When the stately golden statue finally rolls out of its velvet pouch, the world holds its breath—but sometimes the most brilliant performers slip through the cracks. In this roundup of 10 screen greats who never won an Oscar, we celebrate the talent, the unforgettable roles, and the near‑misses that still echo through cinema history.

Why These 10 Screen Greats Remain Oscar‑Less

10 Richard Burton

Richard Burton built a reputation for inhabiting powerful, larger‑than‑life figures in movies such as Becket, The Robe and Anne of a Thousand Days. His on‑screen chemistry with Elizabeth Taylor—whom he married twice—produced a string of memorable pairings, most notably in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a ruthless drama that earned Oscar nominations for all four leads. While Taylor and Sandy Dennis walked away with the trophies, Burton and fellow nominee George Segal left empty‑handed.

Beyond those headline roles, Burton tackled Shakespearean classics like Hamlet and The Taming of the Shrew, plunged into historical epics such as Cleopatra, and brought literary adaptations to life in titles like The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and Equus. Over a quarter‑century he amassed seven Oscar nods, yet the coveted gold eluded him entirely. He even slipped into a cameo as himself on the sitcom Here’s Lucy and appeared uncredited as a strip‑club patron in What’s New Pussycat?, but the Academy apparently held no mercy for those quirky side gigs.

9 Peter O’Toole

Peter O’Toole eclipsed his contemporary Burton by racking up eight nominations across a forty‑four‑year span, still without a win. A regal presence, O’Toole portrayed royalty more than once, most famously Henry II in both Becket and the beloved The Lion in Winter. The latter saw his co‑star Katharine Hepburn clinch her third Oscar, while O’Toole was left to watch from the sidelines. His résumé spans sweeping drama in Lawrence of Arabia, breezy comedy in My Favorite Year, and the delightfully oddball The Ruling Class.

When the Academy announced in 2003 that it would honor O’Toole with an Honorary Award, the actor quipped that, still being “in the game,” he might snag the “lovely bugger” outright and asked them to defer the tribute until he hit eighty. The Academy, unmoved, presented the award anyway. Before his milestone birthday, O’Toole earned one final nomination for Venus, only to be denied once more.

8 Glenn Close

Glenn Close entered the silver screen after already earning a Tony nomination, debuting in The World According to Garp. That performance secured her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nod, a feat she repeated with roles in The Big Chill and The Natural the following two years. She later vaulted into lead‑acting territory with nominations for Fatal Attraction and Dangerous Liaisons.

Despite the steady stream of nominations—three more in recent decades—Close remains Oscar‑less. Yet her trophy cabinet is far from empty: she boasts three Tony Awards for two stage productions and the musical Sunset Boulevard, a collection of Golden Globes, multiple Primetime Emmys, and a smorgasbord of honors ranging from Cable Ace Awards to an AARP Movies for Grownups Award.

Adding a touch of Hollywood sparkle, the nonprofit Broadway Cares chose her iconic portrayal of Norma Desmond as the model for its 2020 Broadway Legends Holiday Ornament, cementing her status as a beloved figure beyond the Academy.

7 Cary Grant

If the Academy ever handed out a Most Charming award, Cary Grant—born Archibald Leach—would have swept the category. After a series of forgettable early pictures, his breakout arrived with 1933’s She Done Him Wrong, where Mae West famously whispered, “Why don’t you come up sometime…?” Over the next three decades, Grant shared the screen with luminaries like Marlene Dietrich, both Katharine and Audrey Hepburn, Myrna Loy, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly and Sophia Loren.

He earned two dramatic Oscar nominations in the 1940s, out‑maneuvered a crop‑duster in Hitchcock’s kinetic thriller North by Northwest, and charmed audiences in classic comedies such as The Philadelphia Story, His Girl Friday, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House and Arsenic and Old Lace. In 1970, the Academy finally bestowed an Honorary Award, praising his “unique mastery of the art of screen acting with the respect and affection of his colleagues.” That same year, his much‑younger wife Dyan Cannon received a nomination for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice—but she, too, left empty‑handed.

6 Ian McKellen

British thespian Ian McKellen, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the performing arts, has tackled King Lear and Richard III on the London stage. Across the Atlantic, he earned an Oscar nod for his turn in Gods and Monsters, yet his most iconic screen persona is Gandalf, the wise wizard who guided audiences through the sprawling three‑part saga The Lord of the Rings. That role secured a second nomination and later led to appearances in the three‑film adaptation of The Hobbit.

