Almost There: The Return and the Unlucky Thirteen
Friday, January 26, 2024 at 8:30PM 
Everybody's fighting about Oscar "snubs" since nominations were announced.
It's been a while. The last time I wrote an Almost There piece was nearly a year ago, last February, still reeling from Danielle Deadwyler's lack of an Oscar nomination. Since then…nothing. Personally, I needed a break from the format, and maybe you did too. While the race for gold can be used to contextualize and remember films and performances of yesteryear, it also limits what one can discuss and how. In any case, the series has been on pause for enough time, so let's welcome its return on the heels of the latest batch of Oscar nominations.
That reminds me - this comeback merits some oomph. Because of that, I'm planning something special for the following weeks…
Usually, I do a whole series of mini-analysis to commemorate the year's actors who came close to an Oscar nod but failed to get it at the last minute. However, that limits the depth of each assessment, and it often feels like I'm giving the short shrift to some remarkable work. So, to change things up, multiple folks will get the full Almost There treatment, with at least one per category. Next week will start with a Supporting Actress contender and end with a double-whammy of Best Actor wannabees. Then, the week after, it shall be Best Supporting Actor near and dear to my heart and we'll finish on the year's biggest so-called "snub" after that.
It's no use hiding who waits for us at the end of this Almost There journey. It's Barbie herself, Margot Robbie, whose lack of a Best Actress nomination unleashed psychotic levels of social media outrage but also elevated the Australian star to a pantheon of unfortunate Oscar hopefuls. She's now one of fourteen thespians nominated at SAG for multiple individual achievements but later ignored by AMPAS for those same performances. If one considers she has missed in Supporting Actress for Mary Queen of Scots and Actress for Barbie, Robbie is just the seventh to "snubbed" in both categories.
That's all fine and dandy, but another data set inspires and warrants even more attention for me. As of this latest nomination announcement, Margot Robbie joins an exclusive club of actors who secured nominations in all four major Oscar precursors – SAG, BAFTA, Golden Globes, and Critics Choice – without a corresponding nod from the Academy. If there's ever someone who deserves the Almost There treatment, it's these actors. Since 1995, the first year when this awards quartet existed, these are the performances that got earmarked for all yet didn't quite make it to the Oscar lineup (click the underlined titles to read past Almost There coverage on those same performances):
Leonardo DiCaprio in THE DEPARTED (2006)
Tilda Swinton in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (2011)
Marion Cotillard in RUST AND BONE (2012)
Tom Hanks in CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (2013)
Emma Thompson in SAVING MR. BANKS (2013)
Daniel Brühl in RUSH (2013)
Jake Gyllenhaal in NIGHTCRAWLER (2014)
Amy Adams in ARRIVAL (2016)
Timothée Chalamet in BEAUTIFUL BOY (2018)
Lady Gaga in HOUSE OF GUCCI (2021)
Caitriona Balfe in BELFAST (2021)
Viola Davis in THE WOMAN KING (2022)
Margot Robbie in BARBIE (2023)
You have to wonder if the Unlucky Thirteen will become the Unfortunate Fourteen or even Fifteen next year. Time will tell, but for now, let's focus on the present season. After all, it's reaching its final phase, and everyone everywhere is mad about something.
Are you excited about the return of the Almost There series? Which performances would you like to see covered as we move forward?
Reader Comments (11)
These thirteen, nine certainly, undoubtedly, really deserved a nomination.
Not certain about DiCaprio, who was nominated for "Blood Diamond". Probably best in "Blood Diamond", certainly very good in "The Departed", the Great winner.
Hanks in "Captain Phillips"? Humm... Maybe. Probably not.
Davis in "The Woman King"? No. She's marvelous, but for this movie? No.
Robbie in "Barbie"? No. Never. Definitely no.
Tilda and Jake
Adams in Arrival still hurts buckets
I miss Almost There always gets this place buzzing.
of the 13 i'd say this about them
DiCaprio should have been nominated for the Departed and not the forgettable Blood Diamond,this is one of the worst category fraud in any arena.
Swinton I didn't like this film or her performance.
Cotillard supreme work should have replaced Watts,where is Marion these days.
Hanks one of his very best should have replaced Bale.
Thompson she's fine but far too Thompsony.
Bruhl category fraud but he' good could've replaced Johan Hill
Gyllenhall frighteningly brilliant should have replaced Redmayne or Cumberbatch
Adams cerebral warm intelligent unshowy Oscar said no for more Meryl.
Chalamet more frauding films a downer but he's solid,replace Rockwell for him
GaGa I love this performance and would have placed in pole possition,kick out Kidman and put GaGa in.
Balfe I got nothing from this role
Davis solid but not nom worthy
Robbie light and funny,in tune with her film but i'm not mad she missed.
A handful of these probably should've made the Oscar 5, including Robbie this year. But I think only one person here got truly hosed and that was Caitriona Balfe.
This is a fun series.
Robbie would've made my 5 nominees. Jake G. not only should've been nominated, he may well have deserved the win (I'd say it's him or Keaton). Absolutely loved Bruhl in Rush.
2011 Best Actress - so frustrating. Both Swinton and Theron should've been nominated, especially given that that was hardly a great line-up.
I can understand all these snubs except Tilda, Marion and Jake. Especially for Marion Cotillard in Rust and Bone, which I believe is one of the best performances by an actress in all history.
Also love Gaga in Gucci, after my complete despise on her turn in A Star is Born. Maybe this recent snub helps her to get in for Folie à Deux next year.
Claudio, you're so great at curating all these things.
So many good performances in that list, but I think Tilda Swinton in KEVIN and Marion Cotillard in RUST AND BONE are all-timers. They both should have won the Oscars in their years, in my opinion.
And still so weird that Amy Adams didn't make it for ARRIVAL. It's her best performance.
I think it’s notable that BFCA have existed for nearly 30 years and yet 10/13 of these have happened in the last decade—it’s becoming much less special and unheard of.
I remember what an outrage it was when Tilda didn’t make it (how pointed it seemed given this stat) but now it’s par for the course that it’ll happen to somebody. The really great performances here (Tilda, Amy, Jake) honestly didn’t need Oscar attention to age magnificently!
seeing these fourteen together is interesting. Half of them were only there because of advance hype, timing of release, and the general unadventurousness of awards voters. The other half are brilliant turns that should have made it to Oscar.
Curious how it's one or the other.
A lot of big misses here. Leo not making it in for The Departed in favor of Blood Diamond is one I always hated, he was far superior in the former. Outside him, Hanks and Adams missing for those respective performances is still insane to me, they were incredible.