Martin Sheen
What Should He Have Been Nominated For? While nothing could ever make us wish he had not taken the role, it’s possible that the years Sheen spent on “The West Wing” saw him become so associated with the character of Jed Bartlett, that, like co-star Allison Janney, it’s been hard for the Academy to get back to considering him a big-screen star. But frankly, by the time that show started, Sheen should already have had several nods handily on his resume and probably a couple of statues on his mantle — as the anti-Bartlett in “The Dead Zone;” as General Lee in “Gettysburg;” as the archetypal rebel-on-the-run in “Badlands;” and, of course, a million times over, for his near-fatal performance in Coppola‘s “Apocalypse Now.” Since the end of “West Wing,” he could have picked up a legacy nomination for “The Departed” (it worked for Scorsese) or “Talk to Me” or for the underseen “The Way,” directed by his son, Emilio Estevez
Will It Happen? With an inarguable body of work behind him, and some enticing prospects in the cards, we’d say yes, providing his recovery from bypass surgery continues to go smoothly.
Meg Ryan
What Should She Have Been Nominated For? It’s been too long since we’ve seen Meg Ryan on the big screen (her last job was an ABC Family movie, depressingly), but though her career is a bit rocky now, she has a long-enough list of great past roles that it’s a little bewildering she never picked up an Oscar nod. She was good in more serious fare “When A Man Loves A Woman” and “Hurlyburly,” while her most obvious Oscar play, “Courage Under Fire,” was ignored despite being a well-reviewed hit. But it’s her romantic-comedy roles, in particular “When Harry Met Sally…,” that were her greatest achievements. It’s hard to get recognized for comedy in general, but Ryan was so effortlessly, impossibly good in Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron’s film that we feel that she should have been a no-brainer nominee, but the Golden Globes were as far as her awards run went that year.
Will It Happen? As we said, Ryan hasn’t been in a major movie since 2008’s “The Women,” so it’d take a major comeback to happen. But Hollywood does love a comeback story…
Idris Elba
What Should He Have Been Nominated For? Elba had been a TV actor for nearly a decade before breaking through as Stringer Bell in “The Wire,” but, perhaps because of the scope and intensity of that role, there was never any question that this was a movie star waiting to happen. Elba’s charisma and magnetism are inarguable, and while by and large Hollywood just hasn’t seemed to know quite how to use him — squandering him in bit parts in “Thor” and supporting roles in “Pacific Rim” and “Prometheus” — there were a couple of times that he should have picked up a nomination. “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” is not a great film, but it is a highly Academy-friendly one and Elba is very strong in it. And his nearest miss was just this past Thursday, when the Supporting Actor nominations were announced and Elba’s name, for his monumental turn in “Beasts of No Nation,” was conspicuous in its absence.
Will It Happen? Yes, or we’ll revolt, though it’s hard to see it happening soon with his current, commercial-leaning slate. Maybe if his rumored casting in “The Dark Tower” takes hold, and the multimedia nature of the project doesn’t put the Academy off?
