The 2025 Oscar awards ceremony left people angry, irritated, and wondering what on Earth Emilia Perez was even about. I was not tuned in because the movies I watch, cinematic masterpieces such as Across the Spiderverse, tend not to be nominated. This year, the Oscars featured a bunch of movies I hadn’t seen, a few I had read the Wikipedia synopsis of, and Wicked, where Ariana Grande did not win Best Supporting Actress for her incredible performance as Glinda. This was not the first time me and ‘The Academy’ disagreed. Every actor on this list, I assumed, had won an Oscar for their respective movies. I was shocked to find out they didn’t, so here are 10 Oscar snubs that frustrated me in no particular order.
1992 Oscar for Best Actor
It’s relatively agreed upon that Denzel Washington has put on many more Oscar-worthy performances than he has actual Oscars. His role in Glory, a film about an all-black regiment of the Union Army, earned him his first Oscar in 1989. He was not awarded again until 2002 for his performance in Training Day. This angered many Denzel fans, mainly my mother, because Denzel Washington played an LAPD narcotics officer with a terrible moral compass and a stereotypical thug personality. This felt reductive and almost offensive to his range and incredible past performances, which is why this snub made the list. In 1992, Al Pacino won the Oscar for best actor in Scent of a Woman (a movie I have never heard of) over Denzel Washington as Malcolm X. Now just because I haven’t heard of a movie, doesn’t mean it isn’t good. But Scent of a Woman is a RomCom, and Malcolm X is, well, Malcolm X. Regardless, in my opinion, Denzel Washington’s 2002 Oscar was due a decade earlier.
1997 Oscar for Best Actor
Good Will Hunting featuring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Robin Williams is considered by many to be one of the classics. Racking up a very high 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, Good Will Hunting is known as Matt Damon’s breakthrough performance. The movie follows relatively predictable plot lines with just enough twists to keep things interesting. The narrative is compelling and every acting performance exceeded expectations. The Best Actor award went to Jack Nicholson in As Good as It Gets. The movie has an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes where viewers praised the acting skills of the entire cast. Jack Nicholson played a complex character very well, but this boiled down to audience reviews for me. Like I said before, I have frequently heard Good Will Hunting referred to as “a classic” but I have never heard of As Good as It Gets. Considering Nicholson’s iconic performance in The Shining, it’s no surprise that this film was overshadowed by his more popular roles. In my humble opinion, the Oscar could have gone to either of them, but Matt Damon feels like the better-suited choice.
1998 Oscar for Best Actor
Saving Private Ryan is one of the best, most famous, American war movies ever made. It follows a captain leading a group of soldiers behind enemy lines after D-Day, to bring back a paratrooper whose brothers have all been killed in action. The captain is played by none other than Tom Hanks, who put on a phenomenal performance earning the film its critical acclaim. The Oscar for Best Actor did not go to Tom Hanks though. Instead, it went to Roberto Benigni for Life Is Beautiful. Life Is Beautiful is also a wartime film, but it focuses less on the effects of death and battle and more on the art of maintaining normalcy during times of struggle. Despite the setting, it is an overall optimistic comedy that was beautifully done. However, even though the film is genuinely great, I believe the caliber of acting required of Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan was ever so slightly higher than what was required of Roberto Benigni. This is a close call, as both actors played their roles in a way that really beautifully captured the effects of war on the individual. This is a light snub, I do think Tom Hanks should have won but only just barely.
2003 Oscar for Best Actor
(@pirates_of_the_caribbean_fans)Admittedly, I am biased, I love the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. It’s unique, it’s fun, and frankly, the CGI was way ahead of its time. Despite the amazing story and the impressive visual effects in each film, Johnny Depp stole the show as Captain Jack Sparrow every time. He is also the only man on this list that does not have an Oscar. Johnny Depp is notorious for his range as an actor and his ability to become almost unrecognizable in each role. Jack Sparrow looks nothing like Willy Wonka, who looks nothing like Sweeney Todd. Unfortunately, none of his many talented performances have won him the favor of the Academy. The Oscar for Best Actor that year went to Sean Penn in Mystic River. From what I’ve heard, Mystic River was a pretty solid movie. However, it doesn’t seem to have left a massive impact on the industry or even left any kind of influence behind. What made Best Actor 2003 a snub to me was the fact that Johnny Depp hasn’t been awarded by the Academy at all. His loss in a popular and well-known franchise to a movie that I had not heard of until now really baffled me. I had always assumed that the more popular the movie, the more awards it had. This list consistently disproves that.
1965 Oscar for Best Actress
This is by far the most confusing snub on this list. The Sound of Music is one of the most impactful musicals of all time. Most of the songs on the soundtrack are now considered classics, and staples of beginner music courses nationwide. How is it possible that Julie Andrews was not given the award for the impact she so clearly deserved? The Oscar went to Julie Christie in Darling that year, yet another I had never heard of. What is Darling about? I’m so glad you asked. Darling is about a London model, played by Julie Christie, toying with the affections of two older men while the dark side of fame begins to take its toll. I was not compelled or convinced by this plot nor did the Wikipedia synopsis sway me. I have not seen Julie Christie’s performance in Darling, but I have seen The Sound of Music plenty of times. I’m sure she deserved that Oscar, but I’m also sure Julie Andrews deserved one as well.
