On the eve of Hilary Swank receiving her 2nd Oscar, I've been thinking about the great number of actors and actresses that have never even received one. I began to think about them in a few different groups:
1) Actors that are still getting hired for jobs, have created stunning characters in the past, and will definitely win an Oscar one day:
Peter Sarsgaard, John Cusack, Natalie Portman, Laura Linney, Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, Kate Winslet (already 4 nominations!), Johnny Depp, Naomi Watts, Jude Law, Ed Norton, Joan Allen, Ralph Fiennes, Laurence Fishburne, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire.
2) Actors that definitely did deserve an Oscar at one time, but it's getting harder to get jobs, so they will either die without an Oscar, get one of those honorary awards, or receive a charity award a la Paul Newman or Al Pacino for roles that didn't really deserve it. For example, Morgan Freeman will win one of those tomorrow night:
Annette Bening, Sigourney Weaver, Jeff Bridges, Ian McKellen, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise (before he went to TV), Liam Neeson, Samuel L. Jackson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Harrison Ford (maybe), Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray.
3) Actors that probably deserve it, but just aren't the Academy's cup of tea most of the time, and will probably never get one:
Patricia Clarkson, Samantha Morton, Judy Davis, Catherine Keener, Chloe Sevigny, Emily Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Laura Dern (why are these all women?).
It's your turn. I want to know who you think hasn't won an Oscar yet, deserves one, and what category you think they fit in. Do you disagree with how I've grouped people so far?
And finally, what category would you put Tom Cruise in? Does he deserve one at all? I actually think so (look back at his full body of work), but I'm not sure how I'd categorize him...
What about Jim Carrey? Unfortunately, I think he's in the third category. He's done some great work, such as Man on the Moon, but the Academy has largely ignored this due to his earlier films. Unlike Ray Charles, Andy Kaufman was not liked in Hollywood, so a movie about him was not exactly appreciated in the same way.
Posted by: Genevieve | February 27, 2005 at 05:56 PM
What about actors who are so far out of mainstream consideration -- primarily comedic actors or foreign actors -- that an Oscar seems difficult to imagine? To wit: Jim Carrey, Steve Martin, Jet Li, etc. Two years ago, I'd have put Jamie Foxx in this category. I'd bet on Jim Carrey within the next five years.
Posted by: MLJ | February 27, 2005 at 11:45 PM
Interesting that Jim Carrey came up twice. He'll get his due. I mean, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and Tom Hanks all made the leap from comedy to Oscar.
I've forgotten about Mark Ruffalo. He's in my first category of people that will definitely get one - it's just a matter of time.
Posted by: Craig | February 28, 2005 at 08:13 AM
Something I noticed... Natalie Portman and Kate Winslet have been great in many small, independent movies but were horrible in big budget, high profile movies. Why do you think that is? do you think it's just the way they're directed or do you think they buckled under the pressure?
Posted by: Grant | February 28, 2005 at 08:34 PM
You should see if you can track down Natalie Portman's interview with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. She was doing the normal PR tour on all the shows to promote Garden State, and she said something like, "I think you've noticed that when I'm not interested in the material, I kind of, um, suck."
I think there's something to that... Those two actresses (and Julianne Moore, who's excellent in independent films, but then does Evolution and Nine Months for studio pictures) seem to do what lots of actors do (alternate between an independent movie, and then a big studio film to pay the bills), but I guess for some, they just can't get as invested in a film where they're peforming in front of a green screen all the time.
Posted by: Craig | February 28, 2005 at 09:10 PM
I think Jim Carey is cursed. Eternal Sunshine, The Truman Show, Man on the Moon... and not so much as a nomination? I don't get it... especially Man on the Moon. I also think Paul Giammati is turning into the new Jim Carey.
Posted by: Grant | March 01, 2005 at 06:03 PM
The ironic thing is that Carrey and Jamie Foxx used to work together on In Living Color. Can you just see Jim Carrey screaming at his TV set, "He gets an Oscar before I even get a nomination?!?!?!? Didn't you people see Booty Call?!?"
Posted by: Craig | March 02, 2005 at 01:14 PM
I think Catherine Keener is the most underrated actress there is. She's really great. Linda Fiorentino and Lili Taylor are two others who deserve an oscar that will probably never get it.
Posted by: Grant | March 15, 2005 at 12:48 PM
Jennifer Jason Leigh deserved to be Oscar-nominated for her brilliant, daring, intense performances in films like Georgia, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Miami Blues, Rush and Washington Square. It sickens me that she doesn't have even one Oscar nomination to her name despite winning countless rave reviews and awards from New York Film Critics, National Society of Film Critics and Boston Society of Film Critics. To think, Angelina Jolie, Kim Basinger, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry and CATHERINE ZETA JONES all have Oscars on their mantlepieces, while a truly magnificent actress like Jennifer Jason Leigh doesn't even have a nomination. Shame on you AMPAS.
Posted by: bello | January 21, 2006 at 11:19 AM