Mia Farrow
What Should She Have Been Nominated For? Now nearly 50 years into her screen career, Mia Farrow’s personal life and charity campaigning sometimes overshadow her acting, but it’s still sort of staggering to realize that Farrow has never been Oscar nominated. She received multiple Golden Globe or BAFTA nods for her work in Woody Allen’s films, and Oscar nods for any of “Broadway Danny Rose,” “The Purple Rose Of Cairo,” “Hannah And Her Sisters” or “Alice,” among others, would have been thoroughly deserved. But of everything she’s ever done, her star-making turn in “Rosemary’s Baby” might still be her greatest achievement. Again winning a BAFTA and Golden Globe nomination, her descent into, and ultimate acceptance of, madness and evil is sad and terrifying in equal measure, and all the more impressive for having been filmed when she was just 23.
Will It Happen? Farrow doesn’t act that often these days, but she’s impressive when she does: She was great in Todd Solondz’s “Dark Horse,” and was the only good thing about “The Omen” remake. Hopefully someone finds her something substantial to do somewhere.
Gael García Bernal
What Should He Have Been Nominated For? Excluding perhaps Javier Bardem, he’s as well-known a Spanish-language male star as we have right now, and as of last weekend is a surprise Golden Globes winner for starring in “Mozart In The Jungle,” but Gael García Bernal has never been so much on the Academy’s radar, it seems. It’s probably in large part because he’s mostly shied away from ‘going Hollywood,’ still working predominately in his native tongue and acting in English only when a top-flight auteur is involved. As such, almost all of his most worthy roles (he was terrific in Jon Stewart’s “Rosewater,” even if the movie itself was a miss) have been in Spanish, and we know how reluctant the Academy are to nominate foreign-language performances. Which is a shame, because any of “Y Tu Mamá También,” “Bad Education,” “No” or in particular “The Motorcycle Diaries” were thoroughly awards-worthy.
Will It Happen? Reuniting with “No” director Pablo Larraín on biopic “Neruda” might not do the trick unless the foreign-language movie gets absolute critical raves, but we feel like sooner or later, Bernal will land the right part.
*editorial note*: Obviously, and thankfully(!) this changed in 2017*
Isabelle Huppert
What Should She Have Been Nominated For? Sure, it’s harder for a foreign actor, but when you consider this is Isabelle Huppert, often almost casually dubbed the greatest actress currently working, her lack of nominations feels pretty incredible. Especially as Juliette Binoche has two (and won one), Penélope Cruz has three (and won one) and relative blow-in Marion Cotillard has two (and won one). She does work in English (in famous flop “Heaven’s Gate,” and for David O. Russell and Hal Hartley, for example) but her really indelible roles have been in French, and she ought to have picked up a nod for her chillingly precise work in Michael Haneke‘s “The Piano Teacher” (or indeed a supporting nod for “Amour“), or for Claude Chabrol‘s “La Cérémonie.” If we were in charge, however, she would have not just been nominated be for her turn in Claire Denis‘ amazing 2009 film “White Material,” she would have won (with apologies to Sandra Bullock).
Will It Happen? Not just one of the best but one of the most prolific actresses around, we have to believe it will, and her immediate slate has a couple of possibles in Mia Hansen-Løve‘s next film and Paul Verhoeven‘s first feature in a decade.
Of course, there are more actors who haven’t been nominated for Oscars than those who have, and it includes a number of big names who you could have sworn were already Academy-lauded. Among the men are Richard Gere, John Cusack, Alfred Molina, Kevin Bacon, Paul Dano, Steve Martin, Dennis Quaid, Peter Sarsgaard, Ving Rhames, Hugh Grant, Jim Carrey, Bruce Willis, Malcolm McDowell, Bill Paxton, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Liotta, John Turturro, Michael Sheen, Brendan Gleeson, Stacy Keach, Brian Cox, Giancarlo Esposito, Colin Farrell, Antonio Banderas, Brian Dennehy, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Sam Neill, Bill Nighy, Paul Bettany, Paddy Considine, Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell, Ray Winstone, Eric Bana and Michael B. Jordan.
Notable women who’ve gone nomination-free so far include Shelley Duvall, Thandie Newton, Brigitte Bardot, Anna Karina, Michelle Yeoh, Regina King, Carrie Fisher, Bibi Andersson, Catherine O’Hara, Ellen Barkin, Demi Moore, Ashley Judd, Cameron Diaz, Kate Beckinsale and Kerry Washington.
And there are some who sadly won’t have a chance to win, as they passed away before the Academy could recognize them. This long list includes Klaus Kinski, Maureen O’Hara, Myrna Loy, Raul Julia, Toshiro Mifune, Peter Lorre, Joseph Cotten, Edward G. Robinson, Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe, Warren Oates, John Cazale, among many others. And most recent and heartbreakingly, Alan Rickman who we were actually going to include in this feature until he passed away last week, joined their ranks. His nomination, and indeed eventual win, had seemed only a matter of time, which goes to show just what an impressive body of work he leaves behind.