1986 Oscar for Best Actress
In 1986, the Oscar for Best Actress was given to Marlee Matlin in her acting debut. Children of a Lesser God is a love story between an energetic teacher and a deaf, but voluntarily mute, janitor. This is yet another film I had never heard of. A movie I am familiar with, though, is Aliens featuring Sigourney Weaver. Aliens has cemented itself as one of the greatest sequel movies of all time. It is foundational to the relatively underdeveloped genre of space horror and contributed heavily to the furthering of the Alien franchise. Alien Romulus, for example, was released just last year. Children of a Lesser God did feature excellent acting, but to say that Matlin out-performed Weaver does not line up when comparing the impact of both movies. While one movie being more popular than another does not imply it was better, the Oscars seem to actively avoid handing out any awards that would make them seem like a popularity contest, even if those awards are deserved.
2009 Oscar for Best Actress
Precious is an absolutely heartbreaking film. It beautifully details the emotional, behavioral, and societal effects of poverty. Gabourey Sidibe plays Precious so seamlessly that at some points it doesn’t seem like she’s acting at all. The overall story was incredibly moving and even though the content itself is rather traumatic, I wouldn’t consider Precious a difficult watch. It’s a story everyone should hear to better empathize with what is, for so many, an unfortunate reality. The Oscar for Best Actress that year went to Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side. This is not a good look for the Oscars, like, at all. The Blind Side was brought back into the public eye when a 2023 lawsuit by Michael Oher revealed the movie was not what it appeared to be. The Tuohy family (of which Sandra Bullock played the mom) did not adopt him and teach him the joy of football the way the movie portrayed it. In fact, he was tricked into signing a conservatorship agreement and received little to no payment for the telling of his story. Long story short, Gabourey Sidibe in her groundbreaking debut film was snubbed for Best Actress by Sandra Bullock in a white savior movie. Obviously, the Academy could not have planned for this, but hindsight is 20/20.
2020 Oscar for Best Actress
This is less frustrating and more disappointing based on personal preference. I debated including this one because I felt like the word “snub” didn’t exactly fit here. Renee Zellweger absolutely deserved the Oscar for her performance in Judy Garland. But in a perfect world, they would have made a second Oscar for Charlize Theron. I love a docudrama and Bombshell is one of my absolute favorites. It covers a more dramatic version of events from the Fox News harassment scandal involving three of their popular female newscasters. I saw the movie in theaters and Charlize Theron’s performance was the most memorable. She acted alongside Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie who were both also nominated for the film. Judy Garland was less of a docudrama and more of a biopic, but as I said, Renee Zellweger was outstanding in it. If only it were possible to have two winners at once.
2023 oscar for Best supporting actress
Angela Bassett does not have an Oscar. She has an honorary one for her many contributions to film and visual media over the years, but she has no Oscars for any specific roles. Angela Bassett, on paper, seemed like a shoo-in for best supporting actress in 2023, based on her performance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Somehow, seemingly against all odds, she did not leave the ceremony with an Oscar in her hand. The Oscar for Best Supporting Actress that year was given to the incredible (flowers where flowers are due) Jamie Lee Curtis for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once. The movie was fantastic, and she played her role well, but I do genuinely believe the Oscar should have gone to Angela Bassett. The grief and anger she was able to portray contributed heavily to why Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was so successful. The fact that she was given an honorary Oscar proves that her contributions to film as an art form have been invaluable. It makes no sense that she has not won a single one for any of the movies she has been in if her work is as good as they acknowledged it to be.
2025 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress
I’ve heard a lot of mixed opinions on this. For starters, I believe Zoe Saldaña is an incredible actress. She has managed to become the face of multiple million-dollar franchises like Guardians of the Galaxy and Avatar, which is nothing to sneeze at. However, Emilia Perez has such mixed reviews compared to the overwhelmingly positive reviews of Wicked that I cannot find it in myself to understand why Ariana Grande lost this Oscar. I have yet to hear anyone say anything positive about Emilia Perez, aside from the Hollywood elite and “high-brow” critics. (I also haven’t met anyone who actually watched the movie, making me wonder how anyone knows if it’s good at all.) The general consensus is that Wicked was phenomenal and Ariana Grande played her role excellently. The general consensus on Emilia Perez seems to be that it was decent, but Zoe Saldaña played her role excellently. To me, a good performance in a decent movie will never be as enjoyable as a good performance in an excellent movie. I wasn’t expecting a Wicked award sweep, note that Cynthia Erivo losing Best Actress is not on this list as I did not feel it was a snub, but I do think Ariana’s performance was overall better enjoyed by the public than Zoe’s. The types of characters they played are very different, so drawing comparisons is pretty difficult. Thankfully, the Academy makes those decisions, not me.
art is subjective
The hard thing about judging movies or music is that there is no set criteria. Should it be based on popularity? Influence? How daring or bold it was? None of it is streamlined and it’s all open to personal interpretation. Is Sharkboy and Lavagirl a better movie than Titanic? Maybe not to everyone, but to someone it is. It’s important to remember that the Academy doesn’t speak for anyone but themselves. Plenty of actors and actresses have unofficial Oscars given to them by the viewers. Any movie that is loved is Oscar-worthy.