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    20 Good Actors Without Oscars

    Some actors deliver great performances and get showered with awards. Others deliver great performances and just get hosed. READ: The Most Talked-About Acceptance Speeches In Oscar History Of course, not everyone can win an Oscar; otherwise, the awards wouldn't mean anything. But when you look at the actors and actresses who were denied an Oscar despite a record of consistently great work, you have to wonder what the Academy was thinking. Whether they were overshadowed or completely robbed, these are the best actors who have never been honored with that coveted gold statue.

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    Reuters
  • Johnny Depp
    2004: Nominated for Best Actor, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"; lost to Sean Penn, "Mystic River" 2005: Nominated for Best Actor, "Finding Neverland"; lost to Jamie Foxx, "Ray" 2008: Nominated for Best Actor, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"; lost to Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood" PHOTOS: Johnny Depp's Past Loves
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  • Tom Cruise
    1990: Nominated for Best Actor, "Born on the Fourth of July"; lost to Daniel Day-Lewis, "My Left Foot" 1997: Nominated for Best Actor, "Jerry Maguire"; lost to Geoffrey Rush, "Shine" 2000: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, "Magnolia"; lost to Michael Caine, "The Cider House Rules"
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  • Albert Finney
    1964: Nominated for Best Actor, "Tom Jones"; lost to Sidney Poitier, "Lilies of the Field" 1975: Nominated for Best Actor, "Murder on the Orient Express"; lost to Art Carney, "Harry and Tonto" 1984: Nominated for Best Actor, "The Dresser"; lost to Robert Duvall, "Tender Mercies" 1985: Nominated for Best Actor, "Under the Volcano"; lost to F. Murray Abraham, "Amadeus" 2001: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, "Erin Brockovich"; lost to  Benicio del Toro, "Traffic"
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  • Michelle Pfeiffer
    1989: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, "Dangerous Liasons"; lost to Geena Davis, "The Accidental Tourist" 1990: Nominated for Best Actress, "The Fabulous Baker Boys"; lost to Jessica Tandy, "Driving Miss Daisy" 1993: Nominated for Best Actress, "Love Field"; lost to Emma Thompson, "Howards End"
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  • John Travolta
    1978: Nominated for Best Actor, "Saturday Night Fever"; lost to Richard Dreyfuss, "The Goodbye Girl" 1995: Nominated for Best Actor, "Pulp Fiction"; lost to Tom Hanks, "Forrest Gump" READ: Why (Maybe)  John Travolta Called Idina Menzel The Entirely Wrong Name
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  • Gary Oldman
    2012: Nominated for Best Actor, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"; lost to Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
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  • Robert Downey, Jr.
    1993: Nominated for Best Actor, "Chaplin"; lost to Al Pacino, "Scent of a Woman" 2009: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, "Tropic Thunder"; lost to Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
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  • Liam Neeson
    1994: Nominated for Best Actor, "Schindler's List"; lost to Tom Hanks, "Philadelphia" READ: Liam Neeson Reveals Heartbreaking Final Words To Wife
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  • Will Smith
    2002: Nominated for Best Actor, "Ali"; lost to Denzel Washington, "Training Day" 2007: Nominated for Best Actor, "The Pursuit of Happyness"; lost to Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"
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  • Mark Wahlberg
    2007: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, "The Departed"; lost to Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine" 2011: Nominated for Best Picture, "The Fighter" (along with David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman); lost to Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, "The King's Speech"
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  • Ralph Fiennes
    1994: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, "Schindler's List"; lost to Tommy Lee Jones, "The Fugitive" 1997: Nominated for Best Actor, "The English Patient"; lost to Geoffrey Rush, "Shine"
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  • Bradley Cooper
    2013: Nominated for Best Actor, "Silver Linings Playbook"; lost to Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln" 2014: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, "American Hustle"; lost to Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club" 2015: Nominated for Best Actor, "American Sniper"; lost to Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything" 2015: Nominated for Best Picture, "American Sniper" (along with Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar and Peter Morgan); lost to Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopoledouble-dagger, "Birdman (Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance"
