John Goodman
What Should He Have Been Nominated For? In 2011 and 2012, John Goodman was the only actor to appear in both Best Picture winners, “The Artist” and “Argo” (and also cropped up in a third, “Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close,” and in a perfect world would have had another with “Inside Llewyn Davis” in 2013). Despite this achievement, and being one of the busiest actors around, one few other actors can match, Goodman’s never been nominated for an Oscar. If it was going to happen, it should have been for films with his most regular collaborators, the Coens, and more specifically his force-of-nature supporting turns as the demonic Charlie Meadows in “Barton Fink” (which did get a supporting nod, but for Michael Lerner), or as Walter Sobchak in “The Big Lebowski,” two of the filmmakers’ most vivid and enjoyable creations, and perhaps the performances (so far) that Goodman will be remembered for.
Will It Happen? Goodman seems like someone who’d be prime for being given a tragicomic lead in a Sundance movie that would take off (à la Richard Jenkins), but we’d settle for the Coens, who are now more Oscar-friendly that they used to be, penning another great role for him.
Pam Grier
What Should She Have Been Nominated For? Want proof of the Academy’s unconscious racial bias (he laughed, as if proof was needed)? Robert Forster picked up a Supporting Actor nomination for Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown,” while Pam Grier as the title character, giving arguably the best performance ever in a Tarantino movie, didn’t, despite Globe and SAG nominations, and a less-than-stellar five-nominee line-up that included Judi Dench in “Mrs. Brown” and Kate Winslet in “Titanic.” In fairness, we suppose, as a ’70s Blaxploitation veteran, Grier hadn’t done all that much stuff that would be considered Oscar fare before that movie. But Grier’s still a great actress and an icon, who didn’t just deserve a nomination for “Jackie Brown,” but deserved five roles just as good.
Will It Happen? Grier hasn’t appeared in a feature since RZA’s “The Man With The Iron Fists” three years ago, so it seems like it might be a little bit of a stretch. But wouldn’t be great if Tarantino penned her another comeback role?
Jeffrey Wright
What Should He Have Been Nominated For: From 007 to the Hunger Games, Jeffrey Wright is one of those actors that you’re glad to see wherever he pops up, even if the movie he’s in stinks. He won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his supporting turn in “Angels In America,” but has never really gotten close to an Oscar nod, though we could point to more than one turn that he knocked out of the park. “Syriana” was arguably the most likely — George Clooney won for the film, but Wright was at least his equal in a more subtle role — while he excelled in Ang Lee’s “Ride With The Devil” too. But his best turn to date was probably his breakthrough in Julian Schnabel’s “Basquiat.” A movie a little more conventional might have gotten the momentum for a nod (see Javier Bardem’s nomination for Schnabel’s follow-up, “Before Night Falls”), but sadly his spectacular, unmannered turn didn’t register.
Will It Happen? Wright works most consistently on HBO these days, following “Boardwalk Empire” with “Westworld” and “Confirmation,” but he just needs the right indie director to give him the right showcase.