For years we held aloft Peter O’Toole and Richard Burton as examples of how the Academy can somehow elude greatness. Not only are both men two of the most classic, greatest actors in the history of cinema, they were both neck-and-neck for years as having 7 nominations apiece without a single competitive win between them – O’Toole notched number 8 years later with Venus. Hell, Laurence Olivier only won once, from a total 10 acting nominations. Then there’s Rami Malek and Roberto Benigni.
We consider what is right and wrong in the collective voting world of the film awards season whenever we see fit. The following recipients of the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role were worthy to many for sure. But should they have won for a different role? You bet there’s many more that think so.
Al Pacino
Where do you start with Al Pacino? Especially with an incredible Academy Awards run in the 1970s that didn’t include the likes of Scarecrow and The Panic in Needle Park. That very slew of Oscar nominations were also just that – with not one win to show for it. I’ll include The Godfather (1972) here as it should have been in the Leading Actor category, but add to that Serpico (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and then …And Justice For All (1979) and, well, you can see the misdeeds.
Die hard Pacino fans will likely tell you that he truly deserved his Best Actor win for Scent of a Woman in 1992, over Robert Downey Jr in Chaplin and Denzel Washington in Malcolm X. That’s an age-old debate for sure, but the unfathomable fact that he had zero Oscars at that stage was a winning factor. The same year Pacino earned a Best Supporting Actor nod instead of Jack Lemmon for Glengarry Glen Ross – not saying it was unwarranted, but they were really gunning for him. — Robin Write
Sidney Poitier
At the 1964 Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier, an esteemed actor and humanitarian, became the first African American to win Best Actor for his phenomenal performance in Lilies of the Field (1963). In the film Poitier portrays a handyman who helps a group of nuns build a church in the Arizonan desert. Though heartwarming and undoubtedly deserving, it could be argued that he deserved to win 5 years prior for the 1958 film, The Defiant Ones, in which he plays one of two escaped prisoners, shackled together who must work together to evade capture and survive.
As one of the first African American “movie stars”, Poitier was often celebrated for his docile and servile roles, such as his performance in Lilies of the Field. However, his fierce performance in The Defiant Ones proved he could do exceedingly well when breaking out of his “typecast” and is arguably a more memorable and impressive performance overall. But we’re just glad he was honored with one Best Actor award, and an Honorary Oscar in 2001, throughout his iconic career. — Anna Miller
Russell Crowe
The sulky Australian impressed audiences in the timeless ensemble, L.A. Confidential – as did many – but the Academy took serious notice of Russell Crowe for his immersive leading role in Michael Mann’s The Insider in 1999. That was his first of three consecutive Best Actor Oscar nods before he fell off the AMPAS radar.
His victory for the dubious Best Picture winner, Gladiator, was par for the course with the Academy’s leading man match-up, but a definite surprise to all watching that night. Even he was astonished, perhaps the most humble we had seen him at that time. A BAFTA spat the next year squished his A Beautiful Mind (another dubious Best Picture winner) momentum, denying him what would have been a second Oscar in as many years. — Robin Write
Joaquin Phoenix
With the risk of angering one of the most toxic fandoms in the world, Joaquin Phoenix shouldn’t have won the Oscar for Joker (2019). Instead, he should have won it 14 years earlier for Walk the Line. Indeed, his career is packed with marvellous performances that could have easily won the big prize but that unfortunately weren’t even nominated (Her in 2013 and You Were Never Really Here in 2017 are the most glaring omissions). While his Oscar works as a recognition for his astounding career, the Academy should have recognised him sooner for his memorable performance as Johnny Cash.
