The Academy isn’t just a couple of guys who watch every movie released within a year. It’s a collective of over 10,500 global film industry artists and leaders, so there’s bound to be wildly varied opinions on what is and what isn’t nomination-worthy. What one person considers great, another might find pandering and vice versa. That’s why in the nearly 100 years the Academy has been in existence, they’ve messed up as many times as they’ve gotten it right. The amount of iconic directors who were overlooked, big screen superstars who were ignored, and all-time classics that received no love is so big, they form an unofficial group called the “Snub Club.” Honorary members include Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, The Shawshank Redemption, Charlie Chaplin, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Glen Close, Saving Private Ryan and many, many others. After the list of 2024 nominees was revealed, The Snub Club received two new members: Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie for Barbie. The internet was so incensed by their lack of nominations that it completely dominated the conversation. While shocking, it’s not that surprising considering the strength of that year. They weren’t snubbed, there was just a glut of talented directors and actresses that year. This list will highlight true snubs that should’ve gotten a nom (and probably should’ve won) but didn’t.
These are the 100 Biggest Oscar Acting Snubs of All Time.
80. Jeremy Irons | Dead Ringers (1988)
There have been many great performances from actors who have played multiple roles in a film. I mentioned some in a previous entry but as amazing as those performances are, they’re more of a gimmick. They’re played for laughs so the umbilical cord of believability is severed. You appreciate the illusion more than the performance. Dead Ringers doesn’t have that problem because it’s as far from a comedy as you can get. You buy it because it’s two different characters with two entirely different performances. There’s not a single instance where both Irons are on screen and I’m confused as to which one is which. It’s like watching a master illusionist pull off a magic trick you’ve seen before but never as well. There have been a couple of dual roles in films since (most notably Tom Hardy in Legend) but none have topped this. It’s the gold standard for which all others are measured.
79. John Travolta | Blow Out (1981)
Pulp Fiction reminded the world that John Travolta was a movie star. When Tarantino singlehandedly gave him a career resurgence by casting him in that film, the world welcomed him back with open arms. Most were delighted to see their first onscreen crush back but cinefiles who had already seen Blow Out were excited by the possibility of another performance on this level. As of this writing, it never happened but I also don’t think (besides Pulp Fiction) he ever got material this strong. While recording sounds for a low-budget slasher film, a sound effects technician (Travolta) unintentionally captures audio evidence of an assassination involving a presidential hopeful. Inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 film Blowup, the film takes that film’s premise, focuses more on the assassination plot, and dials up the tension to an almost unbelievable degree. De Palma’s script feels like a noose that’s slowly descending around Travolta’s neck and watching him do everything in his power to get free before getting choked to death is nerve-racking. The film is a pulse-pounding thrill ride that never lets up until the final emotionally devastating scene that easily should’ve secured Travolta a nom.
78. Kirk Douglas | Ace in the Hole (1951)
Billy Wilder’s follow-up to Sunset Boulevard is one of the most scathing indictments of American culture ever produced by a Hollywood filmmaker. Ace in the Hole is a no-holds-barred, pitch black exposé of the media’s appetite for sensation that has gotten only more relevant with time. Kirk Douglas gives the fiercest performance of his career as Chuck Tatum, an amoral newspaper reporter who washes up in dead-end Albuquerque, happens upon the scoop of a lifetime, and will do anything to keep getting the lurid headlines. While on location for an unrelated news story, Tatum learns of a local man trapped in a collapsed cliff dwelling and immediately starts scheming his next big story. From there, he manipulates everyone within the man’s orbit for his own benefit. His wife, the mayor, the drill team, and the media. He will do anything in his power to keep that man in the hole for as long as possible because the longer he is, the longer he can milk the story. It’s a truly diabolical character with zero scruples but that’s the point. He a mirror reflection of how easily the media can manipulate us and what extremes they’ll go to for the scoop.
77. Jim Carrey | Man on the Moon (1999)
Jim Carrey has never received a single Oscar nom. Most of his roles aren’t exactly award-worthy but he does have a couple that definitely could’ve and probably should’ve received some love from the Academy. Some would point to I Love You Philip Morris as a great example, while most consider The Truman Show his biggest snub but I don’t think that performance counts as a snub. That year had way too many great performances in it, so Carrey never really had a shot. Man on the Moon, however, definitely did. As much as I love Richard Farnsworth in The Straight Story, that was 100% a case of them nominating an old-timer for his entire career, not just that performance. He’s great in the movie but it’s the same character he’s played a million times before. Carrey on the other hand, gave a performance that was so committed, they made a documentary about how much of a pain in the ass he was during the making of the movie. He refused to break character and that’s a hard character to live in all day every day. He inhabited the essence of Andy Kaufman so fully, that Kauffman came back to make a movie about himself. It’s truly transformative. Farnsworth drives a tractor and is crotchety for 90 minutes. You tell me which performance is better.
76. Amy Adams | Arrival (2016)
The 2016 Best Actress race might be this century’s single most competitive acting category. Each actress gave phenomenal performances and I honestly don’t know who I would have cut for Adams but I definitely would’ve made room for her. Denis Villeneuve’s resonant tale of alien contact with Earth depends upon Adams’ grieving linguist leading audiences through a temporal spiral of loss, revelation, and heartbreaking acceptance. It’s a multilayered performance that gradually reveals itself throughout the film. The more you know about her, her decisions, and why she makes them, the better the performance becomes. That’s why the film’s twist is so rewarding. It recontextualizes everything you thought you knew about the character while simultaneously punching you in the gut. Arrival is an intimidating work of writing that lesser actresses would’ve been too afraid to tackle which made Adams the perfect choice. She’s a powerhouse who’s proven time and time again she’s the real deal. She’s been nominated six times and ironically her best performance was the one that didn’t get a nom.
