The history of the Academy Awards is filled with legendary wins, but it is often the “snubs” and the long-term absences that dominate the cultural conversation. Today, December 30, 2025, the debate over who “deserves” an Oscar is louder than ever, especially as the industry prepares for a year of intense competition between generational talents.
For many audiences, a win for certain actors isn’t just about a single performance—it’s about validating a body of work that has shaped the way we experience stories on screen. Whether it’s an actor who has been nominated nearly a dozen times without a victory or a chameleon-like performer who is consistently overlooked by the Academy’s voting blocks, these men have earned the public’s vote long ago.
Bradley Cooper
(Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images)
With a staggering 12 Academy Award nominations across acting, directing, producing, and screenwriting, Bradley Cooper has become one of the most-nominated living figures never to win a competitive Oscar. After his triple-threat effort in Maestro resulted in another winless night in 2024, the narrative surrounding his “overdue” status reached a fever pitch among his supporters. Cooper’s relentless pursuit of excellence and his transition from comedic lead to high-prestige auteur have made him a focal point of every awards season.
Samuel L. Jackson
(Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
While Samuel L. Jackson received an Honorary Academy Award in 2022 to recognize his monumental contribution to cinema, fans remain vocal that he is long overdue for a competitive win in a specific role. Since his iconic, career-defining nomination for Pulp Fiction in 1995, Jackson has rarely been recognized by the Academy despite being the highest-grossing male actor of all time. His recent comments reflecting that “it’s an honor to win, not just to be nominated” have reignited the discussion about his lack of a Best Supporting Actor or Best Actor trophy for his decades of work with directors like Quentin Tarantino.
Willem Dafoe
(Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Willem Dafoe is widely considered one of the most reliable and fearless actors in the history of the medium, yet his four Academy Award nominations have never translated into a win. From his haunting turn in Platoon to his deeply empathetic performance in The Florida Project, Dafoe has consistently proven his ability to disappear into any character, no matter how intense or strange. His fans argue that his consistency over forty years is worthy of the highest honor, and as he continues to take on bold roles in indie hits and blockbusters alike, the demand for his “Oscar moment” only grows stronger.
Ralph Fiennes
(Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
Despite delivering two of the most acclaimed performances of the 1990s in Schindler’s List and The English Patient, Ralph Fiennes has remained without an Oscar for nearly thirty years. He was at the center of the 2025 awards conversation for his lead role in the Vatican thriller Conclave, a performance that many critics believed it was his strongest shot at the gold in decades, but still didn’t win. As a powerhouse of British theater and film, a win for him would be seen as a long-overdue tribute to one of cinema’s most sophisticated talents.
Jake Gyllenhaal
(Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
It has been two decades since Jake Gyllenhaal received his first and only Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain, a fact that leaves many moviegoers baffled given his immense body of work. Performances in films like Nightcrawler, Prisoners, and Zodiac were hailed as some of the best of their respective years, yet they failed to secure him a spot on the Academy’s shortlists. He enjoyed a massive career resurgence with his Emmy-nominated turn in Presumed Innocent.
Tom Cruise
(Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
Despite being arguably the biggest movie star on the planet for four decades, Tom Cruise has never won a competitive Academy Award. While he was recently bestowed with an Honorary Academy Award in 2025 at the Governors Awards to recognize his unparalleled impact on global cinema and his dedication to the theatrical experience, his trophy case lacks a win for a specific performance. Cruise has three acting nominations for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia, and a Best Picture nod for Top Gun: Maverick.
Johnny Depp
(Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)
Johnny Depp built a career by choosing unconventional, character-driven roles that defied leading-man stereotypes. With Oscar nominations for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Finding Neverland, and Sweeney Todd, he demonstrated both commercial appeal and artistic risk-taking. His collaborations with visionary directors helped define a generation of stylized cinema. Many viewers believe his transformative performances merit Academy recognition.
Edward Norton
(Photo by Savion Washington/Getty Images)
Edward Norton exploded onto the scene with an Oscar-nominated debut in Primal Fear, and in the nearly thirty years since, he has remained one of his generation’s most respected—and unrewarded—performers. He has amassed four nominations, including a Best Actor nod for American History X and his most recent supporting nomination in early 2025 for the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. Norton is often cited as an actor whose perfectionism defines every project he touches, and many cinephiles believe it is a significant oversight that a talent of his caliber has not yet won.
Hugh Jackman
(Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Disney)
Hugh Jackman is an “EGOT” contender who is missing only the “O” to complete the grand slam of entertainment awards. While he has won a Grammy, an Emmy, and two Tony Awards, he remains without a competitive Oscar, with his sole nomination coming for 2012’s Les Misérables. After a massive box office year with Deadpool & Wolverine, Jackman is back in the awards conversation for his upcoming musical drama Song Sung Blue. His fans are eagerly waiting for the “Greatest Showman” to finally find the right dramatic vehicle to secure his Academy Award.
Benedict Cumberbatch
(Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)
A powerhouse of both the British stage and Hollywood, Benedict Cumberbatch has secured two Best Actor nominations for The Imitation Game and The Power of the Dog. Despite winning nearly every other major award—including an Emmy and a Laurence Olivier Award—the Oscar has continued to elude him. His performance in The Power of the Dog was a major frontrunner, making his eventual loss a point of frustration for his global fanbase. As he continues to balance blockbuster roles with prestige dramas like The End We Start From, his win is viewed as an inevitability.