Although the Academy never handed him a win, McKellen enjoyed a consolation prize of hosting Saturday Night Live in 2002, delivering his trademark wit to a live‑TV audience. And while his recent foray into the film version of Cats didn’t earn any red‑carpet accolades, his legacy as a stage and screen legend remains untarnished.

5 George Lucas

In what galaxy has George Lucas never claimed an Oscar? The answer, of course, is none—he’s never taken home the statuette. Yet the Academy has certainly not ignored the mastermind behind Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and the modern resurgence of sci‑fi cinema. Lucas earned his first two Oscar nominations—Best Director and Best Writing—for the 1973 road‑movie classic American Graffiti, a film that catapulted a then‑unknown Harrison Ford (previously known for TV work on Mod Squad, The F.B.I. and Love, American Style) into stardom.

Although the lack of trophies may sting, Lucas can take solace in the fact that the original Star Wars trilogy (Episodes IV‑VI) amassed a combined box‑office haul of over $750 million at 1970s‑80s ticket prices—an astronomical figure for its era.

In 1992, the Academy awarded him the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, presented by none other than the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis. A decade later, Disney purchased Lucasfilm, along with its prized ILM and Skywalker Sound divisions, for a staggering $4 billion in cash and stock—an acquisition that ensures his creations will continue to feed generations of popcorn‑crunching fans.

4 James Earl Jones

The undisputed champion of deep, resonant baritone, James Earl Jones first burst onto the big screen in 1964 as a member of Slim Pickens’s flight crew in the darkly comic Cold‑War satire Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. His only competitive Oscar nod arrived six years later for his portrayal of boxer Jack Jefferson in The Great White Hope, a role that had earned him a Tony the year before.

Jones’s voice later became the defining sound of Darth Vader and the noble roar of Mufasa, among countless other characters, yet the Academy’s recognition remained limited to an Honorary Award in 2012, finally acknowledging his monumental contributions to cinema.

3 The Color Purple

Adapted from Alice Walker’s Pulitzer‑winning novel, the 1985 film The Color Purple arrived with a staggering eleven Oscar nominations, spanning Best Picture, Costume Design, Original Score and more, while also highlighting breakout performances from Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey.

Curiously, the film’s director, Steven Spielberg, was absent from the nominee list despite his already impressive résumé that included blockbusters such as Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Nonetheless, the Academy’s snub was minor compared to the film’s fate on Oscar night: it walked away with zero wins, joining 1977’s The Turning Point as the only films to leave the ceremony empty‑handed after such a nomination haul.

2 The Wizard of Oz

Everyone cherishes the timeless odyssey of munchkins, witches, a heart, courage, and, of course, Toto. Yet timing proved crucial for this beloved classic. When the 1939 Oscars rolled around, The Wizard of Oz faced fierce competition and ultimately lost Best Picture to the monumental Gone With the Wind. Other contemporaries—Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Wuthering Heights and Stagecoach—also fell short.

Despite the Best Picture loss, the film secured Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for the iconic “Over the Rainbow,” performed by Judy Garland, who also received a special Juvenile Award. Decades later, Dorothy’s ruby‑slippered journey continues to outshine even the most celebrated romances of its era.

1 Citizen Kane

Hard to believe, but the oft‑cited masterpiece Citizen Kane—frequently perched atop every “greatest film” list, including the American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest American Movies—did not capture Best Picture in its own year. Instead, it was bested by How Green Was My Valley, perhaps due in part to a sizable contingent of Donald Crisp supporters within the Academy.

Orson Welles earned nominations for Best Actor and Best Director, yet settled for a shared Oscar for Best Original Screenplay alongside Herman Mankiewicz. Over the following four decades, Welles never again received a nomination in any category. In 1971, the Academy finally presented him with an Honorary Award, lauding his “superlative artistry and versatility in the creation of motion pictures.”

Yes, it is an honor just to be formally recognized as among the best in one’s field. But competition for the Academy Award of Merit, the statuette known affectionately as Oscar, is not the Olympics. No one will take home silver or bronze. Only gold. In this case, a 24-karat plate over solid bronze. While these ten filmmakers have entertained audiences across generations, none of them ever won that shiny, bald guy in competition with their peers.

10 Greta Garbo

When Greta Garbo came to Hollywood from Sweden in 1925, English language skills were not required for stardom. But while many big names of the silent era flamed out when “talkies” arrived, fans flocked to Anna Christie (1930) to hear if Garbo’s voice would match her image. And they were not disappointed when she sat down at a restaurant table and said, “Gimme a whiskey, ginger ale on the side, and don’t be stingy, baby.” She received a combined Academy Award nomination for that movie and for Romance, released later the same year, as she would for three others, including the tear-jerker Camille (1936) and the comedy Ninotchka (1939).

