10 Great Modern Actors Who Have Never Been Nominated For An Oscar

Martin Sheen

He has won several Emmy and Golden Globe awards and was the commander-in-chief for one of television’s greatest casts. But Martin Sheen, with a storied career of roles on the big and small screen, as well as the stage, has never gotten the chance to put his seal on an Oscar. The outspoken actor probably had the best opportunity to receive a nomination from his dark, probing performance as the sociopathic Kit in Badlands, his breakthrough film. He was also penetrating in Apocalypse Now as Cpt. Willard, the heart treading through darkness on his search for a maniacal colonel. He suffered a heart attack during that drama’s treacherous (and now infamous) shoot, and likely should have received some medal of valor for the lengths he went to commit to Francis Ford Coppola’s war classic. Both of those mesmerizing dramas were even more personal with an actor like Sheen in the leading role.

With strong work in recent films like The Amazing Spider-Man and The Way (that was directed by his son, Emilio Estevez), he is still a beacon of light on the big screen. His next big chance for award-season glory could come with Trash, for director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter Richard Curtis. It is also surprising that the Academy also have not acknowledged Sheen’s activism and humanitarian work. Even though he spends many of his later years focusing on working toward liberal political causes and championing events that empower youth like We Day, Sheen has built in a towering career of great roles.