These 20 Famous Actors Have Never Won an Oscar

Underdogs are aplenty in Hollywood, where a number of famous actors haven’t yet won an Oscar despite having been nominated for multiple Academy Awards.

At the 91st Academy Awards all eyes were on the Best Actress contenders. Among them: Glenn Close for her performance in The Wife, Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Olivia Colman (The Favourite), Yalitza Aparicio (Roma) and Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born). In one of the most surprising turns of the evening, Colman won for her role as the monarch Queen Anne in the period piece. In her speech, she worked in a shout out for Close, who was all grace.

This means that Close still holds onto the record as the most winless Oscar nominee — she has now left empty handed seven times since 1982. And she’s just one of many great actors who have never won an Oscar.

Also of note is six-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams, who lost the Best Supporting Actress Oscar to Regina King. Pop culture favorites like Bill Murray and a 2019 presenter, Samuel L. Jackson, have also garnered a nomination each, but no statue.

READ MORE: The 12 Most Controversial Best Picture Oscar Winners of All Time

Below, revisit the 20 great actors who have never won an Oscar.

Glenn Close

1983: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, The World According to Garp (Watch it now)
1984: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, The Big Chill (Watch it now)
1985: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, The Natural (Watch it now)
1988: Nominated for Best Actress, Fatal Attraction (Watch it now)
1989: Nominated for Best Actress, Dangerous Liaisons (Watch it now)
2012: Nominated for Best Actress, Albert Nobbs (Watch it now)
2019: Nominated for Best Actress, The Wife (Watch it now)

Amy Adams

2006: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Junebug (Watch it now)

2009: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Doubt (Watch it now)

2011: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, The Fighter (Watch it now)

2013: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, The Master (Watch it now)

2014: Nominated for Best Actress, American Hustle (Watch it now)

2019: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Vice (Watch it now)

Robert Downey Jr.

1993: Nominated for Best Actor, Chaplin (Watch it now)
2009: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Tropic Thunder (Watch it now)

Tom Cruise

1990: Nominated for Best Actor, Born on the Fourth of July (Watch it now)
1997: Nominated for Best Actor, Jerry Maguire (watch it now)
2000: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Magnolia (watch it now)

Harrison Ford

1986: Nominated for Best Actor, Witness (Watch it now)

Joaquin Phoenix

2001: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Gladiator (Watch it now)
2006: Nominated for Best Actor, Walk the Line (Watch it now)
2013: Nominated for Best Actor, The Master (Watch it now)

Johnny Depp

2004: Nominated for Best Actor, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Watch it now)
2005: Nominated for Best Actor, Finding Neverland (Watch it now)
2008: Nominated for Best Actor, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Watch it now)

Sigourney Weaver

1987: Nominated for Best Actress, Aliens (Watch it now)
1989: Nominated for Best Actress, Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey (Watch it now)
1989: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Working Girl (Watch it now)

Edward Norton

1997: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Primal Fear (Watch it now)
1999: Nominated for Best Actor, American History X (Watch it now)
2015: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Birdman (Watch it now)

Annette Benning

1991: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, The Grifters (Watch it now)
2000: Nominated for Best Actress, American Beauty (Watch it now)
2005: Nominated for Best Actress, Being Julia (Watch it now)
2011: Nominated for Best Actress, The Kids Are All Right (Watch it now)

Ed Harris

1996: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Apollo 13 (Watch it now)
1999: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, The Truman Show (Watch it now)
2001: Nominated for Best Actor, Pollock (Watch it now)
2003: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, The Hours (Watch it now)

Michelle Williams

2006: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Brokeback Mountain (Watch it now)

2011: Nominated for Best Actress, Blue Valentine (Watch it now)

2012: Nominated for Best Actress, My Week with Marilyn (Watch it now)

2017: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Manchester by the Sea (Watch it now)

Bill Murray

2004: Nominated for Best Actor, Lost in Translation (Watch it now)

John Travolta

1978: Nominated for Best Actor, Saturday Night Fever (Watch it now)
1995: Nominated for Best Actor, Pulp Fiction (Watch it now)

Gary Oldman

2012: Nominated for Best Actor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

2018: Nominated for Best Actor, Darkest Hour Watch it now

Liam Neeson

1994: Nominated for Best Actor, Schindler’s List (Watch it now)

Ralph Fiennes

1994: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Schindler’s List (Watch it now)
1997: Nominated for Best Actor, The English Patient (Watch it now)

John Malkovich

1985: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Places in the Heart (Watch it now)
1994: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, In the Line of Fire (Watch it now)

Laura Linney

2001: Nominated for Best Actress, You Can Count on Me (Watch it now)
2005: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Kinsey (Watch it now)
2008: Nominated for Best Actress, The Savages (Watch it now)

Samuel L. Jackson

1995: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Pulp Fiction (Watch it now)