Ethan Hawke
(Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Ethan Hawke has managed to build one of the most respected and eclectic careers in Hollywood, earning four Academy Award nominations along the way—two for acting (Training Day, Boyhood) and two for screenwriting. He is currently a frontrunner for the 2026 Oscars for his transformative performance as Lorenz Hart in Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon. Hawke’s gritty authenticity and thirty years of dedication to indie cinema have made him a sentimental favorite for voters, and many believe this could finally be the year he takes home the gold.
Jim Carrey
(Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
Perhaps the most glaring omission in Academy history is the total lack of even a single nomination for Jim Carrey. Despite delivering back-to-back masterpieces in The Truman Show and Man on the Moon—both of which earned him Golden Globes—the Academy famously bypassed him during his 1990s peak. Even his devastatingly soulful work in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind failed to secure a nod, leading many to believe the branch has a historical bias against “slapstick” stars. Now, with Carrey frequently discussing retirement, fans are clamoring for a “prestige comeback” role that finally forces the Academy to acknowledge one of the most unique talents of the last forty years.
Harrison Ford
(Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
It is almost impossible to believe that the man who gave us Han Solo, Indiana Jones, and Rick Deckard has only one Academy Award nomination to his name for 1985’s Witness. Harrison Ford has never won a competitive Oscar, and while he was celebrated as a Disney Legend in 2024, he has yet to receive an Honorary Oscar from the Academy itself.
Ian McKellen
(Photo by Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images)
Sir Ian McKellen has conquered the stage with six Olivier Awards a Golden Globe and the Tony, yet the “crown” of acting remains incomplete without an Oscar. He has come close twice, most notably for his iconic portrayal of Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring, but has never taken the stage as a winner. At 86, McKellen remains one of the most articulate and respected voices in the industry. To many cinephiles, a win for McKellen wouldn’t just be an award for a single film, but a long-overdue coronation for a man who has brought Shakespearean gravitas to every corner of modern cinema.
Michael Keaton
(Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
The “Keaton-aissance” that began with Birdman in 2014 brought Michael Keaton closer than ever to Oscar gold, but he ultimately lost the Best Actor race in one of the decade’s closest contests. Since then, he has continued to turn in masterclasses in performance, including his Emmy-winning work in Dopesick. Having recently revisited his most iconic role in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Keaton is currently eyeing more dramatic fare for 2026. His fans argue that his career trajectory—from comedy king to dramatic titan—deserves the narrative closure that only an Oscar win can provide.
Stanley Tucci
(Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for National Geographic & Disney+)
Stanley Tucci is the definition of a “scene-stealer,” an actor whose presence instantly elevates any film, yet he has only a single Academy Award nomination for 2009’s The Lovely Bones. Despite being a critical darling and a beloved figure in the industry, Tucci often finds himself overlooked during the final voting rounds. His recent success with his travel and food series has only made him more of a household name, and there is a growing sentiment that the Academy needs to recognize his decades of consistent, high-level character work with a competitive trophy.
John Goodman
Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
In what many consider one of the Academy’s greatest historical oversights, John Goodman has never been nominated for an Oscar. From his legendary collaborations with the Coen Brothers in The Big Lebowski and Barton Fink to his terrifying turn in 10 Cloverfield Lane, Goodman’s lack of recognition is a constant point of frustration for fans. As he celebrates over 40 years in the industry, the conversation has shifted toward the Academy potentially granting him an Honorary Oscar, though most would prefer to see him win for a competitive role that utilizes his massive range.
Colin Farrell
. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
After coming heartbreakingly close to a win for The Banshees of Inisherin in 2023, Colin Farrell has entered a new phase of his career where he is widely regarded as one of the most exciting actors alive. While he spent much of 2024 and 2025 under heavy prosthetics for The Penguin, his return to “human” drama in the late 2025 release The Ballad of a Small Player was not enough to put him back in the 2026 Oscar conversation. Farrell’s journey from a “bad boy” tabloid fixture to a nuanced, soulful artist is exactly the kind of redemption arc the Academy loves, and his fans are hopeful that his next collaboration with an auteur director will finally land him the trophy.
Eddie Murphy
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Eddie Murphy’s relationship with the Academy has been a rollercoaster ever since his 2007 loss for Dreamgirls, a moment many still consider one of the biggest upsets in the show’s history. Despite being a generational comedic genius, Murphy has proven his dramatic “chops” in films like Dolemite Is My Name, yet he remains without a competitive Oscar. In 2025, Murphy received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes, but the competitive Oscar continues to elude him.
Timothée Chalamet
(Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
Having just celebrated his milestone 30th birthday on December 27, 2025, Timothée Chalamet enters the 2026 awards season as the definitive leading man of his generation. While he made history as the youngest two-time Best Actor nominee since James Dean—receiving nods for Call Me by Your Name and his SAG-winning portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown—the competitive Oscar has remained just out of reach. Chalamet is currently a frontrunner for the 2026 Academy Awards for his “all-in” performance in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, where he reportedly wore real prescription lenses that rendered him nearly blind on set to authentically play the visually impaired ping-pong legend.
Ryan Gosling
(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)
With three Academy Award nominations under his belt—most recently for his scene-stealing, cultural-reset performance as Ken in Barbie—Ryan Gosling is arguably the most “due” leading man of his generation. Gosling possesses a rare “old Hollywood” charisma combined with a willingness to take massive creative risks, from Blue Valentine to La La Land. As of December 2025, he is deep in production for Project Hail Mary, a role that many believe will provide the “isolated, intellectual” performance the Academy traditionally rewards with a Best Actor win.
