Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is a multiple-time nominee for awards such as the Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, and, of course, the Oscars. Over the course of his career, Willem has appeared in films such as “Spider-Man,” “The Lighthouse,” “Platoon,” “American Psycho,” “The Boondock Saints,” and many others. He has portrayed a vast array of different characters and has been noticed by award juries, but neither the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild, nor the Oscars have awarded him.
Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman has been gone for a while, but he left behind a significant legacy as an impeccable dramatic actor. He came to Hollywood with the intention of playing romantic roles, but his first offer was the villainous role in “Die Hard.” Initially, Alan declined, but he later realized it was his chance to break through. Ultimately, Hans Gruber became one of Alan’s most famous characters, but even he cannot be compared to Severus Snape, who, in Rickman’s portrayal, became even better than in the books.
James McAvoy
If anyone can rightfully be called a versatile actor, it’s James McAvoy, who played a character with multiple personalities in “Split” and “Glass” – from a child to a sophisticated woman. Starting in 2006, James has been nominated for major awards dozens of times, but he has only won the BAFTA, the British Independent Film Award, and the Cannes Film Festival.
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter effortlessly transitions between romantic and villainous roles, looking organic in both. She gained popularity in 1985 with the dramatic film “A Room with a View.” Fourteen years later, she played the extravagant Marla in “Fight Club,” and in 2006, she portrayed the poor family’s mother in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Her roles in “Alice in Wonderland,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” and the “Harry Potter” series are also noteworthy.
Johnny Depp
Initially aspiring to build a career in the music industry, Johnny Depp’s path changed after advice from Nicolas Cage and a small role in “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” Over the next few years, he became acquainted with a new generation of Hollywood actors and dedicated his life to cinema while still performing with his band. Captain Jack Sparrow brought him the greatest popularity, and the way Depp presented Jack in “Pirates of the Caribbean” was largely his own creation.
Liam Neeson
Today, Liam Neeson is a one-time action star. His recent films do not reach the level of “John Wick” or “The Equalizer,” and Liam always plays more or less the same character in different situations. However, in the 90s and early 2000s, it was different. His roles such as Oscar Schindler in “Schindler’s List,” Qui-Gon Jinn in the first episode of “Star Wars,” or Daniel in “Love Actually” were remarkable. Liam has moved away from these roles, but the fact that he was never awarded an Oscar for any of them is a serious omission by the jury.
Samuel L. Jackson
Actors rarely express regrets about not winning an Oscar. Leonardo DiCaprio even pretended not to care, and after finally receiving the coveted statuette, he left it in a restaurant. However, Samuel L. Jackson cared. He admitted that numerous scenes from the movie “A Time to Kill” with him were cut, scenes that clearly deserved an Oscar, and the entire film crew was in tears when he performed them. Not to mention films like “Coach Carter,” “The Hateful Eight,” or “Pulp Fiction.” Samuel seems to have been forgotten, although he is consistently nominated.
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is now 76 years old. Throughout her career, she has received several awards from the Golden Globe, Emmy, Tony, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. She could have won a total of eight Oscars, but in the end, she didn’t receive any. She has been nominated as many times, starting in 1983, but each time other actresses took the spotlight. In addition to being the record holder for Oscar nominations, Glenn also became one of the few actresses nominated at the beginning of her career.
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes is one of the most underrated actors when it comes to awards. He has dozens of nominations for the Emmy, BAFTA, Saturn, Golden Globe, and Oscar, but only a few victories, mostly in the 90s, although in the 21st century, he starred in “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Red Dragon,” and “Harry Potter.”
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. faced significant challenges in life and career. In the 80s and 90s, he was one of the most promising actors, but he fell out of the film industry for several years until he brought himself back to normal. Since then, he has appeared in Marvel films, “Sherlock Holmes,” “The Judge,” “Tropic Thunder,” “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” and “Oppenheimer.” For his roles in many of these films, Robert has received numerous nominations and awards, but he has no Oscars. He was nominated only twice: in 1993 for “Chaplin” and in 2009 for “Tropic Thunder.”
