Receiving an Oscar nomination is one of the high points of an artist’s career, a generous tip of the hat from one’s peers. Many of the best actors have gotten their moment in the sun and the chance to thank everyone who supported them for all these years.

Others, unfortunately, are still waiting for their time to shine. Actors like Glenn Close, Amy Adams, and Bradley Cooper have felt the Academy’s love, but the win has sadly escaped them — sometimes over and over again. Ahead, we’re highlighting 25 of the best working actors today who are still on the hunt for the elusive Oscar.

Amy Adams

Amy Adams at the 91st Academy Awards on Feb. 24, 2019.
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Six times nominated without a win to her name, Amy Adams has become something of a poster child for this cause. Five of her nods have been for Best Supporting Actress — for Junebug (2005), Doubt (2008), The Fighter (2010), The Master (2012), and Vice (2018), losing to Rachel Weisz, Penélope Cruz, Melissa Leo, Anne Hathaway, and Regina King, respectively. After 2013’s American Hustle earned Adams her first nomination for Best Actress, Cate Blanchett took home the prize over her. —Mary Sollosi

Edward Norton

Edward Norton at the 87th Academy Awards nominee luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 2, 2015.

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Edward Norton has never been awarded a heavy gold trophy despite four career nominations. He had gotten three nods for Best Supporting Actor, for Primal Fear (1996), Birdman (2014), and A Complete Unknown (2024), losing to Cuba Gooding Jr., J.K. Simmons, and Kieran Culkin, respectively, and one for Best Actor in 1999 for American History X, when Roberto Benigni defeated him. —M.S.

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson at the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, 2025.

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Though Samuel L. Jackson‘s impressive filmography would, one might think, have earned him a competitive Oscar by now, he doesn’t have any — and, in fact, has only been nominated once. He lost Best Supporting Actor to Martin Landau in 1995, when he was nominated for Pulp Fiction. Jackson was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 2022 for his lifetime achievement in film, but he has yet to win one for an individual performance. —M.S.

Glenn Close

Glenn Close at the 93rd Academy Awards on April 25, 2021.

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Glenn Close holds the record as the actress who has received the most Oscar nominations without having ever won. She’s got eight in total — including four in Best Supporting Actress (for 1982’s The World According to Garp, 1983’s The Big Chill, 1984’s The Natural, and 2020’s Hillbilly Elegy) and four in Best Actress (for 1987’s Fatal Attraction, 1988’s Dangerous Liaisons, 2011’s Albert Nobbs, and 2018’s The Wife). She has lost to such actresses as Jessica Lange, Linda Hunt, Peggy Ashcroft, Cher, Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep, Olivia Colman, and Yuh-Jung Youn. —M.S.

Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024.

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The Academy loves Bradley Cooper, but still not quite enough to give him a win. The movie star earned three Oscar nominations in a row in the early-2010s for Silver Linings Playbook (2012), American Hustle (2013), and American Sniper (2014), though he lost to Daniel Day-Lewis, Jared Leto, and Eddie Redmayne, respectively. He then directed himself to acting nominations for A Star Is Born (2018) and Maestro (2023), but he lost those years, too, to Rami Malek and Cillian Murphy. He has also earned seven nominations in other categories over the years, collecting Best Picture nominations as a producer on American Sniper, A Star Is Born, Joker (2019), Nightmare Alley (2021), and Maestro, and screenplay bids for A Star Is Born and Maestro. —Kevin Jacobsen

Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke at the 87th Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015.

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Ethan Hawke has steadily built up an impressive body of work, netting five Oscar nominations in his 40-year career, though a win has continuously escaped him. The multi-hyphenate has earned two Supporting Actor nominations for Training Day (2001) and Boyhood (2014), which he lost to Jim Broadbent and J.K. Simmons, respectively, and two Adapted Screenplay nominations for his collaborative work on Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013). He landed his first Best Actor nomination this year for his star turn as lyricist Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon (2025) — a film that, like Before Sunset, Before Midnight, and Boyhood, was directed by frequent collaborator Richard Linklater. —K.J.

Sigourney Weaver

Sigourney Weaver at the 95th Academy Awards on March 12, 2023.

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Sigourney Weaver has been nominated three times, including twice in the same year: Her stellar 1988 led to her being up for both Best Actress (for Gorillas in the Mist) and Best Supporting Actress (for Working Girl); the awards went to Jodie Foster and Geena Davis instead. This double disappointment came just two years after her first nomination, for Best Actress for Aliens (1986). She lost that year to Marlee Matlin. —M.S.

