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Oscar has had a date with many of Hollywood’s biggest stars<\/a>\u00a0since the first Academy Awards\u00a0in 1929<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n But you might be surprised which\u00a0movie icons<\/a> have yet to wrap their fingers around that vaunted golden statue.\u00a0Eddie Murphy has been entertaining millions since he was a teen; no Oscar. Harrison Ford<\/a>, who received a moving Actor Awards tribute<\/a> earlier this month, is synonymous with the popcorn thriller. But still, no Academy Award.<\/p>\n The reasons for Oscar slights are often as simple as an A-list actor being in a particularly competitive field<\/a>. Other times, an upstart rushes in on the heels of a popular film and steals the night.<\/p>\n For example, in 2015, notable nominees such as Bradley\u00a0Cooper, Michael Keaton, Benedict Cumberbatch\u00a0and Steve Carell all lost to Eddie Redmayne, who won best actor for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything.”\u00a0And in 2023, Cate Blanchett and Michelle Williams stayed seated as the Oscar went to “Everything Everywhere All at Once” darling Michelle Yeoh<\/a>.<\/p>\n Take a spin with us through this list of favorite actors who have yet to win an Oscar heading into the 2026 Academy Awards on March 15 (ABC and Hulu, 7 p.m. ET\/4 PT)<\/a>.<\/p>\n USA TODAY Movie Meter: <\/strong>Help select the film of the year!<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Join our Watch Party! <\/strong>Sign up to receive USA TODAY’s movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n The journeyman actor has been a consistent Hollywood presence for decades, with memorable turns in \u201cDead Poets Society,\u201d \u201cReality Bites,\u201d \u201cFirst Reformed\u201d and \u201cBefore the Devil Knows You\u2019re Dead.\u201d He now has five Oscar nominations: two for best adapted screenplay, for \u201cBefore Sunset\u201d and \u201cBefore Midnight,\u201d and three for acting in \u201cTraining Day,\u201d \u201cBoyhood\u201d and this year\u2019s music biopic \u201cBlue Moon.\u201d<\/a> But the Texas native has yet to clinch a trophy of his own.<\/p>\n The Swedish veteran has juggled serious dramas (“Breaking the Waves,” “Good Will Hunting”) with musicals (“Mamma Mia!”), thrillers (“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”) and popcorn fare (“Dune”). But the “Dogville” actor has never won an Oscar, and only earned his first nomination this year for the Norwegian family dramedy “Sentimental Value.”<\/a><\/p>\n You’d probably lose the bet if asked whether Ralph Fiennes has an Oscar. And yet, the British thespian has never stood before Hollywood’s finest and recited an acceptance speech, despite riveting work in movies such as “Schindler’s List” (best supporting actor nominee) and “The English Patient” (best actor nominee). Last year, he was back in the big leagues for his best actor-nominated turn as a conflicted but incorruptible Catholic cardinal in the papal thriller “Conclave.”<\/a><\/p>\n Cynthia Erivo<\/a> has had her Oscar hopes raised thrice before, when she garnered nominations in 2020 for best actress and best original song for “Harriet,” the story of abolitionist leader Harriet Tubman. And last season, the British star was again up for best actress for her indelible performance as Elphaba, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, in “Wicked.”<\/p>\n Edward Norton has garnered four Oscar nominations spanning decades, from 1997\u00a0to 2025. While his work has won him a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award, Oscar has remained elusive. He most recently netted a best supporting actor nomination for playing folk legend Pete Seeger<\/a> in the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.”<\/p>\n Isabella Rossellini is the daughter of genuine Hollywood royalty. Her father was famed Italian director Roberto Rossellini, whose marriage to iconic Hollywood star Ingrid Bergman was the biggest scandal of its day because of Bergman leaving her husband and child for the director. Isabella Rossellini went into the family business, turning in an especially captivating performance in David Lynch’s 1986 creep-fest, “Blue Velvet.” She finally received her first Oscar nomination last year for papal thriller “Conclave.”<\/p>\n In 1994, Angela Bassett was nominated for best actress for her powerful turn as Tina Turner in \u201cWhat\u2019s Love Got to Do With It.\u201d Three decades later, she was up for an Oscar for best supporting actress as Queen Ramonda in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The award\u00a0went to Jamie Lee Curtis<\/a>\u00a0for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” but in 2024, Bassett did take home her prized statue: She received\u00a0an honorary Oscar<\/a>.<\/p>\n A five-time Oscar nominee, Annette Bening, who is married to Hollywood icon Warren Beatty,\u00a0has yet to win. She put in an especially fierce, raw performance in 2023’s “Nyad,”<\/a> in which she played real-life open water swimming legend Diana Nyad (opposite Oscar winner Jodie Foster). Bening got in such ferocious shape for the movie that she shot scenes for hours at a time, never leaving the water. But alas, no Oscar yet.