The 94th Academy Awards have come and gone, and what a night it was to remember! History was made, both for good and bad reasons, as the stars all came out to shine.
In the wake of celebrating this past year's stellar performances, it got me thinking about all the incredible actors who have yet to taste Oscar gold. With that in mind, here are 15 actors who have somehow never been nominated for an Academy Award.
Kevin has appeared in some of the most iconic films of his generation, including Footloose, A Few Good Men, and Mystic River — all of which went on to become Oscar-nominated/Oscar-winning films. The fact that he didn't receive a nomination for his role in Murder in the First is borderline criminal.
Why is it that critics seem to hate Nathan Lane? It's one thing to pass him over for an Emmy (three times over) for his role as Pepper Saltzman in Modern Family, but to think that he wasn't even nominated for The Birdcage is truly perplexing.
Steve Buscemi can do it all and is quite possibly one of the best-supporting actors of all time. He's equally as adept in dramatic roles as he is in comedic ones. Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly hasn't watched Reservoir Dogs.
Arguably Ewan's best film, Trainspotting, received an Oscar nomination for "Best Adapted Screenplay," yet somehow — Ewan's performance was largely overlooked. For my money, his role as young Edward Bloom in Big Fish is also worthy of contention.
I mean, come on! Have you ever seen Goodfellas?! Ray could have and should have been nominated for his role of Henry Hill — hands down. He's arguably even better as Fred Jung in the George Jung-inspired biopic, Blow.
Sure, everyone likes to poke fun at Bruce for making films like Gasoline Alley and A Day to Die. It's almost like they've completely forgotten his work in The Sixth Sense, Moonrise Kingdom, and the decade-defining Pulp Fiction.
Martin Sheen is revered all the world over. I'd even go as far as to say that he's never once turned in a bad performance nor has he ever starred in a bad film. He could have easily been nominated for "Best Actor" in Apocalypse Now.
Donald Sutherland has appeared in everything from M*A*S*H to the remake of The Italian Job. To this day, I still can't understand how he managed to skate away without so much as a nod from the Academy for his work in Ordinary People.
So the obvious snub on Danny's resume is The Color Purple — a role in which he more than deserved Oscar praise. But as far as I'm concerned, the fact that no one thought of him for "Best Supporting Actor" after watching Lethal Weapon is mindboggling.
I feel as if John Turturro must lie awake at night, looking up at the ceiling proclaiming "What more do I have to do!" as he falls into a deep sleep. If you weren't nominated for Barton Fink, then I hate to break it to you, John — but you're not getting nominated.
Jeff Daniels is such a painstakingly good actor that it seems almost impossible to think that he's never even come close to touching Oscar gold. In my humble opinion, were it not for the Oscar's aversion to comedy, he should've won hands-down for Dumb and Dumber.
I have only three words for anyone who doubts the greatness that is John Goodman — The Big Lebowski. I'm not normally a fan of the Coen Brothers, but this movie is as close to perfect as it comes.
In the early 00s, Colin built a bit of a reputation around being an action star. While he's still a thrill to watch in movies like The Recruit, it's films like In Bruges and The Killing of a Sacred Deer that he truly shines.
Just off the top of my head, I can name three performances that I feel Billy could've easily walked away with the Oscar: City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally, and my personal favorite — Analyze This. The man is a comedy legend.
Jim has been nominated a total of six times for a Golden Globe and has walked away with one win. However, somehow this comedy legend has never once been nominated for an Oscar — not even for his career-defining work in Man on the Moon
