Top 10 Oscar Winning Peformances That Shouldn't Have Been
by cabmhg | created - 23 Mar 2011 | updated - 23 Mar 2011 | PublicThis list is just for people who won their Oscar for acting over the past 20 years. There are several Oscar-Winning performances that shouldn't have been. I.E. Nicolas Cage, but out of all the nominees, sadly he was the best. Then there are the Daniel Day-Lewises (Gangs of New York) and Robert Deniros (Cape Fear) who were great but lost fair and square. All the actors on this list deserved a nomination definitely, but in my personal opinion they should have come up just short.
1. Kate Winslet
Actress | Titanic
Ask Kate Winslet what she likes about any of her characters, and the word "ballsy" is bound to pop up at least once. The British actress has made a point of eschewing straightforward pretty-girl parts in favor of more devilish damsels; as a result, she's built an eclectic resume that runs the gamut...
2009 Best Actress in a Leading Role-The Reader
Should have won-Meryl Streep (Doubt)
2. Roberto Benigni
Actor | La vita è bella
Roberto Benigni was born on October 27, 1952 in Manciano La Misericordia, Castiglion Fiorentino, Tuscany, Italy. He is an actor and writer, known for Life Is Beautiful (1997), The Tiger and the Snow (2005) and Down by Law (1986). He has been married to Nicoletta Braschi since December 26, 1991.
1999 Best Actor in a Leading Role-Life is Beautiful
Should have won-Edward Norton (American History X)
3. Tommy Lee Jones
Actor | The Fugitive
Tommy Lee Jones was born in San Saba, Texas, the son of Lucille Marie (Scott), a police officer and beauty shop owner, and Clyde C. Jones, who worked on oil fields. Tommy himself worked in underwater construction and on an oil rig. He attended St. Mark's School of Texas, a prestigious prep school ...
1994 Best Actor in a Supporting Role-The Fugitive
Should have won-Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List)
4. Hilary Swank
Actress | Million Dollar Baby
Hilary was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Judith Kay (Clough), a secretary, and Stephen Michael Swank, who served in the National Guard and was also a traveling salesman. Her maternal grandmother, Frances Martha Dominguez, was of Mexican descent, and her other roots include German, English, and ...
2000 Best Actress in a Leading Role-Boys Don't Cry
Should have won-Annette Bening (American Beauty)
5. Sean Penn
Actor | Mystic River
Sean Penn is a powerhouse film performer capable of intensely moving work, who has gone from strength to strength during a colourful film career, and who has drawn much media attention for his stormy private life and political viewpoints.
Sean Justin Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the ...
2004 Best Actor in a Leading Role-Mystic River
Should have won-Bill Murray (Lost in Translation)
6. Denzel Washington
Actor | Fences
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. was born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. He is the middle of three children of a beautician mother, Lennis, from Georgia, and a Pentecostal minister father, Denzel Washington, Sr., from Virginia. After graduating from high school, Denzel enrolled at ...
2002 Best Actor in a Leading Role-Training Day
Should have won-Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind)
7. Jim Broadbent
Actor | Moulin Rouge!
One of England's most versatile character actors, Jim Broadbent was born on May 24, 1949, in Lincolnshire, the youngest son of furniture maker Roy Laverick Broadbent and sculptress Doreen "Dee" (Findlay) Broadbent. Jim attended a Quaker boarding school in Reading before successfully applying for a ...
2002 Best Actor in a Supporting Role-Iris
Should have won-Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings)
8. Cuba Gooding Jr.
Actor | Jerry Maguire
Cuba Gooding Jr. was born on January 2, 1968, in The Bronx, New York. His mother, Shirley (Sullivan), was a backup singer for The Sweethearts. His father, Cuba Gooding, was the lead vocalist for the R&B group The Main Ingredient, which had a hit with the song "Everybody Plays The Fool". His ...
1997 Best Actor in a Supporting Role-Jerry Maguire
Should have won-James Woods (Ghosts of Mississippi)
9. Tom Hanks
Producer | Cast Away
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born in Concord, California, to Janet Marylyn (Frager), a hospital worker, and Amos Mefford Hanks, an itinerant cook. His mother's family, originally surnamed "Fraga", was entirely Portuguese, while his father was of mostly English ancestry. Tom grew up in what he has ...
1995 Best Actor in a Leading Role-Forrest Gump
Should have won-Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption)
10. Martin Landau
Actor | Ed Wood
Oscar-winning character actor Martin Landau was born on June 20, 1928, in Brooklyn, New York. At age 17, he was hired by the New York Daily News to work in the promotions department before he became a staff cartoonist and illustrator. In his five years on the paper, he served as the illustrator for ...
1995 Best Actor in a Supporting Role-Ed Wood
Should have won-Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction)
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