Two years later, Garbo retired from acting without a win. In 1955, the Academy recognized her with an Honorary Award for “her unforgettable screen performances.” She did not attend the ceremony, but contrary to myth, Garbo did not become a recluse. Nor did she ever utter a phrase famously attributed to her. As she refuted in a 1955 Life Magazine article, “I never said, ‘I want to be alone.’ I only said, ‘I want to be let alone! There is all the difference.”^[1]

9 Kirk Douglas

Though never an Oscar winner in a career that spanned more than half of his 103 years, Kirk Douglas brought his talent and distinctive cleft chin to varied characters. He received Lead Actor nominations for playing a boxer (Champion, 1949), an unscrupulous movie producer (The Bad and the Beautiful, 1952), and Vincent van Gogh (Lust for Life, 1956), but surprisingly not for perhaps his most famous role in the epic Spartacus (1960).

In pursuit of his own material, Douglas optioned rights to the 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but by the time a studio could be convinced to make the movie, he had aged out of the lead, and the part went to Jack Nicholson. When the film became only the second to sweep the top five Academy categories for 1975, Kirk’s son Michael took home his first Oscar as its producer, keeping it all in the family.

In 1996, Kirk received his own Honorary Award for “50 years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community.” Truly a moral force in his contribution to ending the Hollywood blacklist of the 1950s and a force of nature in accepting his Oscar in person only weeks after suffering a major stroke.^[2]

8 Barbara Stanwyck

Brains, beauty, wit, wickedness—Barbara Stanwyck could bring the complete package. Her four Best Actress nominations demonstrate her versatility in melodrama (Stella Dallas, 1937), romantic comedy (Ball of Fire, 1941), film noir (Double Indemnity, 1944), and suspense (Sorry, Wrong Number, 1948). She won hearts as a lovable card shark seducing Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve (1941) and as a popular food writer with no real-life domestic skills in the holiday classic Christmas in Connecticut (1945)… but no Oscar.

Though passed over by Academy voters, Stanwyck’s work on the small screen brought her Emmy awards for the series The Big Valley (1965) and the miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983). In 1982, the Academy caught up with critics and fans alike and gave her an Honorary Award for “superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting.”^[3]

7 Fred Astaire

A special award for Worst Talent Assessment goes to the studio underling who reviewed Fred Astaire’s screen test and purportedly wrote, “Can’t act. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” Fortunately, producer David O. Selznick spotted Astaire’s on-screen charm and paired him with Ginger Rogers in the Delores del Rio vehicle Flying Down to Rio (1933). Their single dance number would make stars of them both in the nine additional films they made together, including Top Hat (1935) and Shall We Dance (1937).

In 1950, Astaire received an Honorary Award for “his unique artistry and his contributions to the technique of musical pictures.” He continued to enjoy box office success as a solo act, often featuring creative choreography such as his dance on the ceiling in Royal Wedding (1951). His lone nomination came two decades later for a supporting role in the distinctly non-musical disaster drama The Towering Inferno (1974). But contrary to the popular saying that Ginger did everything Fred did, only backward and in heels, Rogers went him one better, winning Best Actress for the drama Kitty Foyle (1940).^[4]

6 Myrna Loy

Initially, Hollywood did not know quite what to do with this Montana native, born Myrna Williams. During the waning years of the silent era, Myrna Loy had a string of bit parts, playing a maid, slave girl, or vamp, and she appeared as an uncredited chorus girl in the first talkie, The Jazz Singer (1927). She finally found her groove as Nora Charles in The Thin Man (1934), a character she would reprise with costar William Powell five times over the next thirteen years.

She went on to own the role of smart, gracious, but takes-no-guff wife or love interest opposite the biggest leading men of her era. These included Clark Gable (Test Pilot and Too Hot to Handle, both 1938), Frederic March (The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946), Cary Grant (Mr. Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse, 1948), and Clifton Webb (Cheaper by the Dozen, 1950).

