Which Best Actor/Best Actress Oscar (TM) of the past fifty years was the least deserving?

[Algernon Moncrieff]

So a few days ago, I posed the question of what film was the Worst Best Picture winner of the past 50 years.

So now I pose a more complicated question: Which Best Actor/Best Actress Oscar (TM) of the past fifty years was the least deserving?

This is a tricky question. The Actor/Actress awards are political (in the sense of industry politics). Some years, the wrong actor wins. Some years, the wrong actor wins to make up for a previous year. Some years the wrong actor wins what is essentially an award for a lifetime body of work.

An example from outside the timeframe: Elizabeth Taylor was nominated for three consecutive years and lost three times. The first year, she lost to Joanne Woodward for Three Faces of Eve (no one else had a chance); however in the subsequent year, when Taylor played Maggie in Cat on Hot Tin Roof, she lost to Susan Hayward in I Want to Live; the next year, both Taylor and Katherine Hepburn were nominated in the same film - Suddenly, Last Summer. Both went on to lose to Simone Signoret for Room at the Top. So, in 1960 Taylor finally wins for Butterfield 8 - not a great film, but she was good in it -- just probably not as good as Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment.

I'm not going to do survey form this time, because it's be like doing calculus. I'll give you two from 1967-2017 that I think are good examples. John Wayne for True Grit: I like Duke Wayne, but this was essentially a lifetime achievement award. The other would be Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady, which was essentially a make-up award for her not winning in 2006 (The Devil Wears Prada), 2008 (Doubt) and 2009 (Julie & Julia)

[Binkie The Clown]

1. How about best supporting actress? Anna Paquin in The Piano.

She's a competent enough actress, and the Piano was a decent film, but I can't imagine why she won best supporting actress for her role in it.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

11. I didn't do Supporting because it's such a varied category

It's frequently awarded to longtime actors, but is also awarded to kids that captivated audiences.

The most bitterly argued supporting actress was the award to Linda Hunt in The Year of Living Dangerously. If you don't know the story, Hunt was called upon to fill the role of a male dwarf actor who died unexpectedly. The performance was amazing. However, Cher also gave an incredible performance in Silkwood. Film fans still argue over that one.

[John Fante]

2. No doubt Anthony Hopkins deserved an Oscar for his performance

In "Silence of the Lambs".

Best SUPPORTING Actor.

[chelsea0011]

3. Helen Hunt in "As good as it Gets" comes to mind...

she was nominated along with Winslet in "Titantic", Christie in "Afterglow", Dench in "Mrs. Brown", and Bonham Carter in "The Wings of the Dove". I didn't like the movie much and I think Nicholson also won the award that year. So, I guess what do I know.

[pressbox69]

7. Love Jack but

one of his dullest performances. IMHO.

[Docreed2003]

31. Agreed...

That was pretty much Jack playing an asshole for two hours...didn’t speak to me. Went back over the list from that year and maybe Matt Damon should have won for “Good Will Hunting”, the other nominees that year were kinda blah as well.

[Lunabell]

4. Gwyneth Paltrow

She is a horrible actress.

[Freethinker65]

26. Agree. And the movie was horrible

[Squinch]

33. Ugh. Yes.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

5. Tom Hanks .. Forrest Gump. Ridiculous accent. I

Was actually thinking something by Meryl Streep ...but she has only won 3 out if 20 times nominated. Most overrated actress next to Julia Roberts

[Orrex]

13. LOL

[Eliot Rosewater]

27. Actors will tell you Hanks is one of the greatest actors of all time.

In one scene in "You've Got Mail" when Meg Ryan's character dismisses, insults Hanks' character, toward the end when she says "you are nothing but a suit", Hanks says nothing, no dialogue, but somehow expresses the emotion and facial and body language of every man who has ever been in that situation, striking out.

Meg Ryan is brilliant as well. And I mean she is one of the very very best ALSO!

Tom Hanks has not given a poor or even average performance that I know of.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

60. Hmmm...not sure I saw the same thing you did. Loved

him in Big

[Eliot Rosewater]

66. Did you watch the clip to the end?

If you are not experienced in acting you might not appreciate it the way actors do.

Scenes where the character is overly loud and obnoxious or angry etc, are much easier to do than scenes like this one. I am not a great actor at all but I do have some experience in it.

Which reminds me, time to watch some clips of this guy

[Laura PourMeADrink]

67. Yes I watched it. No...I have no experience. I

Am an analyst so my brain goes at it from a different direction. Not as much how he acted but that his action...walking away seemed incongruent. She was pretty much trashing him throughout the conversation and he was slinging it back. Then all of a sudden he walks away when she escalates. I know... beating a dead horse. My beef is probably more with the directing or script than the acting

[Eliot Rosewater]

68. I was referring to while he is sitting down and she says that line about suit, his reaction without

words, before he leaves.

Little stuff like that which is way harder to do than giving speeches, especially loud angry ones.

Anyway, go here and post a favorite scene of yours


https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181035786

[Algernon Moncrieff]

69. He's a fantastic "everyman"

He's not a man's man in the sense of Gable, Flynn, Wayne, etc. But he's a guy's guy. I remember him in early roles like Bachelor Party, on through Volunteers (my 2nd favorite Hanks film), Joe vs. The Volcano (my favorite), and onward to the films like Philadelphia & Forrest Gump.