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise speaks onstage during the 84th Academy Awards on Feb. 26, 2012.

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Tom Cruise may be one of our most iconic film actors, but even he hasn’t collected a competitive Oscar, despite three acting nominations and another for producing. He’s been recognized in the Best Actor category twice, for Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Jerry Maguire (1996), but was passed over in favor of Daniel Day-Lewis and Geoffrey Rush, respectively. He got a nod in Best Supporting Actor for Magnolia (1999), but Michael Caine took it home that year. Cruise finally earned another Oscar nomination 23 years later as a producer on Best Picture nominee Top Gun: Maverick (2022), though the award ultimately went to Everything Everywhere All at Once. The Academy did give him an Honorary Oscar in 2025 for lifetime achievement and commitment to filmmaking. —M.S.

Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Pfeiffer introduces a segment at the 82nd Academy Awards on March 7, 2010.

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Michelle Pfeiffer has picked up three Oscar nominations, but no gold. She was first recognized in the Supporting Actress category for Dangerous Liaisons (1988) but lost to Geena Davis. Later, she was a Best Actress nominee for The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) and Love Field (1992) but was beaten by Jessica Tandy and Emma Thompson, respectively. —M.S.

Willem Dafoe

Willem Dafoe at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024.

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One of the most prolific actors working today, Willem Dafoe has amassed more than 150 credits in his 40-plus years in the industry. The veteran actor has four Oscar nominations but has sadly gone 0 for 4, losing Best Supporting Actor for Platoon (1986), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), and The Florida Project (2017), and Best Actor for At Eternity’s Gate (2018). The winners in each of those years were Michael Caine, Benicio Del Toro, Sam Rockwell, and Rami Malek, respectively. —K.J.

Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes at the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, 2025.

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Ralph Fiennes has a bone temple but no Academy Awards, having lost Best Supporting Actor when he was nominated for Schindler’s List (1993) to Tommy Lee Jones and Best Actor for The English Patient (1996) to Geoffrey Rush. Fiennes earned his third Oscar nomination many years later in Best Actor for Conclave (2024), ultimately losing to Adrien Brody. —M.S.

Bill Murray

Bill Murray at the 86th Academy Awards on March 2, 2014.

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The beloved comic actor Bill Murray (and Wes Anderson regular) has only picked up one Oscar nod thus far. He was nominated for Best Actor in 2004 for Lost in Translation; Sean Penn took home the trophy instead. —M.S.

Ian McKellen

Ian McKellen at the 7th annual Governors Awards on Nov. 14, 2015.

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Believe it or not, Sir Ian McKellen hasn’t gotten golden recognition from the Academy. He’s been nominated twice — first, for his role in Gods and Monsters (1998) for Best Actor, which he lost to Roberto Benigni; second, for playing Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), for which he got a Best Supporting Actor nod but Jim Broadbent took home the prize. —M.S.

Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams at the 95th Academy Awards on March 12, 2023.

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Despite five nominations, Michelle Williams has never won gold. She received a Best Supporting Actress nod for Brokeback Mountain (2005), but Rachel Weisz got that honor. Williams was nominated for Best Actress for Blue Valentine (2010) but lost to Natalie Portman; she got a nod in the same category the following year for playing Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn (2011), but Meryl Streep won that year (for playing a very different public figure, Margaret Thatcher). She was back in the Best Supporting Actress race with Manchester by the Sea (2016), but was bested by Viola Davis. Finally, she received her third lead nomination for The Fabelmans (2022), though she lost to a different Michelle that year: Michelle Yeoh. —M.S.

Annette Bening

Annette Bening at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024.

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Annette Bening has picked up five Oscar nominations but still doesn’t have an Academy Award. Her first was for Best Supporting Actress for The Grifters (1990), which she lost to Whoopi Goldberg. Her next four were all for Best Actress, for American Beauty (1999), Being Julia (2004), The Kids Are All Right (2010), and Nyad (2023). Hilary Swank bested her for the first two, while Natalie Portman and Emma Stone beat her out for the honor for the third and fourth time, respectively. —M.S.

Saoirse Ronan

Saoirse Ronan at the 92nd Academy Awards on Feb. 9, 2020.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Saoirse Ronan earned her first Oscar nomination at the age of 13 for her supporting performance in 2007’s Atonement, eventually losing to Tilda Swinton. Who could have guessed that by the age of 25 she would have earned three more nominations, all in the lead actress category? The Irish actress received Best Actress nominations for Brooklyn (2015), Lady Bird (2017), and Little Women (2019), though she was overlooked for the win each time in favor of, respectively, Brie Larson, Frances McDormand, and Renée Zellweger. One nice pattern, though, is that each of the films Ronan has been nominated for was also nominated for Best Picture, a rare feat for a four-time nominee. —K.J.

Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts at the 88th Academy Awards on Feb. 28, 2016.

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Naomi Watts has been nominated twice for Best Actress, but never won a statuette. The first time was for her role in 21 Grams (2003), when she lost to Charlize Theron; she was recognized a second time for her performance in The Impossible (2012), but Jennifer Lawrence won instead. —M.S.

Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton at the 88th Academy Awards on Feb. 28, 2016.

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Despite a long career in Hollywood, Michael Keaton has no Oscar wins — and had never been nominated until 2015, when he got his first and (so far) only nod for his singular performance in Birdman (2014). Eddie Redmayne won Best Actor over him that year, though Birdman took home Best Picture. Keaton also starred in the next year’s Best Picture winner, Spotlight (2015), though he wasn’t nominated. —M.S.

Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi speaks onstage during the 26th Screen Actors Guild awards on Jan. 19, 2020.

Rich Fury/Getty

While it’s surprising that none of these accomplished performers have ever won an Oscar, Steve Buscemi has never even received a nomination from the Academy. His work in television has been more widely recognized: For his roles on such acclaimed series as Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos, he’s received multiple nominations at the Emmys and Golden Globes and won one of each. —M.S.

Jeff Daniels

Jeff Daniels at the Tony Honors cocktail party at Sofitel Hotel on June 3, 2019.

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Like Buscemi, Jeff Daniels has never been nominated for an Oscar but has received greater recognition at other awards shows. He’s got multiple Golden Globe nominations to his name as well as two Emmy wins, for The Newsroom and Godless. —M.S.

Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo at the 96th Oscars nominee luncheon on Feb. 12, 2024.

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Mark Ruffalo has racked up four Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominations since 2011, but his winning moment has yet to come. His nominations were for his scene-stealing work in The Kids Are All Right (2010), Foxcatcher (2014), Spotlight (2015), and Poor Things (2023), though he’s had to sit in the audience and watch Christian Bale, J.K. Simmons, Mark Rylance, and his MCU buddy Robert Downey Jr. have their winning moments on stage. While Ruffalo hasn’t won Oscar gold yet, he is part of a very exclusive club. After earning his fourth Supporting Actor nomination for Poor Things, he is now tied with seven other actors as having the most nominations in the category’s history. —K.J.

Laura Linney

Laura Linney at the 7th annual Governors Awards on Nov. 14, 2015.

Araya Doheny/WireImage

Laura Linney has three Oscar nominations but has yet to nab the award. The veteran star picked up Best Actress nominations for You Can Count on Me (2000) and The Savages (2007), and a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Kinsey (2004), falling each year to Julia Roberts, Marion Cotillard, and Cate Blanchett, respectively. Luckily, Linney isn’t hurting for hardware overall, having collected four Emmys for her work on television, including for the TV movie Wild Iris, her guest turn on Frasier, and her leading roles in the miniseries John Adams and The Big C: Hereafter. —M.S.

John Malkovich

John Malkovich attends the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards at the Old Vic Theatre on Nov. 13, 2016.

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Though he’s been nominated twice for Best Supporting Actor, John Malkovich has never taken home the gold. Recognized for Places in the Heart (1984) and In the Line of Fire (1993), he lost to Haing S. Ngor and Tommy Lee Jones, respectively. —M.S.

Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey attends the 2018 British Academy Britannia Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Oct. 26, 2018.

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The beloved funnyman Jim Carrey has never received an Oscar nomination, despite appearing in critically adored films such as The Truman Show (1998) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He has picked up a slew of Golden Globe nominations, however, two of which have resulted in wins. —M.S.

Angela Bassett

Angela Bassett at the 2026 Voice Arts awards at the Beverly Hilton on Jan. 18, 2026.

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Angela Bassett received an Honorary Academy Award in 2023 for lifetime achievement in film, arguably an acknowledgment that the veteran actress was passed over way too many times by them in the past. In addition to her honorary award, Bassett has only two Oscar nominations to her name: a Best Actress nomination for playing Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It (1993) and a Supporting Actress nomination for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). She was passed over in favor of Holly Hunter and Jamie Lee Curtis. It remains to be seen if she can do what other artists like Spike Lee and Paul Newman have done in the past, receiving an Honorary Oscar and then a competitive Oscar not long after. —K.J.