75. John Goodman | The Big Lebowski (1998)
If the Coen Bros love an actor, they tend to work with them multiple times. Over their forty years in the business, they’ve amassed quite a stable of legendary actors but of all their many frequent collaborators, their work with John Goodman is my favorite. His presence makes everything he’s in just a tad better. He is consistently great and his work with the Coens is the best of his career. Not including his vocal cameo in The Hudsucker Proxy, he’s worked with them five times and any one of those roles could’ve netted him a nom. He owns the screen every time he shows up but the definitive Coen Bros/Goodman scene stealer is without a doubt Walter Sobchak. Loosely based on the director John Milius, Walter is a loud-mouthed, volatile volcano of a man. He’s a Vietnam vet looking for another war everywhere he goes. He’s fiercely loyal to his friends but isn’t afraid to tell them to shut the fuck up if they’re not contributing to the conversation. He’s the first person you’d call when there’s trouble but you’d also never invite him over to simply hang out. If he was a villain, his out-of-control rage and unpredictability would rival the best of cinema’s great baddies but thankfully he’s a good guy, which means that rage and unpredictability is funny instead of terrifying.
74. Mark Wahlberg | Boogie Nights (1997)
There’s a misconception that range is the defining characteristic of a good actor. While it’s certainly true of the best actors, it isn’t the be-all and end-all. An actor can have limited range but still excel within their comfort zone. Wahlberg has been accused of being a bad actor for precisely this reason. Because most of his roles are nearly identical, his detractors write him off as one note. And while it is true that he enjoys the occasional paycheck gig, to say he isn’t talented is flat-out absurd. The studio has never forced Paul Thomas Anderson to pick an actor for commercial reasons. He originally wanted Leonardo DiCaprio for the role, he unfortunately had to pass and then he offered it to Wahlberg. He didn’t settle. Furthermore, you don’t accidentally perform this well. If you’re a bad actor, no director, regardless of how talented they are, can get a good performance out of you. Wahlberg is good at this because he’s a good actor, period. His arc from a teenage busboy to a major pornstar to a drugged-out criminal is enthralling. You’re invested every step of the way because of Wahlberg’s charm, naivete, enthusiasm, and natural movie star charisma. Dirk Diggler is a star because Wahlberg is a star. He sells every aspect of his character and the movie wouldn’t have worked as well with anyone else in the lead.
73. Ethan Hawke | First Reformed (2017)
A former military chaplain who lost his son in the Iraq War, and as a result turned to alcoholism and walked away from his marriage, Toller is a broken man who turned to God for salvation. For the past twenty years, he’s been residing over a small, historic First Reformed Church in upstate New York that’s just as empty as he is. There are just enough parishioners to feel like he’s doing something but not enough to make any real difference. For them or himself. His faith is shaken and he drinks heavily to numb his pain. Toller is a deeply introspective and spiritual man who often struggles with his beliefs. He keeps a journal where he records his thoughts and feelings, which he views as his own form of prayer. He is a solitary figure who feels disconnected from the world around him, including his parishioners who seem more interested in the church’s historical significance and tourist appeal than in faith.
Throughout the film, Toller grapples with his own mortality and the guilt he feels for his son’s death. He struggles to find a way to make a meaningful impact in the world and to reconcile his past mistakes. As he becomes more radicalized, he starts to believe that violence may be necessary to wake people up to the urgent crises facing humanity. Pastor Ernst Toller is a complex and deeply nuanced character who Ethan Hawke brilliantly portrays. His journey reflects our universal search for meaning and purpose in a world that can often feel overwhelming and hopeless.
72. Andy Serkis | The Lord of the Rings (2001–03)
Although it never would have happened, if Robin Williams somehow received an Oscar nom for his vocal performance in Aladdin, it would’ve set a precedent that a great performance isn’t just an actor delivering lines in front of a camera. A great performance is a great performance, regardless of whether or not the actor is visible. It definitely would’ve opened the door for Serkis to get recognized for the two Lord of the Rings sequels. Or they could’ve started here and rewrote their eligibility going forward. Serkis is giving as committed a performance as any actor has ever given. From his heroin-addicted cat-like guttural growls to his agile body movements, it’s a truly remarkable achievement. If the Academy wasn’t going to nominate him, it should’ve created an honorary Oscar to at least recognize the achievement.
71. Gene Wilder | Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
After reading the script, Gene Wilder said he would take the role of Willy Wonka under one condition: that his introduction would start with him limping, then his cane would get stuck in the ground and right when it looks like he’s about to fall over, he’d suddenly spring into a somersault in front of the children. When director Mel Stuart asked why, Wilder replied that having Wonka do this meant that “from that time on, no one will know if I’m lying or telling the truth.” It’s not the most mind-blowing addition an actor has made to a character but it shows that from day one, Wilder understood this character better than the writers and the director himself. Wonka is a whimsical enigma. A devilishly charming puzzle of a man. Is he purposely punishing these children till he finds the perfect heir or are they victims of their own vices? Wilder oscillates between an eccentric and a madman, almost at random. You have no idea what his motivations are until the very end when he reveals himself to be a kind-hearted man who simply uses emotionally manipulative tactics to weed out undesirables. It’s a pitch-perfect performance that might just be my favorite of all time.
90-81 | 70-61
What do you think of the selection so far? Which Oscar snubs do you think are the most egregious? Maybe they will show up further on the list!
