Which actor has the most Oscar nominations without a win? All we know

The Dolby Theatre in Hollywood will host the much-awaited Academy Awards 2025 on March 3, 2025, and it is only a matter of hours at the time of publishing that fans will celebrate the winners at the Oscars this year.

While the best films as well as talented artists and technicians earn Oscar nominations for their impeccable craft and contributions each year, there are several iconic actors who have never won the coveted trophy.

As the Academy Awards come knocking on the doors of 2025, let us take a look at the actors with the most Oscar nominations but no victory.

Bradley Cooper, considered one of this generation's biggest stars, is the actor with the highest number of nominations without a win at the Oscars. He has been nominated 12 times across various categories. His fans, however, are optimistic that their star will lift the shiny trophy someday.

Note: The years next to the films indicate when the Oscar ceremonies were held, in which the respective actors vied for an award.

Everything we know about actors having the most Oscar nominations without a win

Bradley Cooper (12 nominations)

Bradley Cooper's first nomination was at the 2013 Oscars, for Best Actor in Silver Linings Playbook. In 2014, he was nominated for the Oscars the second time, in the Best Supporting Actor category, for American Hustle. According to an Entertainment Weekly report, his nominees as a leading star include American Sniper, A Star Is Born, and Maestro. He earned these nominations at the Oscar ceremonies of 2015, 2019, and 2024, respectively, according to Wikipedia. Cooper was also nominated five times for Best Picture — for American Sniper, A Star Is Born, Joker at the Oscars 2020, Nightmare Alley in 2022, and Maestro, as a producer of these movies. He was also nominated in the Adapted Screenplay category for A Star Is Born, and Original Screenplay category for Maestro.

On The Howard Stern Show, choosing between winning an Oscar and the Eagles having a Super Bowl victory, Cooper said:

"Eagles Super Bowl victory!"

Glenn Close and Peter O'Toole (8 nominations each)

Close and O'Toole hold the record for actors with the second-highest number of Oscar nominations to go without a win. The actors have had eight nominations.

For her supporting roles, Glenn was nominated at the Oscars in 1983, 1984, and 1985 for The World According to Garp, The Big Chill, and The Natural respectively. She was also nominated in the category for Hillbilly Elegy at the 2021 Oscars. She also received nomination in the Best Actress category for Fatal Attraction at 1988 Oscars, Dangerous Liaisons in 1989, Albert Nobbs in 2012, and The Wife in 2019.

The late Peter O'Toole's nominations were all for the Best Actor. The movies he was nominated for are Lawrence of Arabia (at the Oscar Awards ceremony of 1963, Becket in 1965, The Lion in Winter in 1969, Goodbye, Mr. Chips in 1970, The Ruling Class in 1973, and The Stunt Man in 1981, besides My Favorite Year in 1983, and Venus in 2007.

Although he never won an Oscar, Peter O'Toole was honored with an Academy Honorary Award in 2002.

Richard Burton (7 nominations)

Richard Burton, considered a legendary actor, has not won an Oscar despite getting seven nominations in his career. His first-ever Oscar nomination was for My Cousin Rachel in 1953 as Best Supporting Actor.

The rest of his nominations were as Best Actor in The Robe (at the 1954 Oscars), Becket in 1965, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold in 1966, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1967, Anne of the Thousand Days in 1970, and Equus in 1978.

Amy Adams, Deborah Kerr, and Thelma Ritter (6 nominations each)

Amy Adams, Deborah Kerr, and Thelma Ritter earned six Oscar nominations for working in noteworthy movies in their respective cinematic career.

In the Best Supporting Actress category, Amy Adams was a nominee for Junebug (at the 2006 Oscars), Doubt (2009), The Fighter (2011), The Master (2013), and Vice (2019). Adams also received a nomination for American Hustle at the 2014 Oscars as Best Actress.

All of the late Deborah Kerr's nominations were for the Best Actress category. For Edward, My Son, she was nominated at the Academy Awards for the first time at the Oscars 1950. The next nominations were for From Here to Eternity (1954), The King and I (1957), Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1958), Separate Tables (1959), and The Sundowners (1961).

She never won an Academy Award, but Kerr was honored with an Academy Honorary Award at the 1994 Oscars.

Thelma Ritter's six nominations were for Best Supporting Actress. At the 23rd Academy Awards held in 1951, she was nominated for All About Eve. The rest of her nominations include The Mating Season (1952), With a Song in My Heart (1953), Pickup on South Street (1954), Pillow Talk (1960), and Birdman of Alcatraz (1963).

Annette Bening (5 nominations)

Annette Bening has received five nominations at the Academy Awards but has not won any. Bening's first-ever nomination was for The Grifters at the 1991 Oscars, in the Best Supporting Actress category. She earned Best Actress nominations for American Beauty (at the 2000 Oscars), Being Julia (2005), The Kids Are All Right (2011), and Nyad (2024).

In a conversation with Rolling Stone, the actress expressed her thoughts. She said:

"Well, I would think it would feel really great but I certainly know what it’s like not to win."

She continued:

"I’ve been there and I’ve done that, and that’s also not so bad."

Tom Cruise and Saoirse Ronan (4 nominations each)

Saoirse Ronan is a phenomenal star who has earned four Academy Awards nominations so far, according to a Time report. In the Best Supporting Actress category, she was nominated for Atonement at the 80th Academy Awards in 2008. For Brooklyn, she was nominated in the Best Actress category at the 88th Academy Awards in 2016. Her last two award nominations were as Best Actress for Lady Bird in 2018 and Little Women in 2020.

Tom Cruise, despite his global superstardon and an illustrious filmography, has yet to win the prestigious Academy Award. For Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire, he earned the Best Actor nominations in 1990 and 1997, respectively. At the 2000 Oscars, he was selected as a contender in the Best Supporting Actor category for Magnolia. At the 95th Academy Awards held in 2023, Cruise was nominated as a producer for Top Gun: Maverick, in the Best Picture category.