Multiple Oscar Nominees Who Surprisingly Have Never Won Any
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These talented Hollywood actors and actresses unexpectedly have never taken home an award from the Academy Awards despite being nominated numerous times over the years.

AceShowbiz - For actors and actresses, winning an Oscar is indeed like a dream come true as it puts them on the greatest spotlight they could imagine. However, there is only a limited number of Oscars available for the great actors who appear in award-worthy movies each year.

As a result, some talented actors have lost the trophy to other stars despite their critically acclaimed performances. Even more upsetting is the fact that some of these actors have been nominated multiple times, but didn't even win one.

Ahead of this year's Academy Awards to be held on Sunday, March 27, let's take a look at some fan-favorite actors and actresses with multiple nominations over the years who surprisingly have never bagged the coveted prize.

1. Robert Downey Jr.


Robert Downey Jr.
WENN/FayesVision

Robert Downey Jr. is a two-time Oscar-nominated actor. The actor, who is known for his work in the "Iron Man" films and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, earned his first Oscar nod in 1993 for Best Actor for playing Charlie Chaplin in "Chaplin".

Sixteen years later, Robert picked up his second nod. In 2009, the "Avengers: Endgame" star was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Hollywood satire "Tropic Thunder". He lost the awards to Al Pacino and Heath Ledger, respectively.

2. Laura Linney


Laura Linney
WENN/Joseph Marzullo

Laura Linney has had three Oscar nominations in her acting career. The veteran actress was nominated for Best Actress in 2001 for her work in "You Can Count on Me". However, she lost it to Julia Roberts.

In 2005, the two-time Golden Globe winner was up for Best Supporting Artist for "Kinsey" before the award went to Cate Blanchett. Then in 2008, the 58-year-old actress scored a Best Actress nomination for "Savages" but Marion Cotillard took home the award.

3. Ryan Gosling


Ryan Gosling
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Despite being nominated two times, Ryan Gosling has never bagged an Oscar. The 41-year-old actor was first nominated for Best Actor in 2007 for his role in "Half Nelson" but he lost out to Forest Whitaker.

Ten years later, Ryan got his second nod for portraying Sebastian Wildan in "La La Land" before it went to Casey Affleck. The enchanting film, in the meantime, scored a whopping 14 nominations in total and nabbed six awards, including Best Actress for Emma Stone and Best Director for Damien Chazelle.

4. Johnny Depp


Johnny Depp
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Johnny Depp is also yet to take home an Oscar despite playing some interesting roles. He made his acting debut in the horror classic "A Nightmare on Elm Street". Since then, he has made a career of playing quirky characters and picked up a trio of Best Actor nominations.

The 58-year-old star was nominated for Best Actor for his works in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl", "Finding Neverland" as well as "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". However, he lost the awards to Sean Penn, Jamie Foxx and Daniel Day-Lewis, respectively.

5. Naomi Watts


Naomi Watts
WENN/Avalon

As for Naomi Watts, she has been nominated for Best Actress two times but never took home a statuette. In 2004, the actress received a nomination for her role in "21 Grams" before she lost it to Charlize Theron.

Naomi picked up her second nod nearly a decade later. She got her second nod in 2013 for her performance as Maria Belon in "The Impossible". Unfortunately, she failed to bring home the award as it went to Jennifer Lawrence.

6. Scarlett Johansson


Scarlett Johansson
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In 2020, Scarlett Johansson earned her first two Oscar nominations. At the time, the actress, who is best known for playing Black Widow in Marvel Cinematic Universe, was nominated for Best Actress for her work in "Marriage Story". She also scored Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Jojo Rabbit".

However, the award for Best Actress went to Renee Zellweger. In the meantime, Scarlett's "Marriage Story" co-star Laura Dern took home the award for Best Actress in Supporting Role.

7. Tom Cruise


Tom Cruise
WENN/Mario Mitsis

Though Tom Cruise has won three Golden Globe Awards, he has never bagged an Oscar despite having a trio of nominations in his acting career. He was first recognized in the Best Actor category in 1990 for his performance in "Born on the Fourth of July" but was passed over in favor of Daniel Day-Lewis.

Nearly a decade later, Tom was nominated for Best Actor for "Jerry Maguire" before he lost it to Geoffrey Rush. Then in 2000, he got a nod again for Best Supporting Actor for "Magnolia" but Michael Caine took it home.

8. Saoirse Ronan


Saoirse Ronan
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Saoirse Ronan has four Oscars nominations so far in her short acting career but has yet to win. The then-rising actress earned her first nod in 2008, at the age of 13, for her performance in "Atonement". However, she lost it to Tilda Swinton.

