95 years after the Academy Awards held its first ceremony, some actors have surprisingly never been nominated for an Oscar. Of all the nominated categories, the Academy honors acting performances in four categories: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. With a maximum allowable number of five nominees for each acting category since the 9th Academy Awards in 1937, 20 slots are available every year to honor actors.
Yet, despite their popularity and success, these actors have never been nominated for an Oscar. The difficulty in securing a nomination and a win has made the Oscars the most coveted award in the film industry worldwide. However, it has also given credence to Academy snubs and actor curses theories. Although actors like Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Yeoh finally got their first Oscar nominations and corresponding wins after 46 years and 39 years, respectively, these are 10 actors yet to receive an Oscar nomination.
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon has long established himself as a leading man and character actor throughout his career. Setting out to be a movie star at age 17, Kevin Bacon has had a successful acting career of over 45 years. Bacon’s prolific acting career has seen him work with and co-star alongside most of Hollywood’s actors. His work ethic and credits earned him a meme and game, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon or Bacon’s Law.
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon assumes that anyone in the Hollywood film industry can somehow be linked to Kevin Bacon through film roles – either as a co-star or have worked with someone who has co-starred with Bacon in a film. As much as this points to his popularity in Hollywood, the Academy has still not considered him a worthy recipient of an Oscar nomination. Kevin Bacon has received Golden Globe Awards nominations for his performances in The River Wild (1994) and winning for Taking Chance (2009). His notable film roles include Footloose (1984), A Few Good Men (1992), Apollo 13 (1995), Friday the 13th (1980), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), X-Men: First Class (2011), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).
Jim Carrey
Despite his contributions to the comedy genre, Jim Carrey is one of Hollywood’s actors who has never been nominated for an Oscar. Understandably, comedies and romantic comedies aren’t the Academy’s favorite genre for consideration. However, Jim Carrey gave amazing performances in his against type roles in The Truman Show (1998), Man on the Moon (1999), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He received Golden Globe Award nominations for all three performances and won for The Truman Show and Man on the Moon. Neither of these earned him a nomination for an Oscar.
Idris Elba
Multi-talented English actor Idris Elba is one of the British film industry’s greatest and most successful black actors. Surprisingly, he’s still one of the actors who have never been nominated for an Oscar. At this point, it’s uncertain what role or performance Elba would have to play to get the attention of the Academy. Unsurprisingly, Idris Elba has received accolades from top British award associations. However, his work hasn’t gone unrecognized in the United States. He received Golden Globe Award nominations for his spellbinding film performances in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013) and Beasts of No Nation (2015).
Bruce Willis
Although retired as an actor, Bruce Willis’ Oscar snubs have been one of the most shocking in the history of the Academy Awards. With his retirement, Willis goes down in history as one of the actors who was never nominated for an Oscar – a great injustice for his contributions to Hollywood. With over a hundred movies to his credit, Bruce Willis is known for portraying John McClane in the Die Hard franchise (1988–2013). A few other notable film roles include 12 Monkeys (1995), The Fifth Element (1997), Armageddon (1998), The Sixth Sense (1999), 16 Blocks (2006), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) and Glass (2019).
Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi is one of Hollywood’s finest and established character actors. Yet, with a career spanning over three decades, Steve Buscemi still sits on the list of actors never nominated for an Oscar. Buscemi’s film credits are filled with several Hollywood box office hits. A few notable works include Con Air (1997), Fargo (1996), Armageddon (1998), Ghost World (2001), I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry David (2007), and The Death of Stalin (2017).
Keanu Reeves
Canadian actor Keanu Reeves has played the devil’s advocate, paused and dodged bullets, fought angels and demons, played the lover boy and alien messenger, been a detective, and taken on the High table of the world’s dangerous assassins. None of these performances have earned Keanu Reeves at least an Oscar nomination. What’s appalling isn’t that he’s still one of the actors to have never been nominated for an Oscar, but the fact that the only award associations that have considered him for nominations include Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice, People’s Choice, Teen Choice, MTV Movie & TV Awards, and Saturn Awards. While these award associations have their prestige, it’s surprising no major award has ever considered Keanu Reeves for a nomination.
Steve Martin
Veteran actor Steve Martin is one of Hollywood’s living godfathers of comedy. With an acting career of over five decades, Steve Martin has etched his mark in the American film industry. Steve Martin has never been nominated for an Oscar. With his focus on television, writing, and producing, Steve Martin may never receive an actual Oscar nomination. Although he isn’t good enough for a nomination, he has hosted the Oscars three times – 2001, 2003, and 2010. However, in 2014, at the 86th Academy Awards, Steve Martin was presented with an Honorary Academy Award.
David Oyelowo
British actor David Oyelowo is one of the industry’s most intense actors. Oyelowo is known for his in-depth portrayal of his characters. A film, television, and stage actor, David Oyelowo’s acting profile has risen since his supporting role in The Last King of Scotland (2006). Over the years, Oyelowo has starred in notable films including Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Middle of Nowhere (2012), Lincoln (2012), The Butler (2013), Nightingale (2014), Selma (2014), Queen of Katwe (2016), See How They Run (2022), and Role Play (2024).
Oscar Isaac
Oscar Isaac is regarded as one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors. His performances have had many credit him for breaking stereotypes about Latino characters in Hollywood. Oscar Isaac is a fantastic actor by any standard but remains one of the actors who has never been nominated for an Oscar. Although it’s still a shock, with several decades of acting to give, he’s one actor being shortlisted for an Oscar win soon. A few of Oscar Isaac’s iconic roles include The Nativity Story (2006), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), Ex Machina (2015), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Star Wars sequel trilogy, and Dune (2021).
Donald Sutherland
Canadian actor Donald Sutherland is one of Hollywood’s veteran actors. Despite his many roles in film, he has continued to make the list of actors who have never been nominated for an Oscar. After several calls and protests for his Oscar snubs, Donald Sutherland received an Academy Honorary Award in 2017. However, Sutherland has received several nominations at the Golden Globe Awards as proof of his remarkable acting performance. Donald Sutherland was nominated at the Golden Globe Awards for his roles in M*A*S*H (1970), Ordinary People (1980), Without Limits (1998), Citizen X (1995), Path to War (2002), Commander in Chief (2005), Dirty Sexy Money (2007), The Undoing (2020), and The Hunger Games films. If you’re amazed by these 10 actors who have never been nominated for an Oscar, did you know someone won a competitive Oscar without being nominated?
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