15 times actors gave incredible performances that didn't receive Academy Award nominations 

Coming into January, viewers and critics have started to talk about those individuals likely nominated to take home their promising statuette at the Academy Awards. The year 2024 witnessed the first Oscar nominations by two Hollywood veterans-Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt. Murphy would win big for Oppenheimer. Hollywood has many acclaimed actors to present such as Jeff Daniels and Donald Sutherland alongside popular picks like Zendaya and Oscar Isaac. While some actors receive their due by winning big at the Academy Awards, sooner or later, there are some who even after giving a career-defining performance get snubbed. Here is a list of actors and actresses who didn't even get nominated.

**Disclaimer: This article is entirely based on the writer's opinion. Reader's discretion is advised.**

15) Zac Efron- The Iron Claw (2023)

Zac Efron performed unbelievably in The Iron Claw as Kevin Von Erich. He plunges deep into the emotional chaos surrounding a wrestling family coping with both tragedies and toxic masculinity. This isn't The High School Musical Zac that we know- he's intense, raw, and deeply moving. Efron perfectly shows Kevin's struggle with his family's history and his own mental demons. It is his career-best performance to date but unfortunately didn't get the recognition it deserved from the Academy Awards.

14) Idris Elba- Beasts Of No Nation(2015)

Idris Elba was phenomenal in Beasts Of No Nation. He played the role of the ruthless commandant, giving a chilling performance. Elba's performance made the character both terrifying and captivating, neatly showing just how manipulative the Commandant could be. His ability to blend charm with brutality made the Commandant feel incredibly real and complex It's a shame that he didn't get nominated for an Academy Award for one of his best performances on-screen.

13) Jack Nicholson- The Shining(1980)

Jack Nicholson's performance in the classic horror film The Shining is nothing short of phenomenal. He's got that eerie charm as he plays the role of Jack Torrance that makes you uneasy from the get-go. The delivery of his iconic lines in the movie might still give the audience chills. As Hollywood has often overlooked the horror genre for Academy Award nominations, Nicholson couldn't get nominated for one of his legendary performances.

12) David Oyelowo- Selma (2014)

In Selma, David Oyelowo rose to the heights of giving the most excellent and highly credible performance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as he captured the charisma of the famed leader and highlighted his vulnerable side. The entire show of Oyelowo's delivering Dr. King's speeches with dramatic flair and conviction was worthy of total praise. He may not have been nominated for an Academy Award for his magnificent performance, but it's certainly a performance worthy to watch.

11) Emily Blunt- The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Emily Blunt is now an Oscar nominee due to her flawless performance in Oppenheimer. Yet, the most talked-about performance of her career was that of Emily Charlton, the sassy and chic senior assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) in The Devil Wears Prada. No doubt, she is one of the most loved and living characters in the film, but still, she has been overlooked and did not receive an Oscar nomination.

10) Margot Robbie- Babylon (2022)

Margot Robbie looked absolutely phenomenal in Babylon. She played the role of a young and ambitious actress Nellie LaRoy who is trying to navigate the wild and extravagant Hollywood of the 1920s. Margot perceives complexity in Nellie- this frail, delicate thing; she possesses tender sentiments but shows the most fiery determination and resilience. She breathes life into this character but still failed to get an Academy Award nomination.

9) Joaquin Phoenix- Her (2013)

The actor Joaquin Phoenix plays Theodore Twombly who happens to be a heartbroken, lonely fellow trying to survive in a not-too-distant future when technology has taken over our lives. The most striking thing about Phoenix's portrayal is how vulnerable he makes Theodore. This is a man who is grappling with an impending divorce and trying to come to terms with that pain, which Phoenix conveys with such subtlety and nuance. In this portrayal, Phoenix brings out empathy, vulnerability, and the human condition. Although Joaquin Phoenix didn't get this nominated for the Academy Awards, it would still count as one of his strong performances.

8) Lupita Nyong'o- Us (2019)

One of the most sought-after actresses in the past couple of years, Lupita Nyong'o gave a breathtaking performance in the 2019 film Us. Her role as Adelaide Wilson is haunting yet captivating. And then, of course, there's Lupita's performance as Red, Adelaide's doppelganger. It's like she's channeling a completely different person - her posture, her voice, her entire demeanor changes. But the performance failed to get an Academy Award nomination for the actress.

