Mad Ramblings of a Movie Geek 01.28.09 Oscar's Have Nots

Posted by Jordan Bruns on 01.28.2009

These actors and actresses have yet to receive an Oscar despite multiple nominations...




Welcome to this week's Mad Ramblings of a Movie Geek! The Oscar nominations have been announced, and there were a few surprises. Revolutionary Roadfailed to secure a Best Picture nomination, though it was nominated at the Globes. Nor was Kate Winslet nominated for her performance, though she was nominated for The Reader. In fact, Revolutionary Road received only three nominations: Best Supporting Actor for Michael Shannon (which nobody saw coming), Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design. Christopher Nolan was considered a dark horse candidate for Best Director thanks to his Directors Guild nod for The Dark Knight. He wasn't nominated either. Although The Dark Knight garnered eight nominations, including a long foreseen Supporting Actor nod for Heath Ledger, it was not nominated for Best Picture. For some reason this surprised people. I don't really understand why; it's a fucking Batman movie. Is it a great movie? Yes. Is it the greatest superhero movie ever? Arguably. But the fact is, superhero movies don't get nominated for Best Picture. Movies like that are often big winners at the People's Choice or MTV Movie Awards, but not the Oscars.





Now that my quick analysis on the nominations is out of the way, I can begin to tackle the topic at hand. This week I am going to talk about some of the actors and actresses who, despite previous nominations, have not yet won an Oscar. In order to be eligible for inclusion on this list, one has to be alive, and have had at least three nominations without a win. From what I could gather, based on my research (which isn't perfect, so be kind), that leaves five actors and one actress. The following six performers have therefore been dubbed Oscar's Have Nots...

Peter O'Toole:
Despite winning an Honorary Oscar in 2002, this esteemed British thespian has yet to win a competitive award. He's been nominated eight times for Best Actor, most recently two years ago for Venus. To date, he holds the record for most nominations with no wins.

My Mad Ramblings
It's probably going to stay that way, too. O'Toole is 76 years old, and the Academy is moving from the old school to the new school when it comes to what films/roles to recognize. Although, if he should receive another nomination somewhere down the road, he could easily claim a statuette as a glorified Lifetime Achievement Award, the way Pacino did for Scent of a Woman and Scorsese did for The Departed.





Kate Winslet:
At the tender age of 33, she has been nominated six times, the youngest actress to accomplish such a fete. While her Best Actress nomination this year could easily change that, for the moment she remains Oscarless.

My Mad Ramblings
This could finally be her year, as she is being hailed as a potential favorite to win. Then again, she's up against Meryl Streep, and Oscar loves Meryl Streep. Winslet must already be feeling Susan Lucci syndrome, and a loss this year would only amplify that.





Kirk Douglas:
This legendary movie tough guy has been nominated three times and, like O'Toole, has been the recipient of an honorary award. Son Michael won the Best Actor Oscar in 1988 for his performance in Wall Street, but unfortunately, the elder Douglas has never been received such an honor.

My Mad Ramblings
He never will be either. Kirk Douglas is 92 years old, and has appeared in only 3 films since suffering a massive stroke in 1996, which greatly impaired his ability to speak. It's unlikely he'll ever work again. He hasn't made a movie since the death of his youngest son Eric in 2004. Douglas appears to be more or less retired from acting, making his chances of winning a competitive Oscar pretty much nil.





Johnny Depp:
A three-time nominee for Best Actor, Depp has yet to win the big one. His most recent nomination was for Sweeney Todd last year. The most interesting thing about his situation is that almost every performance he gives could be considered Oscar caliber, at least if one were to judge based solely on the strength of the performance.

My Mad Ramblings
Unfortunately for Mr. Depp, he often tackles very bizarre roles, or gives quirky twists to his characterizations (Jack Sparrow). He's pretty far ahead of the curve, and it may take a while for Academy voters to catch up with him.





Tom Cruise:
He was one of Hollywood's top heartthrobs in the ‘80's. He's one of the biggest movie stars around. Yet Tom Cruise, although he's been a three-time nominee, has never won an Academy Award.

My Mad Ramblings
There are two reasons why Tom Cruise will probably never win an Oscar. One is that he's already reached such high levels of stardom. The second reason is because the AMPAS, as progressive as it is, will not bestow such a high honor to such a controversial figure. I'm not criticizing his choice of religion, but I am saying that such a conservative voting body isn't likely to reward someone who is so outspoken about a topic that mainstream America doesn't quite understand.





Leonardo DiCaprio:
Anyone who knows me personally or closely follows my writing for 411 knows that I used to hate this man with a passion. However, times change, and I now believe him to be a brilliant actor who gives his all to every role he plays. But seriously, it was hard to take him seriously at first since he started out on Growing Pains. I don't hear a lot of people praising the acting prowess of Kirk Cameron or Alan Thicke, do you? DiCaprio's first Oscar nomination was a Supporting Actor nod for What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Since then he has been nominated twice for Best Actor, for The Aviator and Blood Diamond, respectively.

My Mad Ramblings
He's still young enough and diverse enough to be recognized at some point in the future. His continued collaborations with Martin Scrosese, including the upcoming Ashecliffe could be just the ticket he needs to win the big one. It'll happen some day, I'm sure. The guy's just too damn good.





It's hard to say which of these performers, if any, will ever be recognized by the Academy. However, like I said before, Kate Winslet may be off the list in just 25 short days.

That's it for this week's edition of Mad Ramblings. Next week I'll be back with my list of some of the biggest Oscar upsets in recent memory. As usual, I welcome any and all forms of feedback.

Until next time...