10 stars who have never been nominated for an Oscar

The Academy Awards are only weeks away, and you can be sure these 10 stars aren’t going home with Oscar gold.

Artists do what they do because they love it not for the awards and accolades. But let’s be real, we are all human and want to be recognized for our work. Audiences and actors have a symbiotic relationship after all, and it is nice when an actor’s countless hours of preparation are rewarded. One way this can be achieved is a nice shiny Oscar or simply a nomination. It is an honor just to be recognized after all.

Surprisingly the 10 actors on this list have never been up for the big award even though they have received similar laurels. Let’s take a look at their work and consider why they might not yet have been nominated.

Jim Carrey

Actor Jim Carrey got his start as a comedic actor on the sketch comedy show In Living Color before moving to films such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask. All that slapstick might have pigeonholed him by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization behind the Academy Awards. He has given impressive dramatic performances in The Truman Show and Man on the Moon and received Golden Globe nominations for both. He also received a SAG Award nomination for Moon. The Academy’s preference for more dramatic type actors may be to blame for his lack of Oscar nomination.

Mia Farrow

These days, Mia Farrow is known less for her acting and more for her scandalous and allegedly abusive relationship with director and frequent collaborator Woody Allen. However, she had an impressive career without him. Pre-Allen, one of her earliest roles was as the title character of Roman Polanski’s 1968 film, Rosemary’s Baby. She received nominations for both a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, but this did not translate to the Oscars. That year saw some tough competition in the best actress category with nominees including Katharine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn, so Farrow might just not have made the cut in a competitive year.

Martin Sheen

It seems a crime fictional President Jed Barlett would want to reconcile with some sort of decree that Martin Sheen has not been nominated for an Oscar. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for the 1969 film The Subject Was Roses. In this film, he played a son, Timmy Cleary, who returned home after fighting in WWII to find his parents, John and Nettie (played by Jack Albertson and Patricia Neal) were no longer in love. It seems especially unfair that Sheen was not nominated since both Neal and Albertson were up for awards. In fact, Albertson walked away with Oscar gold that year. Sheen was also part of the casts of the award winning films Apocalypse Now and The Departed. Guess the Academy is holding out for the West Wing feature film.

Meg Ryan

At one time, Meg Ryan was America’s sweetheart. She has since slowed down, but she was the bee’s knees of the ’90s, so it is surprising she was not at least nominated once during that time. She appeared in movies such as Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally, the latter of which got her a Golden Globe nomination. Ryan might be suffering the same fate as Carrey. Since her genre was mainly romantic comedies, she might be overlooked as the Academy loves a dark, dramatic piece. Bonus points if a prosthetic nose or weight gain is used as that is a sure fire way to get an Oscar as opposed to Ryan’s fake orgasm.

Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal was Ryan’s co-star in When Harry Met Sally, so maybe the two can console each other over their lack of Oscar nominations. He too was nominated for a Golden Globe for the film. Additionally he was also nominated for City Slickers in 1991 and Mr. Saturday Night in 1992. He has hosted the Academy Awards nine times but never been nominated. Perhaps there is a clause in the hosting contract that he cannot take home an award? We doubt it though.

Claire Danes

Claire Danes has been acting since she was a teenager and still no Oscar nomination. Her lack of Academy Award love could be explained because of her chosen medium, television. She has won three Primetime Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards, so she has been celebrated. She is best known these days for her role as  Carrie Mathison in Showtime’s Homeland. Her breakout role was as Angela Chase in My So-Called Life.

Nathan Lane

Nathan Lane is a versatile actor tackling both comedic and dramatic roles. He also has an extensive theater resume which might explain his lack of Oscar nomination. He makes up for it in Tony Awards, monologues, and song and dance routines. He was nominated for SAG and Golden Globe awards for his role of Albert Goldman in 1996’s The Birdcage.

Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt holds a weird Oscar title. She is one of just two actors to receive a SAG award but no Oscar nomination. She won her SAG gold for her portrayal of Evelyn Abbott in A Quiet Place, but it did not impress that tough guy named Oscar. This could be because of Oscar’s slight arrogance as the Academy typically does not reward horror films. Emily was also nominated for a SAG award for her work as the title character in Mary Poppins Returns.

Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi is an excellent character actor who always takes on rich and interesting roles. Film critics are pretty unanimous in their belief that it is totally unacceptable he has never been nominated for an Academy Award. Buscemi is best known for his roles in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and Robert Rodriguez’s Desperado. He is a frequent collaborator of the Coehn brothers, appearing in six of their projects, most famously Fargo and The Big Lebowski. There is no good reason why this man does not have Oscar gold let alone a nomination.   

Cameron Diaz

This blonde bombshell has basically retired from acting, but her previous body of work scored her four Golden Globe Awards. One of these was for her portrayal of Jenny Everdeane in Gangs of New York. The Martin Scorsese film would go on to snag an Oscar nomination for best picture in 2003. This was the same year the musical Chicago swept the awards, so she should have done some dance moves instead of wearing a corset.

You can watch the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 12 on ABC.