Who are some famous actors and actresses who never won an Oscar?
There can be only one Oscar winner for each category every year, and some stars have been passed over again and again despite spectacular performances.
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The countdown to the 2023 Oscars, the premier awards event in world cinema, has begun with the nominees announced and date set. The 95th Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award ceremony will take place at Ovation Hollywood, the renamed Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, California on 12 March 2023 at 8 pm ET.
The Oscars are the most prestigious awards for performances in the film industry but some surprising names, despite spectacular performances, have been left empty handed. Here’s a rundown of who has been passed over time and time again.
2023 Academy Awards nominations: full Oscar list of movies, actors and directors
The most nominated stars that have gone home without an Oscar
At eight nominations a piece, Glenn Close and the late Peter O’Toole hold the record for the most nominations without ever receiving one of the coveted golden statuettes.
The iconic actress known for her lead roles in ‘Fatal Attraction’ and ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ among others has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress four times each. Close’s first opportunity came in 1983 for her supporting role in ‘The World According to Garp’. Her last was in 2021, being nominated for Best Supporting Role for her turn in Netflix’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ but lost out to Yuh-Jung Youn for her part in ‘Minari’.
O’Toole for his part was first nominated in 1962 for the titular role in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, and received his last for 2006′s ‘Venus’. However, the career of the actor who turned down a knighthood, wasn’t completely overlooked by the Academy. O’Toole received an Academy Honorary Award in 2002 for his combined body of work spanning five decades, but replied with a letter insisting he was “still in the game” and that he wanted to “win the lovely bugger outright.”
One star who just missed out on joining the their lot was Sir Kenneth Branagh, who finally managed to break his dry spell last year with his heart-warming ‘Belfast’. While he had been nominated for three including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, it was the last of which that gave him a long sought after Academy Award.
Major actors and actresses who have not won an Oscars
Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Laura Linney, Edward Norton, Michelle Pfeiffer and Sigourney Weaver have all been nominated three times but have never received a golden statuette. Sir Ian McKellen, whose career spans seven decades, was nominated twice, as has been Robert Downey Jr. Both have gone home in disappointment. Surprisingly, Samuel L Jackson has only been nominated once in 1995 for his supporting role in ‘Pulp Fiction’ but lost to Martin Landau for his performance in ‘Ed Wood’.
Annette Benning and Michelle Williams have picked up four Oscar nominations but never won gold. Amy Adams is the third most nominated actor that has never won an Oscar with six to her name, five for Best Supporting Actress and one in 2014 for American Hustle which earned her first nomination for Best Actress. Cate Blanchett who is once again up for the prize in 2023 snatched the prize that year.