We Can't Believe These 15 Actors Haven't Won An Oscar

Amy Adams has been in a slew of critically acclaimed movies and has shown off her talent multiple times. But despite being nominated for an impressive six Academy Awards so far, she has yet to win one. Adams was first nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Junebug in 2006, and she was nominated for the same award in 2009 for Doubt, in 2011 for The Fighter, in 2013 for The Master, and in 2019 for Vice. In 2014, she was nominated for Best Actress for American Hustle.

Samuel L. Jackson has had countless great roles and is an iconic figure in Hollywood, so it’s pretty surprising to realize he has only been nominated for an Oscar once throughout his career. That was back in 1995, when he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Pulp Fiction, which he lost to Martin Landau. In a 2023 interview with Vulture, Jackson revealed that he felt that scenes cut from 1996’s A Time to Kill would have garnered him an Oscar win. He said, “My first day working on that film, I did a speech in a room with an actor and the whole f****** set was in tears when I finished. I was like, ‘Okay. I’m on the right page.’ That sh*t is not in the movie!” In 2022, Jackson received an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement at the Governors Awards by his friend Denzel Washington in a non-televised ceremony.

A fixture in Hollywood regardless of what he does, Tom Cruise just seems like he should have an Oscar. He has been nominated four different times, but has yet to win. He scored a Best Actor nomination in 1990 for Born on the Fourth of July and in 1997 for Jerry Maguire; a Best Supporting Actor nomination in 2000 for Magnolia; and a Best Picture nomination in 2023 for Top Gun: Maverick as a producer. And despite the buzz around Maverick in 2023, Cruise didn’t even attend the awards show (or win).

With eight Academy Award nominations under her belt and no wins just yet, Glenn Close just keeps almost scoring that big win. She has gotten the Best Supporting Actress nomination four times: in 1983 for The World According to Garp, in 1984 for The Big Chill, in 1985 for The Natural, and in 2021 for Hillbilly Energy. She has also received the Best Actress nomination four times: in 1988 for Fatal Attraction, in 1989 for Dangerous Liaisons, in 2012 for Albert Nobbs, and in 2019 for The Wife. In 2021, Close commented on the fact that she hadn’t yet won, saying she doesn’t think she’s a “loser.” When speaking to the Associated Press about it, she said, “Who in that category is a loser? You’re there, you’re five people honored for the work that you’ve done by your peers. What’s better than that?”

He has a wide array of award nominations and wins under his belt, but an Oscar isn’t one of them. Ralph Fiennes has been nominated for an Academy Award twice: once in 1994 for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Schindler’s List, and again in 1997 for Best Actor for The English Patient.

Robert Downey Jr. is another popular actor who has two Academy Award nominations but no wins. He was nominated for the coveted Best Actor award for his role in Chaplin in 1992, and then for Best Supporting Actor in 2009 for his role in Tropic Thunder. Both went to other actors. His 2023 turn as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer is garnering him a lot of awards show buzz, so a win is still possible down the line.

Sir Ian McKellen was first nominated for an Academy Award in 1999, when he got a nod for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Gods and Monsters. In 2002, he got his second nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Although he didn’t win, he did break an Oscars record. In 1999, he became the first openly gay male actor to be nominated for an Oscar.

Angela Bassett is another star who has picked up two nominations, and also received an honorary Oscar. In 1994, she was nominated for Best Actress for her role in What’s Love Got To Do With It. In 2023, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, making her the first person of color, the first woman, and the first Marvel Studios actor to be nominated for a performance in a comic book adaptation. Many felt that Bassett deserved the win in 2023, when the Oscar went to Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All At Once. She went on to get an Academy Honorary Award at the 2023 Governor’s Awards.

He’s been nominated for a gold statue three times, but Edward Norton has yet to win one. In 1997, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Primal Fear, in 1999 he was nominated for Best Actor in American History X, and in 2015, he got the Best Supporting Actor nod again for Birdman. His first Oscar nomination came for his breakthrough film role, which is super impressive.

With so many celebrated roles under the belt, it’s no surprise that Michelle Williams has five Oscar nominations. She got the Best Supporting Actress nomination twice: once in 2006 for her role in Brokeback Mountain and once in 2017 for Manchester by the Sea. The other three nominations were for Best Actress: in 2011 for Blue Valentine, in 2012 for My Week With Marilyn, and in 2023 for The Fablemans.

Annette Bening has received a BAFTA and two Golden Globes among many other honors—but not an Oscar just yet. The actress has been nominated four times so far. Her first nomination was for Best Supporting Actress in 1991 for The Grifters. She then received three Best Actress nominations. She got one in 2000 for American Beauty, one in 2005 for Being Julia, and one in 2011 for The Kids Are All Right.

Sigourney Weaver joins the list of stars who have three Oscar nominations. She was nominated for Best Actress for Aliens in 1987. In 1989, she was impressively nominated for two awards: Best Actress for Gorillas in the Mist and Best Supporting Actress for Working Girl. She hasn’t gotten a win yet, but there’s still time.

Known for his comedic roles and hilarious movies, Bill Murray doesn’t always do the type of serious roles that get the Academy's attention. However, he has received one nomination for Best Actor in 2004 for his role in Lost in Translation. He lost out on that one to Sean Penn and hasn’t been nominated since.

Actress Michelle Pfeiffer has so far been nominated for three Academy Awards. In 1989, she scored her first nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Dangerous Liaisons. In 1990 she got a nod for Best Actress for The Fabulous Baker Boys, and in 1993 she was nominated for the same award for Love Field. She has had several other roles in the past where fans and critics alike thought she might be nominated—or even win—but it hasn’t happened yet.

Tucci is a beloved actor who has been in so many memorable films. It’s kind of hard to believe that not only has he not won an Oscar, but he also has only been nominated for one. He got that nomination in 2010 for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Lovely Bones, a role he called “horrible” and a “tough experience."