Although he is undoubtedly the best part of Joker, his sensitivity, awkwardness, and mysterious vibe fit better in subtler films. In Walk the Line, for example, Phoenix painfully portrays Johnny Cash as the man in love, the super star, and the addict. The character is deeply flawed, but Phoenix soars with his vulnerability. Phoenix’s vulnerability is his most interesting and affecting feature, one that was palpable as the man who deals with deep trauma and self-loath in Walk the Line; or the lonely man who falls in love with an AI in Her; or the ex-soldier with PTSD that embarks on a mission to save a girl in You Were Never Really Here. — Alessandra Rangel
Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington: an iconic name out of Hollywood who has had equally iconic performances. He’s received 8 Oscar acting nominations for his roles; this includes his Best Supporting Actor win for Glory (1989) and Best Actor win for Training Day (2001). Although it’s great to see a talented actor recognized for his work, there’s often a common opinion that he may have won for the wrong role…
Washington’s portrayal of the legendary African-American activist in the 1992 film, Malcom X, is commonly referred to as his best and most impressive work in his career. He earned an Academy Award nomination for this leading performance but lost that year to Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman. Washington has had so many phenomenal performances portraying upstanding, proud and just characters, and some have previously found it peculiar that he instead later received an Academy Award for Training Day in which he plays a corrupt individual that arguably plays into ‘stereotypes’. — Anna Miller
Jack Lemmon
Not to take anything away from Jack Lemmon’s two Oscar victories, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many people who remember the films he won for. His wins for Best Supporting Actor in 1955 for Mister Roberts and Best Actor in 1973 for Save the Tiger made Lemmon the first person to win both categories. An amazing achievement, to be sure, but Lemmon was better elsewhere.
We know the Academy rarely honours comedic performances. Like many of his comedic colleagues, Lemmon had to turn to drama to capture double Oscar gold. Lemmon’s hilarious performance in 1959’s Some Like It Hot is iconic. It should have earned Lemmon more than just a nomination for Best Actor. But it was Lemmon’s performance the very next year in 1960’s vastly underrated Best Picture winner, The Apartment that really should have captured an Oscar win for Best Actor. It’s a deceptive film. On its surface, it appears to just be a gooey romantic comedy. Beneath the surface lies a captivating drama with the confidence to tackle some dark topics.
Sure, there’s plenty of Lemmon’s trademark penchant for comedy in this performance, but it’s an incredibly nuanced turn that’s ultimately entirely heartbreaking. Lemmon’s Baxter is a deeply conflicted man, and all that conflict is conveyed through Lemmon’s wildly expressive face. Your heart aches for him, and you cannot help but yearn to see him get the girl he deserves. The Academy was wrong to ignore what Lemmon delivers here. — Doug Jamieson
Leonardo DiCaprio
Whether it’s a distinct lack of a film’s Oscar buzz (Shutter Island, J. Edgar, Revolutionary Road) or somehow missing in action on an awards contender (Titanic, Gangs of New York, Catch Me If You Can), Leonardo DiCaprio has provided an abundance of Oscars snubbery discussion. With the overwhelming buzz from The Revenant, DiCaprio was inevitably being talked up as not just a certain nominee, but the likely Best Actor Oscar winner. And so it was. The unstoppable momentum was partly owed to his not winning gold so far. Was his performance in The Revenant actually worthy of the win? Or was it simply signed, sealed and delivered given the actor’s blistering form?
Let’s look at the evidence. The second Christof Waltz Oscar win (okay, for Best Supporting Actor) was a real tongue-twister in the realms of award season banter and debate. Why? Because his Django Unchained co-star DiCaprio was the real golden lion of the Tarantino show that year. For Waltz to go all the way and win and DiCaprio not even get an invite to the party was a real peculiar swing of the Oscar pendulum – an omission that really sent the actor’s no-Oscar case souring.
DiCaprio’s win for The Revenant meant he joined great company with Gregory Peck and James Stewart, winning one from five. That’s not bad at all. Before that, his mere four Oscar nominations come for one in Support (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape), and three for Lead (including The Wolf of Wall Street and Blood Diamond, bumping himself out of the race for his role in The Departed). Acting nominations demonstrating DiCaprio at his very best – vulnerable, over the top, edgy, method, brutal, likable, captivating. His latest Oscar mention for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood further solidifies this. For me, you don’t win for The Aviator, you never do. — Robin Write