Her following three nominations were for Best Actress for her leading roles in "Brooklyn", "Lady Bird" and "Little Women". In addition to her Oscar nominations, she took home her first Golden Globe Award for her work in "Lady Bird", and has had three Golden Globe nominations and five BAFTA nominations.

9. Michelle Williams


Michelle Williams
WENN/Joseph Marzullo

Michelle Williams has come a long way since she first burst on "Dawson's Creek" as Jen Lindley. Over the years, the 41-year-old actress has received four Oscar nominations but hasn't collected any statuettes.

Michelle was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for "Brokeback Mountain" in 2006 and "Manchester by the Sea" in 2017 and Best Actress in "Blue Valentine" in 2011 and "My Week with Marilyn" in 2012. However, the awards went to Rachel Weisz, Viola Davis, Natalie Portman and Meryl Streep, respectively.

10. Annette Bening


Annette Bening
WENN/Joseph Marzullo

Aside from Michelle Williams, Annette Bening also has been nominated four times. Her first was for Best Supporting Actress for "The Grifters" in 1991, which she lost to Whoopi Goldberg.

Her next three were all for Best Actress, first for "American Beauty" in 1999, "Being Julia" in 2004 and "The Kids Are All Right" in 2010. Hilary Swank bested her for both of the first two and Natalie Portman beat her out for the honor the fourth time.

11. Amy Adams


Amy Adams
WENN/FayesVision

Amy Adams has been nominated for an Academy Award a whopping six times. The 47-year-old actress has received five Best Supporting Actress nods and one Best Actress nomination.

Amy was recognized in the Best Supporting Actress category for "Junebug" in 2006, "Doubt" in 2009, "The Fighter" in 2011, "The Master" in 2013 and "Vice" in 2019, which she lost to Rachel Weisz, Penelope Cruz, Melissa Leo, Anne Hathaway and Regina King, respectively. In 2014, when "American Hustle" earned Amy her first nomination for Best Actress, Cate Blanchett bagged the prize.

12. Ian McKellen


Ian McKellen
WENN/Lia Toby

Ian McKellen hasn't gotten golden recognition from the Academy despite his two nominations. The actor, who is known for his role as Gandalf in "Lord of the Rings" film and Magneto in "X-Men" movies, first earned his Oscar nomination for Best Actor in 1998.

At the time, Ian was nominated for his role in "Gods and Monsters" but he lost to Roberto Benigni. Later in 2001, the 82-year-old actor was up for Best Supporting Actor for playing Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". Sadly, Jim Broadbent took home the prize.

13. Will Smith


Will Smith
WENN/Avalon

Will Smith, one of the most respected Hollywood actors, has also never won an Oscar. His role as a boxer in Michael Mann's film "Ali" got him his first nomination in the Best Actor category at the 2002 Academy Awards, which he lost to Denzel Washington.

Will was nominated again in 2007 for "The Pursuit of Happyness" but the award went to Forest Whitaker. This year, he has secured Best Actor and Best Motion Picture nomination for his work in "King Richard".

14. Glenn Close


Glenn Close
WENN/Avalon

Glenn Close holds the record of the actress who has received the most Oscar nominations without having ever won. The actress has received a grand total of eight nominations, four Best Supporting Actress nods for "The World According to Garp" in 1983, "The Big Chill" in 1984, "The Natural" in 1985 and "Hillbilly Elegy" in 2021 and four Best Actress nominations for "Fatal Attraction" in 1988, "Dangerous Liaisons" in 1989, "Albert Nobbs" in 2012 and "The Wife" in 2019.

However, Glenn isn't desperate to net an Oscar after eight nominations. "First of all, I don't think I'm a loser," she said last year. "Who in that category is a loser? You're there, you're five people honored for the work that you've done by your peers. What's better than that? And I honestly feel that the press likes to have winners and losers. And then they say, 'Who is the worst dressed?' And, you know, 'Who made the worst speech?' Forget it. It's not what it's about."

15. Bradley Cooper


Bradley Cooper
WENN/Avalon

Bradley Cooper has been nominated nine times in various categories but no win so far. He was nominated for Best Actor for his works in "Silver Linings Playbook", "American Sniper" and "A Star Is Born". He was also up for Best Supporting Actor nod for "American Hustle". Aside from that, he was nominated in Best Picture for producing "American Sniper", "A Star Is Born", "Joker" as well as "Nightmare Alley" and Best Adapted Screenplay for "A Star Is Born".

During an interview in 2020, Bradley called the film industry awards "meaningless." He said, "That awards season stuff is a real test. It's set up to foster that mentality. It's quite a thing to work through and it's completely devoid of artistic creation. It's ultimately a great thing because it really does make you face ego, vanity, and insecurity. It's very interesting and utterly meaningless."

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