10 Black, Minority And Ethnic Actors Who Should Have Made The Oscar Cut This Year

6) Viola Davis For Blackhat

The critics regarded her turn in Blackhat highly, but in reality, AMPAS was never going to go for Violas Davis for Best Supporting Actress. The film bombed and as a whole failed to connect, while no one from the movie bothered (or had the money) to mount a campaign. It’s a shame, because Davis is superb in Blackhat, giving the definition of a strong female performance without it bearing the cliches the description might suggest.

Davis tops Best Supporting Actress 2016 nominees Kate Winslet and The Danish Girl‘s Alicia Vikander at least, both of whom landed nominations as safe favorites. Vikander in particular seems out of place: though her turn in Ex Machina was indeed Oscar nom-worthy, The Danish Girl lumbers her with a flatly-written character. Davis in Blackhat, on the other hand, makes a meal of a character that was nothing but a cipher on the page.