"How Sir Ian McKellen Didn't Win An Oscar For Playing Gandalf In 'The Lord Of The Rings' Is Beyond Me": 14 Talented And Incredible Actors Who Have Shockingly Never Won An Academy Award

    If Michelle Yeoh doesn't win an Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once, I will riot.

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    1. Michelle Yeoh

    Closeup of Michelle Yeoh

    After doing her own stunts in Hong Kong action films, she became an international star with Tomorrow Never Dies and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She totally killed it in Crazy Rich Asians and Shang-Chi, but her work this year in Everything Everywhere All at Once? Phenomenal. Considering she just won a Golden Globe for this role, she better be nominated for an Oscar!

    Evelyn in "Everything Everywhere All at Once"

    2. Stanley Tucci

    Closeup of Stanley Tucci

    When I think of Best Supporting Actor, Stanley Tucci immediately comes to mind. He added so much pizzazz to my faves like The Devil Wears Prada, Easy A, and The Hunger Games. He's been in tons of other stuff, but surprisingly, the only Oscar nomination he ever got was for playing the serial killer in The Lovely Bones.

    Stanley Tucci in "The Lovely Bones"
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    3. Angela Bassett

    Closeup of Angela Bassett

    Angela gave moving performances as Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It (which earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination), Betty Shabazz in Malcolm X, and Coretta Scott King in Betty and Coretta. She blessed us with classics like How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting to Exhale. And this year, she became the first actor to win a Golden Globe for an MCU role with her portrayal of Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, so I'm hoping the Oscar will follow. Fingers crossed so hard!

    Queen Ramonda

    4. Adam Driver

    Closeup of Adam Driver

    Adam is sooo good at what he does. He earned Oscar nominations for BlacKkKlansman and Marriage Story (rightfully so), but he still hasn't taken the trophy home. And no matter what you think of The Rise of Skywalker, you gotta admit that he was awesome as Ben Solo/Kylo Ren in the Star Wars movies.

    Kylo Ren

    5. Dev Patel

    Closeup of Dev Patel

    Like most people, I fell in love with Dev during his breakout performance in Slumdog Millionaire. He went on to star in Lion, Hotel Mumbai, and The Personal History of David Copperfield. And he was fantastic in The Green Knight!

    Screenshot from "The Green Knight"

    6. Toni Collette

    Closeup of Toni Collette

    When I picture Toni, I immediately think of range. From Little Miss Sunshine to Hereditary, she can do it all. She earned a Supporting Actress Oscar nom for The Sixth Sense in 2000 but somehow hasn't been nominated since.

    Closeup of Toni Collette in "Hereditary"

    7. Oscar Isaac

    Closeup of Oscar Isaac

    In 2014, I drove all the way to an indie theater to watch Tom Felton in In Secret, but I left the movie a massive Oscar Isaac fan. He wowed me in Inside Llewyn Davis, A Most Violent Year, and Ex Machina. Plus, he was awesome in Dune and the Star Wars movies.

    Oscar Isaac in "Dune"

    8. Sir Ian McKellen

    Closeup of Sir Ian McKellen

    How this man didn't win an Oscar for playing Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings is beyond me. Who else could have brought such wisdom and goodness to Middle Earth? But I also loved Ian as an anti-hero in X-Men and a villain in The Da Vinci Code. Such a versatile actor!

    Closeup of Gandalf

    9. Amy Adams

    Closeup of Amy Adams

    She's been nominated for an Oscar six times with no wins. Ridiculous! I absolutely loved her in American Hustle, but she was also fantastic in The Fighter, Arrival, and Vice. And she was magical as Giselle in Enchanted.

    Amy Adams in "American Hustle"

    10. Laurence Fishburne

    Closeup of Laurence Fishburne

    Best known for playing Morpheus in the Matrix movies, he was also great in What's Love Got to Do with It (which earned him a Best Actor nomination), Boyz n the Hood, and the John Wick films. It was always fun to see him pop up in superhero movies. And I loved him in Akeelah and the Bee!

    Laurence Fishburne in "Akeelah and the Bee"

    11. Sandra Oh

    Closeup of Sandra Oh

    Best known for her roles in Grey's Anatomy and Killing Eve, she had incredible lead performances in movies like Double Happiness and Last Night. But her portrayal of Vice Principal Gupta in The Princess Diaries?! Top-tier acting.

    Vice Principal Gupta on the phone

    12. Taraji P. Henson

    Closeup of Taraji P. Henson

    From Hustle & Flow to Hidden Figures, my girl can do no wrong. She earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and I'm so excited to see her in the film adaptation of The Color Purple next year!

    Taraji P. Henson

    13. Steven Yeun

    Closeup of Steven Yeun

    Though many might know Steven as Glenn from The Walking Dead, he's given powerful performances in movies, too. He received tons of award show nominations for his role in Burning. And he became the first Asian American actor in Oscars history to be nominated for Best Actor for starring in Minari.

    14. And finally, Glenn Close

    Glenn Close

    This woman has been nominated EIGHT TIMES (most recently for Hillbilly Elegy) and won zero. A travesty! Perhaps best known for Fatal Attraction and Dangerous Liaisons, she was also wonderful in more recent movies like Albert Nobbs and The Wife. And never forget that we have her portrayal of Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians to thank for one of the most iconic lines of all time:

    "More good women have been lost to marriage than to war, famine, disease, and disaster."

    Which actor do you think deserves an Oscar immediately? LMK in the comments below!

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