psssst. you still haven't been nominated for an Oscar.
Charlize is such a bitch! (I kid I kid.) But Emily Blunt has to be frustrated by know, right?
Herewith a quick top ten list for your Tuesday afternoon. Among currently working actors, who do you think would be most completely justified in righteous fury that they're still waiting for that one special role and even a single Oscar nomination? My answer to that question lies below. Please to note that this list could never be comprehensive. This isn't a list of "most snubbed" so much as 'doesn't it seem like time / past time?' and as such is highly subjective with an unwieldly title.
Here we go.
10 CURRENTLY WORKING STARS MOST OVERDUE FOR
THAT TRULY GREAT ROLE THAT EARNS THEM THEIR 1ST OSCAR NOMINATION
This list is dedicated to all the greats that Oscar ignored time and again like Donald Sutherland and Mia Farrow who have now aged into "You missed your chance. Give them an Honorary" territory.
RUNNER UP TIE: Kristen Wiig & Greta Gerwig
Funny
Did you hear that?
Funny
Yeah, the guy said"Honey, you're a funny girl."
Comediennes so rarely get Oscar nominations (Melissa McCarthy got lucky!) but when you can work such comic gold from deep pain and surprise regularly with dramatic depth (Kristen Wiig) or when you're a completely singular star who is endlessly watchable (Greta Gerwig) shouldn't you be able to win prizes?
the top ten after the jump
06 THE TENDER HEARTS CLUB [Five-Way Tie]
Ewan McGregor / Peter Sarsgaard / James McAvoy / Colin Farrell / Ben Whishaw
I do fear that the magical moment may have passed when people were besotted with their gifts / persona on a regular basis. And yet never any Oscar love despite performances as singular as Moulin Rouge (2001), Shattered Glass (2003), Atonement (2007), In Bruges (2008), and Bright Star (2009) respectively? Are they too "actressy" as male actors go (i.e. sensitive, nuanced, and with their angst largely free of machismo?) to earn the kudos they so richly deserve? Nevertheless all five still remind us from time to time, most recently in scenes in Black Mass, X-Men: Days of Future Past, True Detective, and Lilting, that they are exceptional and singular actors (despite being grouped together here). What will it take to get them that breakthrough industry respect role?
05 Channing Tatum
He has everything... except the Oscar nomination. It often takes Oscar a very long time to come around to the matinee idols among male A List Stars. Especially the ones whose primary gifts fall under the "light comedy" realm of acting -- Cary Grant and Gene Kelly only received 1 Oscar nomination each, after all! -- but recently in Foxcatcher Tatum proved he's no dramatic simpleton even when playing one.
04 Sarah Paulson
This could well be a controversial choice because she's only of late really started growing on the big screen and is still more of a TV star but in a just world where supporting Oscar categories weren't so regularly polluted with leading star turns, there would have been ample room for two nominations already for her startling understanding of empathy-free entitled exterior with low self esteem and raging interior in 12 Years a Slave and her jewel cut perfection as Carol's best friend and ex lover; every line reading was a short film unto its own with rich complexity and backstory.
03 Michael Peña
Hollywood's Most Reliable Supporting Man. He's winning and precise and charismatic and nuanced in nearly everything. And yet still undervalued and almost never listed among "great character actors". Often he's the very best thing in his movies, too (Crash, Ant-Man, End of Watch, etcetera). What would it take to get him that signature part that takes him to the next level and wins him a shiny golden statue, too?
02 Emily Blunt
The 2006 Supporting Actress lineup whiffed it big time by not including her A+ level comic support as the bitchiest of fashionistas. After The Devil Wears Prada she's been prominently featured in or plain ol' headlined the following triple-Oscar-nominated films: Sicario, Into the Woods, and Young Victoria in addition to being the arguable Best Action Heroine Since "Ripley" via Edge of Tomorrow. And yet she's still waiting for the signature role and the Oscar nomination? What's that about?!
she's a 'dime' alright.
01 Scarlett Johansson
Her filmography and ever escalating range and starpower speaks for itself: Ghost World, Lost in Translation, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, Match Point, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Don Jon, Her, Under the Skin. Even if you include retired actors in "most overdue" she'd still make the top ten. Maybe when she's free of the Marvel Universe and the Black Widow (a role which she also elevated) they'll finally see the Master Thespian inside the Sex Symbol?
Who would you put on such a list?