Biggest Upsets in Oscars History

Biggest Upsets in Oscars History

Three 6 Mafia Over Dolly Parton
For: Best Original Song, 2006
Shock Value: The infectious music is half of what made 'Hustle & Flow' so popular, but 'It's Hard Out For Here for a Pimp' besting Dolly's 'Transamerica' ballad 'Travelin' Thru'? Never could we have imagined the Academy to be so sympathetic to pimps.


Michael Caufield, WireImage.com

Gwyneth Paltrow Over Cate Blanchett
For: Best Actress, 1999
Shock Value: Gwynnie was perfectly lovely in 'Shakespeare in Love,' but Cate blew critics away with her bravura performance in 'Elizabeth.' In the end, Shakespeare's (fictional) muse trumped his queen, proving once again that pretty girls have all the luck.


Vince Bucci, AFP / Getty Images

Roberto Benigni Over Tom Hanks and Nick Nolte
For: Best Actor, 1999
Shock Value: After denying Hanks ('Saving Private Ryan') a third trophy and the favored Nolte ('Affliction') his first, the 'Life Is Beautiful' star delivered that unforgettably ecstatic, broken English speech in which he wished he could be "making love to everybody." Yep, even Nolte.


Timothy A. Clary, AFP / Getty Images

'An American in Paris' Over 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
For: Best Picture, 1952
Shock Value: Shocking in hindsight, but at the time it made perfect sense: a feel-good musical starring fan fave singer-dancer Gene Kelly over a real downer of a drama with a brooding Marlon Brando. He scared the Academy back then.


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Roman Polanski Over Martin Scorsese
For: Best Director, 2003
Shock Value: Not so startling, really, considering Scorsese ('Gangs of New York') couldn't win for 'Raging Bull' or 'Goodfellas.' The real surprise was the crowning of 'Pianist' director Polanski, a Hollywood pariah since his statutory rape conviction in 1977.


Steve Finn, Getty Images

'Dances With Wolves' Over 'Goodfellas'
For: Best Picture, 1991
Shock Value: With the other noms being 'Awakenings,' 'Ghost' and 'Godfather: Part III,' it looked like a slam dunk for Martin Scorsese's mob masterpiece. Instead, Kevin Costner's drama -- less violent, more "epic," less directed-by-Scorsese -- danced its way to Oscar gold.


Ron Galella, WireImage.com

Tommy Lee Jones Over Ralph Fiennes
For: Best Supporting Actor, 1994
Shock Value: Oy vey. Jones' performance in 'The Fugitive' was good and all, but Fiennes really went out on a limb as a sadistic Nazi in 'Schindler's List' (which won several awards -- including Best Picture -- but none for its actors).


Barry King, WireImage.com

'Rocky' Over 'All the President's Men,' 'Network' and 'Taxi Driver'
For: Best Picture, 1977
Shock Value: The Italian Stallion going the distance with Apollo Creed was nothing compared to this small flick, starring a then-unknown Sly Stallone, upstaging the likes of Redford, Scorsese and Lumet. Yo, Adrian! He did it!


Ron Galella, WireImage.com

Adrien Brody Over Jack Nicholson
For: Best Actor, 2003
Shock Value: 'The Pianist' star Brody was as shocked as anybody after he upset heavy favorite Nicholson ('About Schmidt'). He expressed his shock and delight by doing what any sane man would do in his position: He groped Oscar presenter Halle Berry.


Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register / Corbis Sygma

'How Green Was My Valley' Over 'Citizen Kane'
For: Best Picture, 1942
Shock Value: For the record, they weren't rioting in the streets after the "greatest motion picture of all time" fell to this drama about a Welsh mining town. That's because 'Kane' didn't yet hold that title: It takes years for the Earth's populace to agree on something like that.


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