The road to Oscar glory is rarely a straight line. For some of Hollywood’s greatest talents, the Academy Awards are a game of ultimate patience. We all remember the endless internet culture dedicated to Leonardo DiCaprio before he finally bagged the gold for The Revenant, and film history buffs often point to Al Pacino, who famously didn’t secure his first win until his seventh nomination for Scent of a Woman.
Yet, some of the most recognisable faces in cinema history continue to attend the ceremony but leave empty-handed. Some have landed several nods only to beaten every time. Others have never even got the acknowledgement at all. From blockbuster action heroes to master character actors, here are six iconic actors you won’t believe have never won an Oscar.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp‘s Hollywood rise is one of the most iconic of all. He is easily one of the defining character-actors-turned-superstars of the 1990s and 2000s. Early on he showcased how versatile he was, effortlessly putting his heartthrob status to the side to lose himself in deep and dark roles. Even after this, when he became known as Tim Burton‘s gothic chum, he would flip expectations again and deliver a solid action movie like Nick of Time.
When it comes to his Oscar history, Depp has racked up three Academy Award nominations – but the twist is in how he got them. It is easy to forget that he completely charmed the Academy enough to score a Best Actor nod for a Disney summer blockbuster: the very first Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He proved that a mainstream, eccentric anti-hero could still deliver an award-worthy masterclass. He quickly followed that up with two more Best Actor nominations for his beautifully restrained performance in Finding Neverland and his dark, musical turn in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise is the definitive global box office movie star of the last forty years, there’s no argument. Known as the daredevil who performs pretty much all of his own crazy stunts, people tend to forget what a dramatic talent he is. While action heroes rarely land Oscar nominations, Cruise’s history with the Academy reveals that his rawest performances are the ones that land best with critics. When he chooses to, he can strip everything back to deliver a rendition that feels like something you’d see on the stage.
The history books back this up, with Cruise holding four Academy Award nominations across his historic career. Three of those came from unforgettable acting performances, including explosive Best Actor nods for Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire, alongside a masterclass Best Supporting Actor nomination for his raw, volcanic work in Magnolia. His fourth nomination took him behind the scenes as a producer on the global blockbuster phenomenon Top Gun: Maverick. While the Academy finally bestowed him with a long-overdue Honorary Academy Award at the Governors Awards to celebrate his legendary lifetime achievement in cinema, Cruise has still never taken home a traditional, competitive Oscar.
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe occupies a unique place in cinema as one of the most well-known character actors and one of the quirkiest leading men. While he shines from time to time in blockbuster, popcorn flicks like Spider-Man, he also frequently collaborates with acclaimed auteurs, independent visionaries, and experimental theater makers. His background is in experimental theater with The Wooster Group, which leads him to avant-garde and adventurous project choices.
This fearless career path has earned him four Academy Award nominations across four different decades. The twist is that while he is widely considered the ultimate king of scene-stealing support, his nominations actually break tradition. Dafoe has put in unforgettable, Oscar-nominated Supporting Actor performances in Platoon, Shadow of the Vampire, and The Florida Project, but his fourth nod actually bumped him up to the Best Actor in a Leading Role category for his transformative work as Vincent van Gogh in At Eternity’s Gate. Despite the incredible depth of his range, he has consistently been fly-tipped by the voters when the envelopes open, leaving one of our greatest living performers criminally empty-handed.
Amy Adams
Amy Adams is one of the of the most eclectic actors of her generation. If she had an Oscar win to her name, many would count her as one of the best of all time. Her ability to move easily between different genres, playing sweet musical leads, tough dramatic characters, and complex sci-fi roles, demonstrates just how dedicated to the craft she is.
That dedication has built a monumental Oscar history featuring a stunning six Academy Award nominations. She became a literal staple of the ceremony throughout the 2000s and 2010s, earning nods for everything from indie darlings like Junebug to massive biopics like Vice, along with character study masterclasses in Doubt, The Fighter, The Master, and American Hustle. She has repeatedly proved herself as one of the most versatile and consistently brilliant leading ladies of modern cinema, yet audiences are still waiting for her definitive, long-overdue “win” moment.
Glenn Close
Glenn Close boasts an elite trophy room that most performers can only dream of. Across a legendary five-decade career on both stage and screen, she has captured three Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. Yet, despite conquering nearly every corner of the entertainment industry, it remains absolutely mind-boggling that she has never taken home the most coveted prize of all: a competitive Oscar.
Close’s Oscar record is one of the most glaring omissions in Hollywood history. She currently holds the record (tied with Peter O’Toole) for the most Academy Award nominations – eight – without a competitive win. To rectify this, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that Close will finally get her hands on an Oscar. She has been selected alongside fellow legendary snub recipient Ridley Scott to receive an Academy Honorary Award.
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper has a whopping 12 Oscar nominations to his name, five of which coming from acting performances. At one point, it felt like he was getting the nod every year. However, he has never taken home the gold.
While he hasn’t been a fixture of the industry for quite as long as icons like Glenn Close, Cooper has quickly achieved a similar legendary status. What makes his track record so unique is that the majority of his 12 nominations actually come from behind-the-scenes roles. Over the last decade, he has evolved into one of Hollywood’s premier multi-faceted forces, seamlessly shifting into writing, producing, and directing. Whether he’s orchestrating a passion project like A Star Is Born or conducting the intricate biopic Maestro, he has proven he’s far more than just a leading man. His next mega-project might finally break the curse. Cooper is pulling double duty, directing and starring alongside Margot Robbie in the highly anticipated, untitled Ocean’s Eleven prequel.
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