<\/p>\n Since 2013, Bradley Cooper has\u00a0been nominated for\u00a012 Oscars, including five as an actor:\u00a0\u201cSilver Linings Playbook,\u201d \u201cAmerican Hustle,\u201d \u201cAmerican Sniper,” “A Star Is Born” and “Maestro,” in which he transformed into conductor Leonard Bernstein<\/a>. But he’s empty-handed so far after losing to Cillian Murphy’s performance as American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in 2024.<\/p>\n Paul Giamatti has seemingly been on our screens large and small forever, yet he has yet to take home significant hardware for his consistently compelling performances, whether that’s as a wine snob (“Sideways”) or a vengeful New York attorney general (“Billions”). While Giamatti got some Oscar nomination love in 2006 for the boxing movie “Cinderella Man” and in 2024 for his performance as a curmudgeonly boarding school professor<\/a> in “The Holdovers,” he has not taken home Hollywood’s most coveted trophy.<\/p>\n In the last dozen\u00a0years, Mark Ruffalo<\/a>\u00a0has been up for four acting Oscars. So far, he hasn\u2019t had the opportunity to give\u00a0an acceptance speech at the Academy Awards. His best supporting actor nomination for “Poor Things” gave him his most recent shot at the gold, but the veteran and versatile actor is still looking for the role that will get him in the game once more.<\/p>\n Colin Farrell first stood out two decades ago in his star turn opposite Tom Cruise in 2002’s sci-fi thriller “Minority Report.” He’s continued to dazzle ever since in everything from black comedies (“In Bruges”) to TV reboots (“Miami Vice”). He received his first Oscar nomination for his subtle performance in 2022’s “The Banshees of Inisherin<\/a>,” but the award went to Brendan Fraser for “The Whale.”<\/a><\/p>\n Michelle Williams has five\u00a0Oscar acting nominations, but her performances to date have gone unrewarded by the Academy. In 2023, she was up for best actress for playing a character based on Steven Spielberg’s mother in his memoir of a film, “The Fabelmans.”<\/a> She lost to Michelle Yeoh.<\/p>\n Scarlett Johansson’s two\u00a0nominations in 2019\u00a0\u2013 for best actress in “Marriage Story” and supporting actress in “Jojo Rabbit” \u2013 so far have been the A-list actress’\u00a0only appearances on Oscar’s radar.<\/p>\n Spanish heartthrob\u00a0Antonio Banderas was nominated for the first time for a\u00a0best actor Oscar\u00a0for his 2019 role in “Pain and Glory.” He also has been nominated for five Golden Globes without a win.<\/p>\n Saoirse Ronan’s turn in “Little Women” brought the\u00a0actress to the Oscar nominations list for a fourth time. She was also nominated for “Atonement,” “Brooklyn” and “Lady Bird.”<\/p>\n Glenn Close has been nominated a whopping eight times, including for best actress in 2018’s \u201cThe Wife.\u201d She’s widely considered to be one of the best actresses to never have won an Oscar.<\/p>\n Why, yes, Willem Dafoe was nominated for an Academy Award a few years back for \u201cAt Eternity\u2019s Gate.\u201d And nominated again the year before that, and two other times as well. He seems long overdue, but was overlooked for a nomination in 2024 for “Poor Things.”<\/p>\n Amy Adams, who was recognized in 2024 for her spirited performance in “Nightbitch” with Golden Globe and Spirit Award nominations, has nevertheless heard another name called in her Oscar acting category six times. She\u2019s also been nominated for seven BAFTAs, but never won one of those, either.<\/p>\n Sam Elliott, who made his film debut in 1969 in \u201cButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,\u201d was nominated for his first Oscar in 2019 for supporting actor in \u201cA Star Is Born.\u201d But he didn’t win.<\/p>\n Viggo Mortensen\u00a0lost in his bid for an Oscar in 2019 for best picture winner \u201cGreen Book,\u201d after losing in the actor category\u00a0twice previously.<\/p>\n Michelle Pfeiffer is someone you probably assume has won an Oscar before. She\u2019s been in the running for three awards, but hasn\u2019t won any yet. But she’s still happily on the small screen, most recently with Felicity Jones in the streaming holiday comedy “Oh. What. Fun.”<\/p>\n Tom Cruise seems to embody The Movies. Decades of films, many of them hits, have made him an ubiquitous presence on the big screen, including his magnetic performance in “Top Gun” and its sequel “Top Gun: Maverick.”<\/a> Though “Maverick” was in contention for best picture, Cruise wasn’t nominated for his title role, even after three previous acting nominations. For some consolation, he received an honorary Oscar<\/a> last November.<\/p>\n Though he continues to prove he\u2019s worthy of awards recognition, Jake Gyllenhaal\u00a0has never won an Academy Award. He\u2019s been nominated once for supporting actor in \u201cBrokeback Mountain.\u201d<\/p>\nEthan Hawke<\/h2>\n
Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd<\/h2>\n
Ralph Fiennes<\/h2>\n
Cynthia Erivo<\/h2>\n
Edward Norton<\/h2>\n
Isabella Rossellini<\/h2>\n
Angela Bassett<\/h2>\n
Annette Bening<\/h2>\n
Bradley Cooper<\/h2>\n
Paul Giamatti<\/h2>\n
Mark Ruffalo<\/h2>\n
Colin Farrell<\/h2>\n
Michelle Williams<\/h2>\n
Scarlett Johansson<\/h2>\n
Antonio Banderas<\/h2>\n
Saoirse Ronan<\/h2>\n
Glenn Close<\/h2>\n
Willem Dafoe<\/h2>\n
Amy Adams<\/h2>\n
Sam Elliott<\/h2>\n
Viggo Mortensen<\/h2>\n
Michelle Pfeiffer<\/h2>\n
Tom Cruise<\/h2>\n
Jake Gyllenhaal<\/h2>\n
Samuel L. Jackson<\/h2>\n