Among the five Best Actor nominees at this Sunday’s Academy Awards, there’s one person who should have been sitting in the Kodak Theater long ago. At long last, Gary Oldman, one of the actors whose lack of awards recognition has long been lamented, gets to book a tuxedo and a limo, and call himself an Oscar nominee, thanks to his superb, understated performance as George Smiley in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.”
So now that Oldman has got his long-awaited nomination, who’s next on the hitlist? As part of our coverage in countdown to the Oscars, we’ve picked out five actors (along with a slew of honorable mentions) who have also somehow gone their careers without ever picking up Oscar nominations, despite turning in a number of acclaimed performances. Could any of them follow Oldman to glory? We’ll have to see in the next few years. And once you’re done here, take a look at our list of the actress who are also overdue for Oscar recognition.
Guy Pearce
Nomination-Worthy Roles: Ed Exley in “L.A. Confidential“; Leonard Shelby in “Memento“; Charlie Burns in “The Proposition”
Why Has He Never Been Nominated? His great roles were never exactly Oscar material, bar “L.A. Confidential,” but that film had showier, less subtle performances to honor. His early 00s sojourn as a leading man (“The Time Machine,” “Count Of Monte Cristo“) probably derailed things a little too.
Chances Of A Future Nomination: Pretty strong, actually. “Animal Kingdom” and “The King’s Speech” put him on the comeback trail, which was topped off with an Emmy win for Todd Haynes‘ “Mildred Pierce.” And he’s got several high profiles on the way in the coming year, with a cameo in “Prometheus,” the lead in Drake Doremus‘ next film and what we hear is the stand-out performance in “The Wettest County.” Unless “Lockout” puts him on the action movie route, this could happen soon.
John Turturro
Nomination-Worthy Roles: Pino In “Do The Right Thing“; Bernie Bernbaum in “Miller’s Crossing“; Barton Fink in “Barton Fink“; Herbie Stempel in “Quiz Show“; Jesus Quintana in “The Big Lebowski”
Why Has He Never Been Nominated? Hard to say. He won Best Actor at Cannes for “Barton Fink,” and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes for “Quiz Show,” but when the Oscars came, co-stars Michael Lerner and Paul Scofield were nominated instead. We suppose his golden era with the Coens pre-dates their awards circuit breakout with “Fargo,” and “Do The Right Thing” was mostly ignored by the Oscars, but it could also be he’s too much of a chameleon to really register.
Chances Of A Future Nomination: Middling. The bulk of his work in the last decade has been paycheck stuff in Adam Sandler movies and “Transformers,” jobs that pay for his directing work. But should he reunite with the Coens or Spike Lee again for a substantial part, he could end up back in the spotlight.