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  • Glenn Close
    1983: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, "The World According to Garp"; lost to Jessica Lange, "Tootsie" 1984: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, "The Big Chill": lost to Linda Hunt, "The Year of Living Dangerously" 1985: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, "The Natural": lost to Peggy Ashcroft, "A Passage to India" 1988: Nominated for Best Actress, "Fatal Attraction"; lost to Cher, "Moonstruck" 1989: Nominated for Best Actress, "Dangerous Liasons"; lost to Jodie Foster, "The Accused" 2012: Nominated for Best Actress, "Albert Nobbs"; lost to Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
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  • Joaquin Phoenix
    2001: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, "Gladiator"; lost to Benicio del Toro, "Traffic" 2006: Nominated for Best Actor, "Walk the Line"; lost to Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote" 2013: Nominated for Best Actor, "The Master"; lost to Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
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  • Edward Norton
    1997: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, "Primal Fear"; lost to Cuba Gooding, Jr., "Jerry Maguire" 1999: Nominated for Best Actor, "American History X"; lost to Roberto Benigni, "Life is Beautiful" 2015: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, "Birdman"; lost to J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash."
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  • Amy Adams
    2006: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, "Junebug"; lost to Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener." 2009: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, "Doubt"; lost to Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." 2011: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, "The Fighter"; lost to Melissa Leo, "The Fighter." 2013: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, "The Master"; lost to Anne Hathaway, "Les Misérables." 2014: Nominated for Best Actress, "American Hustle"; lost to Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine."
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  • Annette Bening
    1991: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, "The Grifters"; lost to Whoopi Goldberg, "Ghost" 2000: Nominated for Best Actress, "American Beauty"; lost to Hilary Swank, "Boys Don't Cry" 2005: Nominated for Best Actress, "Being Julia"; lost to Hilary Swank, "Million Dollar Baby" 2011: Nominated for Best Actress, "The Kids Are All Right"; lost to Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
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  • Ed Harris
    1996: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, "Apollo 13"; lost to Kevin Spacey, "The Usual Suspects" 1999: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, "The Truman Show"; lost to James Coburn, "Affliction" 2001: Nominated for Best Actor, "Pollock"; lost to Russell Crowe, "Gladiator" 2003: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, "The Hours"; lost to Chris Cooper, "Adaptation."
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  • Sigourney Weaver
    1987: Nominated for Best Actress, "Aliens"; lost to Marlee Matlin, "Children of a Lesser God" 1989: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, "Working Girl"; lost to Geena Davis, "The Accidental Tourist" 1989: Nominated for Best Actress, "Gorillas in the Mist"; lost to Jodie Foster, "The Accused"
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  • Harrison Ford
    1985: Nominated for Best Actor, "Witness"; lost to William Hurt, "Kiss of the Spider Woman"
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  • Published
    21 Images

    20 Good Actors Without Oscars

    Some actors deliver great performances and get showered with awards. Others deliver great performances and just get hosed. READ: The Most Talked-About Acceptance Speeches In Oscar History Of course, not everyone can win an Oscar; otherwise, the awards wouldn't mean anything. But when you look at the actors and actresses who were denied an Oscar despite a record of consistently great work, you have to wonder what the Academy was thinking. Whether they were overshadowed or completely robbed, these are the best actors who have never been honored with that coveted gold statue.

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  • 20 Good Actors Without Oscars
  • 1
  • Johnny Depp
  • Tom Cruise
  • Albert Finney
  • Michelle Pfeiffer
  • John Travolta
  • Gary Oldman
  • Robert Downey, Jr.
  • Liam Neeson
  • Will Smith
  • Mark Wahlberg
  • Ralph Fiennes
  • Bradley Cooper
  • Glenn Close
  • Joaquin Phoenix
  • Edward Norton
  • Amy Adams
  • Annette Bening
  • Ed Harris
  • Sigourney Weaver
  • Harrison Ford