7) Toni Collette- Hereditary (2018)

The performance by Toni Collette in Hereditary is jaw-dropping and emotionally shattering. She plays Annie Graham, a mother and artist whose life is falling apart because of the death of her mother, Ellen, and all the buried, dark secrets their family has kept for generations. What amazes me about Toni is the way she illustrates the complexity of Annie's feelings. You know that underneath this frail exterior of Annie there is so much grief and guilt and trauma: in one sense, it is heartbreaking, and in the other, it is terrifying to watch. But as the film falls in the horror genre, Collette's performance didn't earn her an Academy Award nomination.

6) Amy Adams- Arrival(2016)

Amy Adams' portrayal in the film Arrival was nothing short of stunning. She, as Louise Banks, who happens to be a linguist working to communicate with aliens, made such an impressive performance, not even the slightest thing makes it feel true that she was overlooked for an Academy Award. And yet, Adams brought such vulnerability into the role that she brought the journey of Louise to a personal and universal space. She has proven again with even more senses- her ability to display complex emotions without words. Indeed, even in the academy's eyes, Adams' performance in Arrival will always be one of many great moments in her career.

5) Hugh Jackman- Prisoners (2013)

In Prisoners, Hugh Jackman puts on a performance that cuts into the heart in what can be termed a masterclass in acting. Keller Dover is the character he's embodied in raw emotion, playing a father wrong way in search of his missing daughter. That is hard to watch without getting choked up. What came across most was Jackman's voice of raw anguish and desperation as a father. Terribly moving, yet frighteningly believable. Though the Academy has perhaps overlooked him a bit, his performance in Prisoners stands as one of the most powerful and indeed memorable of his lifetime.

4) Jake Gyllenhaal- Nightcrawler(2014)

Well, the transformation of Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom for the movie Nightcrawler has really been quite surprising. He played a perfect blend of sociopathic energy with an unnerving intensity and charisma that keeps one from looking the other way. Along with this, the nature of the obsessive and ruthless pursuit of success that Gyllenhaal brings to the character of Lou turns out to be both disturbingly unsettling and fascinatingly dark. He managed to bring about a degree of depth and nuance to this interpretation in ways that render Lou's journey as strangely relatable yet deeply disturbing. Gyllenhaal's participation in Nightcrawler might have gone unnoticed by Academy Awards, but it remains one of the great performances of his career.

3) Scarlett Johannson- Lost in Translation (2003)

Scarlett Johansson's performance in Lost in Translation was really a breakout revelation. Though, she played Charlotte, a young girl, isolated in Tokyo, with such quiet force and vulnerability that it is difficult to believe. There was no denying that chemistry between her and co-star Bill Murray, and her ability to convey very complicated emotions without dialogue was just proof of her associate talent. It might not have been an Academy Award nomination for her, but part and parcel of this remains perhaps one of the most memorable and greatest performances in Johansson's career.

2) Kirsten Dunst- Melancholia (2011)

Kirsten Dunst's act in Melancholia was nothing short of a moving tour de force. The character Justine was brought to life as a woman suffering from depression with such raw emotion and intensity that it becomes almost impossible to watch without being overwhelmed. Justine's story, because of this performance, acquires an air of depth and subtlety that makes it both intensely personal and universally relatable at the same time. Dunst's ability to communicate much emotion without saying a single word makes it all the more commendable of her talents. The Academy may overlook Melancholia for all time, but it is never going to leave that particular memory out of all Dunst's performances, that is one of the most powerful and unforgettable.

1) Leonardo DiCaprio- Shutter Island(2010)

Shutter Island turned out to be a true masterclass in acting by him. He was the U.S. Marshall, Teddy Daniels, who investigated an unexplained disappearance in such differing depth and subtlety that it's hard to imagine he didn't so much as get an Oscar nod. There was weight and care in DiCaprio's work, making Daniels' journey personal and universally perceptible. The inescapable chemistry described between DiCaprio and co-star Mark Ruffalo complemented the power of his emotions along the lines of leading much of his connection with the audience via weighty silence-striking evidence of his incredible talent. DiCaprio may not have received the honors he deserved in the Academy, but one of the most remembered performances of his career in Shutter Island remains abstract.