18 Actors Who Are Overdue for an Oscar

What do Toni Collette and Glenn Close have to do to finally win an Oscar? Here are several colleagues who've gotten the nominations, but no wins so far.

Glenn Close

Close's 7th Oscar nomination (for "The Wife") looked like a lock... until Best Actress went to Olivia Colman instead. But take heart: Jessica Tandy won Best Actress at 80. Close is a far more youthful 71.

Amy Adams

The multi-faceted Adams has been nominated 6 times: That doesn't even include some of her best work, like "Arrival," for which she was sadly snubbed. Someday, her Oscar will come.

Annette Bening

"American Beauty" star Annette Bening has been nominated four times. And lost out twice to Hilary Swank. We would also have nominated her for her stellar work in "20th Century Women" and "Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool."

Ethan Hawke

We've loved Ethan Hawke since, well, at least "Dead Poets Society." Besides his 2 acting Oscar nominations -- for "Training Day"and "Boyhood" -- he was nominated for cowriting "Before Midnight" and "Before Sunset." We're still not over his being snubbed for his amazing performance in "First Reformed." (At least he won an Independent Spirit Award for it.)

Willem Dafoe

A saint-like soldier, an actual vampire, a gruff but compassionate hotel manager, and tortured artist Vincent Van Gogh. That's quite a range, but Dafoe has yet to bring home the gold. Fifth time's the charm?

Toni Collette

"I AM YOUR MOTHER!" If it were up to Twitter (especially Horror Twitter), Toni Collette would have won all the awards for "Hereditary." Or “The Sixth Sense.” Wait, is that still her only Oscar nomination? That just's so wrong.

Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams has been breaking our heart on a regular basis since "Brokeback Mountain." If you weren't sobbing along with her in "Manchester By the Sea," you're made of very stern stuff. She's earned four Oscar nominations and surely isn't done yet. (No, we weren't expecting one for "Venom." ;D)

Kenneth Branagh

This actor-writer-director has been nominated for 5 Oscars: 2 for acting, 1 for directing ("Henry V"), 1 for Best Short Film and 1 for Best Adapted Screenplay ("Hamlet"). And yet, no recognition for his brilliant turn as vain Gilderoy Lockhart? (We kid, but clearly, he's due.)

Bradley Cooper

Somehow this Oscar season turned into a sad song for overlooked Bradley Cooper. Despite directing, acting and singing his way to his 7th Oscar nomination, he went home empty-handed. Which is fine for your directorial debut, right? If it were up to Sean Penn (and several other fans), Cooper would have at least one Oscar by now.

Mark Ruffalo

The affable Mark Ruffalo makes every movie he's in better. Including his three Oscar-nominated roles in "The Kids Are Alright," "Foxcatcher" and "Spotlight." Someday, we expect him to deliver the most humble "aw shucks" acceptance speech.

Joaquin Phoenix

Oscar has not been merciful to Joaquin Phoenix, who was nominated for "Gladiator," "Walk the Line," and "The Master." But not "You Were Never Really Here," "The Sisters Brothers" or "Her." We're terribly vexed he's still Oscar-less.

Sigourney Weaver

One of the only actresses to be nominated twice in one year (for "Working Girl" and "Gorillas in the Mist"), she was also nominated for her iconic work in “Aliens.” (Getting nominated for a horror/action/sci-fi sequel? Harder than defeating acid-for-blood xenomorphs.) Get this woman an Oscar already!

Angela Bassett

Nominated for Best Actress as Tina Turner in "What's Love Got To Do With It..." and, that's it. Non Oscar-nominations happened for "Stella Got Her Groove Back," "Strange Days," "Boyz n the Hood," and "Akeelah and the Bee," and "Malcolm X." Good grief.

Laura Linney

Her first nomination was for 2000's "You Can Count On Me, then "Kinsey," than "The Savages." She was also terrific in "The Squid and the Whale," "Love, Actually" (yes, actually), and "Mystic River." Like a lot of actresses, she's been more active on TV lately, including her Emmy- and Golden-Globe winning lead role on "The Big C."

Samuel L. Jackson

Who has 2 Oscars for a supporting role in a Quentin Tarantino film? Sorry, that's Christoph Waltz, not QT regular Sam Jackson. He was nominated only for "Pulp Fiction," but we'd have nominated him as well for "The Hateful Eight." Scan his credits for other overlooked opportunities: "Django Unchained," "Jackie Brown," "A Time to Kill," Jungle Fever," "Eve's Bayou"... and the list goes on.

Edward Norton

Norton has been nominated for his roles as a reformed Neo-nazi in "American History X," a stuttering murder suspect with a split personality in "Primal Fear," and a grandstanding actor in "Birdman." Could he direct himself to a win with the upcoming "Motherless Brooklyn"?

Jake Gyllenhaal

Nominated only once (so far) for "Brokeback Mountain," we can't believe Gyllenhaal was snubbed for his terrifying performance in “Nightcrawler.” Also terrific in “Stronger,” “Prisoners” and dual roles in “Enemy” and “Nocturnal Animals.” He's been overlooked as far back as “October Sky” (1999) and “Donne Darko” (2001).

Angela Lansbury

The legendary Lansbury was first nominated for her debut role in "Gaslight" in 1945, than the following year for "The Portrait of Dorian Gray." She lost out on Best Supporting Actress for her maniacally manipulative mother in "The Manchurian Candidate," but received an Honorary Oscar in 2014. She's also 19 and 0 at the Emmys. C'mon, people: Jessica Fletcher should have an EGOT by now.