Special Report
The Most Nominated Actor Who Still Doesn't Have An Oscar
Published:
Every year, members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences select a handful of performers they deem worthy of nominating in the categories of Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. Surprisingly, some of the best and most acclaimed performers of our time have racked up numerous nominations without ever taking home the Oscar. The most nominated actor who still doesn’t have an Oscar, for instance, is the highly esteemed Glenn Close. (These are 25 of the Oscars’ most egregious snubs.)
Some years, there are clear favorites who do go on to win – but there have also been some major upsets. Back in 1975, for example, comedian Art Carney won the Best Actor accolade for his role as an old man traveling the country with his pet cat in “Harry and Tonto” – beating out Jack Nicholson (for “Chinatown”), Al Pacino (for “The Godfather Part II”), Dustin Hoffman (for “Lenny”), and Albert Finney (for “Murder on the Orient Express”). More recently, in 2021, “The Father” star Anthony Hopkins was named Best Actor over the late Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), shocking just about everyone, including Hopkins. (These are actors who won an Oscar before 30.)
To determine the actors and actresses with the most Oscar nominations who never won the award, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on the official website of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Oscar.
Click here to see the most nominated actors who still don’t have Oscars
Only living performers were considered for this list. I might be interesting to note some now deceased stars of legendary status who were nominated but never won: Peter O’Toole (eight nominations), Richard Burton (seven nominations), Greta Garbo (four nominations), Kirk Douglas (three nominations), Cary Grant (two nominations), and Orson Welles (one nomination).
27. Mark Ruffalo
> Best Actor nominations: 0
> Best Supporting Actor nominations: 3
> Nominated for: The Kids Are All Right (2010); Foxcatcher (2014); Spotlight (2015)
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26. Viggo Mortensen
> Best Actor nominations: 3
> Best Supporting Actor nominations: 0
> Nominated for: Eastern Promises (2007); Captain Fantastic (2016); Green Book (2018)
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25. Johnny Depp
> Best Actor nominations: 3
> Best Supporting Actor nominations: 0
> Nominated for: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003); Finding Neverland (2004); Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
24. Laura Linney
> Best Actress nominations: 2
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 1
> Nominated for: You Can Count on Me (2000); Kinsey (2004); The Savages (2007)
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23. Matt Damon
> Best Actor nominations: 2
> Best Supporting Actor nominations: 1
> Nominated for: Good Will Hunting (1997); Invictus (2009); The Martian (2015)
22. Edward Norton
> Best Actor nominations: 1
> Best Supporting Actor nominations: 2
> Nominated for: Primal Fear (1996); American History X (1998); Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
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21. Woody Harrelson
> Best Actor nominations: 1
> Best Supporting Actor nominations: 2
> Nominated for: The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996); The Messenger (2009); Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
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20. Joan Allen
> Best Actress nominations: 1
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 2
> Nominated for: Nixon (1995); The Crucible (1996); The Contender (2000)
19. Nick Nolte
> Best Actor nominations: 2
> Best Supporting Actor nominations: 1
> Nominated for: The Prince of Tides (1991); Affliction (1998); Warrior (2011)
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18. Tom Cruise
> Best Actor nominations: 2
> Best Supporting Actor nominations: 1
> Nominated for: Born on the Fourth of July (1989); Jerry Maguire (1996); Magnolia (1999)
17. Michelle Pfeiffer
> Best Actress nominations: 2
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 1
> Nominated for: Dangerous Liaisons (1988); The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989); Love Field (1992)
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16. Sigourney Weaver
> Best Actress nominations: 2
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 1
> Nominated for: Aliens (1986); Gorillas in the Mist (1988); Working Girl (1988)
15. Debra Winger
> Best Actress nominations: 3
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 0
> Nominated for: An Officer and a Gentleman (1982); Terms of Endearment (1983); Shadowlands (1993)
14. Diane Ladd
> Best Actress nominations: 0
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 3
> Nominated for: Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974); Wild at Heart (1990); Rambling Rose (1991)
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13. Piper Laurie
> Best Actress nominations: 1
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 2
> Nominated for: The Hustler (1961); Carrie (1976); Children of a Lesser God (1986)
12. Angela Lansbury
> Best Actress nominations: 0
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 3
> Nominated for: Gaslight (1944); The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945); The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
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11. Bradley Cooper
> Best Actor nominations: 3
> Best Supporting Actor nominations: 1
> Nominated for: Silver Linings Playbook (2012); American Hustle (2013); American Sniper (2014); A Star Is Born (2018)
10. Saoirse Ronan
> Best Actress nominations: 3
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 1
> Nominated for: Atonement (2007); Brooklyn (2015); Lady Bird (2017); Little Women (2019)
9. Michelle Williams
> Best Actress nominations: 2
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 2
> Nominated for: Brokeback Mountain (2005); Blue Valentine (2010); My Week with Marilyn (2011); Manchester by the Sea (2016)
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8. Ed Harris
> Best Actor nominations: 1
> Best Supporting Actor nominations: 3
> Nominated for: Apollo 13 (1995); The Truman Show (1998); Pollock (2000); The Hours (2002)
7. Annette Bening
> Best Actress nominations: 3
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 1
> Nominated for: The Grifters (1990); American Beauty (1999); Being Julia (2004); The Kids Are All Right (2010)
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6. Willem Dafoe
> Best Actor nominations: 1
> Best Supporting Actor nominations: 3
> Nominated for: Platoon (1986); Shadow of the Vampire (2000); The Florida Project (2017); At Eternity’s Gate (2018)
5. Marsha Mason
> Best Actress nominations: 4
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 0
> Nominated for: Cinderella Liberty (1973); The Goodbye Girl (1977); Chapter Two (1979); Only When I Laugh (1981)
4. Jane Alexander
> Best Actress nominations: 2
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 2
> Nominated for: The Great White Hope (1970); All the President’s Men (1976); Kramer vs. Kramer (1979); Testament (1983)
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3. Warren Beatty
> Best Actor nominations: 4
> Best Supporting Actor nominations: 0
> Nominated for: Bonnie and Clyde (1967); Heaven Can Wait (1978); Reds (1981); Bugsy (1991)
2. Amy Adams
> Best Actress nominations: 1
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 5
> Nominated for: Junebug (2005); Doubt (2008); The Fighter (2010); The Master (2012); American Hustle (2013); Vice (2018)
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1. Glenn Close
> Best Actress nominations: 4
> Best Supporting Actress nominations: 4
> Nominated for: The World According to Garp (1982); The Big Chill (1983); The Natural (1984); Fatal Attraction (1987); Dangerous Liaisons (1988); Albert Nobbs (2011); The Wife (2018); Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
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