Yet despite this stellar career, not so much as an Oscar nomination. Finally, in 1991 she received an Honorary Award in “recognition of her extraordinary qualities both on screen and off, with appreciation for a lifetime’s worth of indelible performances.” At age eighty-five, she was too frail to travel across the country, but the Academy arranged a satellite hookup so she could make her acceptance speech from her New York City apartment.^[5]

5 William Powell

William Horatio Powell, Loy’s costar in the popular Thin Man franchise and several other films, faired only slightly better with the Motion Picture Academy. Like her, he worked steadily during the 1920s before making his name as detective Philo Vance, starting with The Canary Murder Case (1929), a warmup for the Nick Charles role that would earn him an Oscar nod for 1934.

Over the next two decades, Powell would charm other leading ladies, including Jean Arthur (The Ex-Mrs. Bradford, 1936), Carole Lombard (My Man Godfrey, 1936), and Irene Dunne (Life with Father, 1948), and the latter two films rounded out his list of nominations. A class act right through to his final roles as a suitor to Lauren Bacall in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and confidant to Henry Fonda in the WWII comedy-drama Mr. Roberts (1955), he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 but never a statuette.^[6]

4 Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly once said of himself, “If Fred Astaire is the Cary Grant of dance, I’m the Marlon Brando.” Yet the two hoofers share the fact that, despite their impressive film legacies, neither ever won an Academy Award. After scoring a hit in the 1940 Broadway musical Pal Joey, Kelly came to Hollywood on a one-picture contract and never looked back.

He received just a single Oscar nomination for Best Actor in Anchors Aweigh (1945) even though he directed and/or starred in the classic musicals On the Town (1949), An American in Paris (1951), and Singin’ in the Rain (1952). This last film tops the American Film Institute’s list of the 25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time. In 1952, he received an Honorary Award in “appreciation of his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer, and specifically for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film.”^[7]

3 Angela Lansbury

So much talent, yet no competitive Oscar to show for it. The late Angela Lansbury launched her Hollywood career with back-to-back nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Gaslight (1944) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) while still in her teens. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) gave her a third shot, when at age thirty-seven, she portrayed the politically ambitious mother of a former POW played by Laurence Harvey, in reality only three years her junior.

In contrast, Lansbury won five Tony awards, including for leads in the Broadway musicals Mame (1966), Gypsy (1975), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), and for a featured role in Blithe Spirit (2009). She was nominated for a Prime Time Emmy each of the twelve seasons of Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996), and it remains a mystery how she never won. After work including Miss Marple in The Mirror Crack’d (1980) and the voice of Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast (1991), her big-screen performances were finally recognized in 2014 with an Honorary Award for being “an entertainment icon who has created some of cinema’s most memorable characters, inspiring generations of actors.”^[8]

2 Alfred Hitchcock

Scary to think that a director who kept movie-goers on the edge of their seat for more than four decades never knocked off an Oscar win. Following success in Great Britain, Alfred Hitchcock moved to the States and earned a nomination for his Hollywood directorial debut, Rebecca (1940), which was voted Best Picture. Later nominations came for Lifeboat (1944), Spellbound (1945), Rear Window (1954), and Psycho (1960). In addition, classics such as Strangers on a Train (1951), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), and The Birds (1963) defined their genre. After Hitchcock, who could ever look at a crop duster, a flock of crows, or a shower curtain in quite the same way?

In 1968, the Academy gave him the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, presented periodically to “creative producers whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production.” At the ceremony, the honoree came on stage to the theme music from his popular TV show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, accepted the award, and said simply, “Thank you.” After a dramatic pause, the master of suspense turned back to the microphone and added, “Very much indeed.”^[9]

1 Robert Altman

Unlike Hitchcock, with director Robert Altman, audiences never knew what to expect, as his projects jumped all over the artistic map. After two decades of cranking out short subjects and TV shows as middle-America as Bonanza, Route 66, and Combat!, he burst into theaters with the big-screen adaptation of M*A*S*H (1970), which brought him his first Oscar nomination for Best Director. He promptly followed up that box office hit with the cult classic Brewster McCloud (1970) and the moody western McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971).

Additional nominations came for the country-music-meets-politics mix of Nashville (1975), a cynical skewering of Hollywood itself in The Player (1992), interlocking stories with an all-star cast in Short Cuts (1993), and murder at an English country estate in Gosford Park (2001). In between, he made a live-action Popeye (1980) with Robin Williams in his film debut and examined the world of Paris high fashion in Ready to Wear (1994).

Twice, Altman also earned a Best Picture nomination as producer, yet never a win. In March 2006, he received an Honorary Award “in recognition of a career that has repeatedly reinvented the art form and inspired filmmakers and audiences alike.” Yet despite the range of his subject matter, he stated in his acceptance speech, “to me, I’ve just made one long film.”^[10]