He has played a wide range of modern (WW II - present) American male roles well and convincingly. I'm not sure I could see him doing a pre-WW I period piece work. One of the reasons Cast Away works so well is that many of us can see ourselves in the role of office-dweller suddenly thrust into an endless battle for survival.

The funny thing about You've Got Mail is that it was not as well-received as Sleepless In Seattle at the time of its release, and many saw it as an extended ad for AOL. As time as passed, Joe Fox may have grown to be his best known and most beloved role.

I know many people aren't particularly fans of Julia Roberts, but a Hanks movie I enjoy that was overlooked was Larry Crowne. The tale of the displaced big box store worker who goes to community college to start over.

[Eliot Rosewater]

71. THANK YOU I also liked Crowne.

Hanks is one of the greatest actors who ever lived, period and one of the top 2 or 3 American actors of all time.

What he can do , range , etc., remarkable.

[underpants]

29. He used the accent of the kid who played young Forrest

He didn't have a voice worked out before he got to the set. Talking to the kid gave him what he needed.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

59. That's interesting..wherever he got it...it is

Not of this world.imho

[Docreed2003]

32. Um...

(I’m being totally snarky...I’ve waited a long time touse that gif, lol!)

[CatMor]

6. Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich

[Phentex]

9. Or just about anything!

I never saw her as an amazing actress in any way until she did August: Osage County where she had to actually act.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

15. Believe it or not...thought she was brilliant in

Mystic pizza...very believable. After that and maybe pretty woman...a whole slew of crap.

[Iris]

45. Yep. When she was still real.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

55. think that was when she perfected the gawky, naive, working-class,

wide-eyed persona with a mile-wide smile and giggle. Trouble is, it didn't translate to drama - where they tried to cast her. And, unfortunately, as life is, doesn't last with age.

[Iris]

58. Shortly after, there was a body double in Pretty Woman b/c her hips were too wide

[TuxedoKat]

63. Yes

She is ok in comedies. That's about it.

[pressbox69]

8. My pick is

Glenda Jackson in A Touch Of Class. A meh performance in a meh film.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

20. It was a weakish year

Streisand was more deserving for The Way We Were, but she'd recently won; Ellyn Burstyn was pretty solid in The Exorcist. The thing is I suspect most of the runners up from the prior year would have won in '74.

In 1973:

Liza Minnelli – Cabaret as Sally Bowles (Winner)
Diana Ross – Lady Sings the Blues as Billie Holiday
Maggie Smith – Travels with My Aunt as Augusta Bertram
Cicely Tyson – Sounder as Rebecca Morgan
Liv Ullmann – The Emigrants as Kristina Nilsson


Say what you will about Diana Ross, but she delivered an incredible performance as Billie Holiday, and Cicely Tyson was incredible in Sounder.

[TexasBushwhacker]

10. Elizabeth Taylor won because she nearly died

She survived a near fatal bout of pneumonia in early 1961 and had a tracheotomy scar as a result.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

12. Point taken, but I think she'd have won anyway.

Of course, that logic never worked in Peter O'Toole's favor.

[Orrex]

14. Russell Crowe for Gladiator

An utterly conventional performance in a mediocre film.

[Upthevibe]

16. Gwenth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love over Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth

was a travesty!!

[Orrex]

17. I'm torn about Paltrow

Setting aside her ridiculous Goop craziness, I don't hate her the way much of DU does, and IMO she's turned in some fine performances. Shakespeare in Love shouldn't have won her the prize, though.

Having said that, I didn't really care for Elizabeth, either. Cate Blanchett is always fantastic, though!

[smirkymonkey]

44. That was just criminal. Cate Blanchett was phenomenal in Elizabeth and

Gwyneth is so mediocre in everything. Cate was robbed.

[Upthevibe]

57. Yes. It was criminal...I have friends now who STILL won't watch the Oscars because

of that...

[LisaM]

53. "Elizabeth" was such a bad movie, though.

Cate Blanchett tried, but that movie was more fictitious than "Shakespeare in Love".

[Docreed2003]

34. Agreed, but who should have won that year?

Hanks: Castaway
Ed Harris: Pollock
Geoffrey Rush: Quills
Javier Bardem: Before night falls

I personally thought Harris was exceptional as JP, Hanks was Hanks in “Castaway”, Rush and Bardem we’re also great in their roles. My personal preference would be Harris, but I think I’d be happier with anyone on that list over Crowe.

[Orrex]

39. Didn't realize that Pollock was the same year.

Terrific film, and terrific performances all around. Much as I enjoyed (the first half of) Castaway, Harris would have gotten my vote that year.

[uriel1972]

74. Too kind...

Both the performance and the movie were atrocious.

