Movie fans often measure actors’ greatness by the number of Academy Awards they have won. But some of the greatest film actors of all time — Richard Burton, Natalie Wood, Albert Finney, Gene Wilder, Marlene Dietrich — were never honored with an Oscar. Here are 14 brilliant performers who you’d think surely should have won — but never did.
Albert Finney (1936-2019)
The great Albert Finney was brilliant on the screen but never won a Best Acting Oscar. He was nominated four times for “Tom Jones,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” “The Dresser,” and “Under the Volcano.”
Richard Burton
One of the greatest British actors of the 20th century, Richard Burton was nominated for seven Academy awards for movies spanning from the 1950s to the ’70s. His best performances include 1958’s “Look Back in Anger,” 1963’s “Cleopatra,” 1965’s “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold,” 1966’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, and 1977’s “Equus.” But he never won an Oscar.
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood first made her mark at 16 in “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955) and was honored with an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. She then had an incredible run of great performances in the 1960s. For her role as Wilma in 1961’s “Splendor in the Grass,” she was nominated for a best actress Oscar. “West Side Story,” which also came out in 1961, won 10 Academy awards, but Wood was not even nominated for her acclaimed performance as Maria. She was nominated again for best actress for her leading role in 1963’s “Love With the Proper Stranger,” but she did not receive nominations for “Gypsy” (1962), “This Property Is Condemned” (1966), or “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice” (1969).
View Natalie Wood’s memorial page
Gene Wilder
Nominated for a supporting role as Leo Bloom in 1967’s “The Producers” and for screenwriting for 1974’s “Young Frankenstein,” comic genius Gene Wilder was not even nominated for such iconic acting roles as Willy Wonka or Dr. Frederick Frankenstein. (“It’s pronounced Frahn-ken-steen!”)
View Gene Wilder’s memorial page
Marlene Dietrich
The glamorous German-American actress Marlene Dietrich has become a Hollywood icon; she was honored as one of the 50 greatest screen legends by the American Film Institute in 1999. She was nominated for a best actress Oscar in 1930 for her role in “Morocco,” and was not even nominated for her leading roles in such classics as 1930’s “Blue Angel,” 1932’s “Shanghai Express,” 1957’s “Witness for the Prosecution,” and 1961’s “Judgment at Nuremberg.”
View Marlene Dietrich’s memorial page
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Dandridge was the first African American nominated for a best actress Oscar, for the title role in 1954’s “Carmen Jones.” But she did not win and was not nominated for other standout performances in films such as “Island in the Sun” (1957) and “Porgy and Bess” (1959).
View Dorothy Dandridge’s memorial page
Alan Rickman
Though well-known to fans of the “Harry Potter” movies for his role as Severus Snape, Alan Rickman was never nominated for an Oscar – neither for playing Snape nor for his other well-remembered films, such as “Die Hard,” “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” and “Love Actually,”
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds was nominated for best actress in a leading role for “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” in 1964, but she did not win. In hindsight, she could have been considered for some other great films: “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952), “Bundle of Joy” (1956), or even, much later in her career, 1997’s “Mother.”
View Debbie Reynolds’s obituary
Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen, the King of Cool, stole the show from more-established actors in “The Magnificent Seven” (1960) and became a huge star with leading roles in “The Great Escape” (1963), “The Sand Pebbles” (1966), and “Bullitt” (1968). He was nominated for a best actor Oscar for “The Sand Pebbles” but didn’t take the trophy, and was otherwise unrecognized by the Academy.
View Steve McQueen’s memorial page
Judy Garland
Most well-known for her childhood role as Dorothy in 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz,” Judy Garland won critical acclaim and Oscar nominations for her leading role in “A Star Is Born” (1954) and a supporting role in “Judgment at Nuremberg” (1961), but did not win.
View Judy Garland’s memorial page
Paul Winfield
Though he was nominated for a best actor Oscar for the leading role in 1972’s “Sounder,” Paul Winfield is known best to many for his masterful portrayal of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1978’s “King” – which was a TV miniseries, not a theatrical feature. Indeed, though we tend to think of Winfield primarily as a movie actor, many of his most acclaimed performances were the ones that unfolded on the small screen, including the comedy series “Julia” and the historical drama “Roots: The Next Generation.”
View Paul Winfield’s memorial page
James Dean
Nominated posthumously for best actor Oscars for his roles in “East of Eden” (1955) and “Giant” (1956), and closely identified with his iconic role in 1955’s “Rebel Without a Cause,” James Dean nonetheless never won an Academy Award.
View James Dean’s memorial page
Ruby Dee
Looking back at the cinematic crop of 1961 today, it’s hard to accept that Ruby Dee wasn’t nominated for her great supporting turn in “A Raisin in the Sun.” Later in life, she made memorable appearances in a series of Spike Lee films, and she was finally nominated for a supporting actress Oscar in 2007’s “American Gangster.” Dee died in 2014 without having received an Academy Award.
View Ruby Dee’s touching real-life love story
Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell was nominated for best actress Oscars four times without winning: in 1942 for “My Sister Eileen,” in 1946 for “Sister Kenny,” in 1947 for “Mourning Becomes Electra,” and in 1958 for “Auntie Mame.” A dispute in 1955 led Russell to refuse a nomination for best supporting actress for “Picnic,” an award she may well have won.
