosive in Gilda and spellbinding opposite Orson Welles in The Lady from Shanghai, films that would likely have received dozens of awards in a different era.
7. John Goodman
John Goodman is possibly the most unfortunate actor in Hollywood. Despite having major roles in films like Barton Fink, The Artist and Argo – all films that won multiple Oscars – Goodman is yet to receive a single nomination. He should probably have received one for his voice work in Monsters Inc too.
6. Michael Sheen
This one is a real head-scratcher. Even though he starred in three Best Picture nominees – The Queen, Frost/Nixon and Midnight in Paris – an acting nomination has so far eluded Sheen. To make matters even more perplexing, the Welsh actor played real people in two of those films – parts Sheen often excels at – but his efforts look to have so far gone unnoticed by the Oscars.
5. Jim Carrey
As we’ve already ascertained, comedy hasn’t always been to Oscar voters’ tastes, which might explain why the majority of Carrey’s career has been swept aside by the awards body. However, his two best performances, The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, were criminally shunned by the Academy, despite both of those films receiving multiple nominations, including nods for his co-stars, Ed Harris and Kate Winslet respectively.
4. Mia Farrow
For an actor who has starred in classics like Rosemary’s Baby, Broadway Danny Rose, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Hannah and Her Sisters – all of which bagged her Bafta and Golden Globe nominations – Farrow has still never received an Oscar nomination. It’s all the more jarring given that much of her best work came in projects directed by her controversial former partner Woody Allen, a filmmaker whom the Academy recognised many times in years past.
3. Richard Gere
At a glance, you would think Richard Gere’s career would be littered with Oscar nominations, with the actor having starred in numerous awards-friendly films such as Chicago, Pretty Woman and An Officer and a Gentleman. Perhaps it’s refreshing that his female co-stars got nominated ahead of him for all three of those movies – but Gere’s Oscar moment feels sorely overdue.
2. Alan Rickman
A much-loved character actor who was taken from us far too soon, Alan Rickman never got a fair rub of the green from the Oscars. One of the best villains in all of cinema, Rickman was wonderfully wicked and scornful in everything from Die Hard to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, but beyond four Bafta nominations, Rickman had few accolades to show for all the hours of delight he gave us.
1. Martin Sheen
It’s almost unfathomable that Martin Sheen doesn’t have an Oscar nomination. He should have been nominated for a lead role in Apocalypse Now and should feel equally hard done by that his performances in Badlands, The Dead Zone and Wall Street were not on the Academy voters’ radar. Mark Wahlberg landing a Best Supporting Actor nomination for The Departed over him (bizarrely the only acting nomination for the film) also feels like an error in judgement. Even his most celebrated television role – as US president Jed Bartlet in The West Wing – only landed him a single Emmy. What’s a guy got to do to get some love from these voters?
