The 89th Oscar Ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 26 at the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center. As this date approaches, it will be good to remember some of the great actors who starred in extremely popular and successful movies, although they were never recognized by the Academy Awards. Here is the list of five famous actors who never received an Oscar.
- Johnny Depp
During his career, Johnny Depp has received three Oscar nominations but never won single one of them. Later, Johnny told Vanity Fair that it is plenty, and he doesn’t want to win Oscar at all. In 2004 for he received a nomination in the best actor category for his role in Pirates of the Caribbean , but he was beaten by Sean Penn ( Mystic River ). Depp continued his run for Oscar in 2005 when he again was nominated for the best actor for his performance in Finding Neverland but again fell short by losing to Jamie Foxx and his movie Ray. Last time, the Academy Awards recognized Johnny Depp in 2008 in the same category for his role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. However, he still didn’t receive the award and lost to Daniel Day-Lewis.
2. Samuel L. Jackson
Throughout his career, Samuel L. Jackson starred in more than 100 movies, although he is best known for his performances in Tarantino’s movies. However, he received only one nomination as best supporting actor in 1995 for his appearance in Pulp Fiction and lost to Martin Landau for Ed Wood.
3. Bradley Cooper
Even though Bradley Cooper and his co-star Jennifer Lawrence are favorites of the Academy, he still didn’t receive his Oscar in comparison to Jennifer Lawrence. Currently, he has three consecutive nominations for the years of 2013 to 2015. In 2013, he was nominated for the best actor for his role in Silver Lining Playbook. Despite the fact that Lawrence has received her Oscar for the same movie, Bradley Cooper lost to Daniel Day-Lewis and his movie Lincoln . The following year, he was nominated for the best supporting actor category for American Hustle. However, Jared Leto managed to outperform him and steal the award for his part in Dallas Buyers Club. In 2015, he returned as the best actor nominee for American Sniper, but again he wasn’t lucky enough and gave up his award to Eddie Redmayne, who received an Oscar for his role in The Theory of Everything.
4. Robert Downey Jr.
Some can say that Robert Downey Jr. gave up his chances to ever get Oscar after he started starring in Marvel Universe movies as it has been known that Academy never gives Oscars to superhero blockbusters. However, in his career, he had many great movies, including Chaplin, for which he received his first Oscar nomination in the best actor category, but fell short to Al Pacino ( Scent of a Women ). His last nomination was the best supporting actor in Tropic Thunder in 2008. However , none of the nominees stood a chance in winning as the Oscar went to Heath Ledger (posthumous), for his stunning performance in The Dark Knight.
5. Ed Harris
Ed Harris is a veteran of American cinema. Harris received his first nomination in 1996 as best actor for his stunning performance in Apollo 13, but instead, Kevin Spacey was awarded for his part in The Usual Suspects . Harris continued his Oscar run in 1999 with a nomination in the best supporting actor category for his role in The Truman Show but was beaten by James Coburn and his performance in Affliction. You would think the third time is a charm, but not for Ed Harris. He was nominated for the best actor for the appearance in Pollock but lost to Russell Crowe’s Gladiator . Last time Harris was nominated in 2003 for his part in The Hours as best supporting actor, but luck wasn’t on his side again as he lost to Chris Cooper ( Adaptation ).
Hopefully, this year’s ceremony will bring us some good surprises with some new faces in its nominations. The 2017 Oscar Award Ceremony will be held on February 27, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
[Featured Image by Andrew H. Walker/GettyImages]