By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: IMDB/MGM
Tonight is the Academy Awards. Every year, we see actors snubbed for not getting nominated for their work.
Looking at the Academy’s history, we have seen many well-deserving actors who should’ve been nominated. We can’t name all of them, but here are five.
5) Jake Gyllenhaal, Prisoners (2013) and Nightcrawler (2014)
Gyllenhaal is one of the best actors of his generation. His dedication to acting is unparalleled. He doesn’t back down from any roles.
From 2010 through 2016, Gyllenhaal was on a roll, delivering one great performance after another. His performance in Prisoners, starring alongside Hugh Jackman, was extraordinary. His role as a detective made you feel he was a true detective, and he did a great job with the little things, like twitching his eye. Gyllenhaal should’ve had a Supporting Actor nomination that year.
He got hosed once again the following year with Nightcrawler. Gyllenhaal lost a lot of weight to play the role. As good as Bradley Cooper was in American Sniper, Gyllenhaal was better and should’ve received a Best Actor nomination.
4) Tom Cruise, Rain Man (1988)
Cruise was outstanding in Rain Man. Cruise and Dustin Hoffman were so good together. It’s unbelievable to imagine that Cruise didn’t get nominated for Supporting Actor that year.
Rain Man is one of those movies that makes anyone want to put it on repeat, and it can resonate with any family that has experience taking care of someone with mental illness or any other illness or problem. Cruise is a terrific actor, and he has never received an Oscar, but he has definitely received one as an honorary recipient.
3) Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained (2012)
One of the best performances of Leo’s career. He has delivered many great ones, and this one is definitely up there. It was going to be tough to get nominated over Christoph Waltz, who won for Supporting Actor at the Academy, but Leo should’ve gotten a nod that year.
The Academy probably thought that he didn’t get enough screen time compared to Waltz. Whatever the reasons were, huge movie buffs know that Leo should’ve received some love that year.
Leo went on to win his first and only Oscar for Best Actor for his role in The Revenant.
2) Robert De Niro, Mean Street (1973)
The movie that got things going for legends such as De Niro and his frequent collaborator, filmmaker Martin Scorsese. De Niro’s tough-guy role and demeanor in Mean Streets opened the door to many future roles for him in the industry.
Every scene with De Niro in Mean Streets is must-see TV. Although he didn’t get the nomination, everything came back to full circle when he won an Oscar for The Godfather 2 the following year.
1) Cary Grant, The Philadelphia Story (1940)
It’s very rare to find Grand in a heartbreaking role. His lines and delivery in this classic Rom-Com movie are outstanding. James Stewart won for Best Actor for his role in the movie.
Grant was truly worthy of a nomination for Supporting Actor. It is one of the biggest snubs in history. The Philadelphia Story is one of the best and most elegant films of the Golden Era of Hollywood.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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