[Bucky]

18. Henry Fonda for "On Golden Pond" - Sorry, but he got that one for dying

Fonda never winning an Oscar is an injustice. He finally got an Oscar on his deathbed, but it was in spirit a lifetime achievement award, effectively robbing either Warren Beatty (Reds) or Paul Newman (Absense of Malice) of deserved trophies.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

19. Agreed

Much as Newman's award for The Color of Money was a make-up award for Absence of Malice, The Verdict, and a host of other films.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

21. John Wayne 1970.

Hoffman was robbed!

[First Speaker]

22. Wayne should at least have gotten a nomination for *The Shootist*, in 1976...

...his last film, and for my money, by far his best performance. He was actually acting in that film, not playing "John Wayne". He showed a tenderness, vulnerability, and a surprising intelligence as a dying gunfighter...

[Algernon Moncrieff]

25. Also really good supporting work by Ron Howard and Jimmy Stewart

[MountainMama]

56. Agreed!

If anyone says Wayne couldn't act, I point them to that movie and "The Searchers." His politics notwithstanding, the man could act.

"The Shootist" is an amazing movie and Lauren Bacall was lovely.

"Bond! That's a crackerjack name for a woman!"

[Algernon Moncrieff]

23. So were Voight, Burton, and O'Toole.

Of course, Burton and O'Toole were robbed many, many times at the Oscars.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

24. Right you are!

[Midwestern Democrat]

73. Burton seems to me to have been a victim of unfortunate timing but I do think O'Toole got robbed 2X

Here were his Best Actor nominations:

1954 - "The Robe" - Burton's not that great in this (was the weakest nominee) and the movie itself is a POS
1965 - "Becket" - a strong year (Peter Sellers in "Dr. Strangelove", Peter O'Toole in "Becket", and Anthony Quinn in "Zorba the Greek" ), but just like Yul Brynner in "The King and I", the Academy could not resist giving Rex Harrison the award for a beloved stage performance in "My Fair Lady"
1966 - "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" - Lee Marvin winning for "Cat Balou" was a disgrace, but Rod Steiger deserved the award this year for "The Pawnbroker"
1967 - "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" - Paul Schofield was really good in "A Man for All Seasons"
1970 - "Anne of the Thousand Days" - an OK costume drama; John Wayne got the "Lifetime Achievement" Oscar, but Dustin Hoffman deserved the award this year for "Midnight Cowboy"
1978 - "Equus" - a weak year for Best Actor and I don't really like this film - it would not have been a bad thing for Burton to get a "Lifetime Achievement" Oscar for this role.

Peter O'Toole on the other hand, did get legitimately robbed at least twice (blatantly so in 1969):

1963 - "Lawrence of Arabia" - was robbed this year - it was the best performance nominated.
1965 - "Becket" - see above for Burton for this year
1969 - "The Lion in Winter" - he was blatantly robbed this year; Cliff Robertson's performance in "Charly" was quickly forgotten
1970 - "Goodbye Mr Chips" - see above for Burton for this year
1973 - "The Ruling Class" - no one was beating Marlon Brando for "The Godfather"
1981 - "The Stunt Man" - De Niro deserved his win for "Raging Bull"
1983 - "My Favorite Year" - very strong year - Ben Kingsley for "Ghandi"; Paul Newman for "The Verdict"; Dustin Hoffman for "Tootsie"; Jack Lemmon for "Missing"
2007 - "Venus" - didn't see this film nor the film Forrest Whitaker won for, so really can't comment

[Algernon Moncrieff]

75. I made a similar post about O'Toole that I can't find

RE: Forrest Whitaker - He gave a masterful performance as Idi Amin.

RE: 1963 - Peck was really strong in TKAM. I agree O'Toole was more deserving; I'm not sure it rises to the level of robbery.
RE: 1969 - I like Robertson in "Charley", but 1969 does rise to the level of robbery.
RE: 1983 - Nobody was beating Ben Kingsley. That said, the other performances in 1983 would have won Best Actor for any of those four in most other years. As much as I love O'Toole in MFY, I'd have given the Oscar (TM) to Newman for The Verdict

[Glorfindel]

28. 1978 - Richard Dreyfuss - "The Goodbye Girl"

I loved the movie; thought it was hilarious. I also love Richard Dreyfuss, but his acting in "The Goodbye Girl" was just slapstick and gay-bashing. A terrible decision on the part of the Academy.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

51. He had the benefit of a weak year

Woody Allen for Annie Hall - it's really the same role he plays in every film

Richard Burton for Equus - I sometimes think it's held against you if you played the same role on stage. Realistically, it would have been a great year to recognize his body of work.

Marcello Mastroianni for A Special Day - I think he was rounding out the field.

John Travolta for Saturday Night Fever - In retrospect, he might have been the best pick.

Not nominated - Mark Hamill - Star Wars

[Laura PourMeADrink]

61. He certainly was verbal in it. Maybe he got

It solely for remembering all the lines. Loved the movie too. One on my bingeworthy list. Daughter was great

[underpants]

30. 1993 Al Pacino "Scent of a Woman"

They gave him a lifetime achievement award basically. Bland movie with Pacino really playing himself.

He didn't even say Hooah! correctly.

He beat out
Clint Eastwood in "Unforgiven"
Stephen Rea in "The Crying Game"
Denzel as Malcom X -- incredible performance
and Robert Downey Jr as Chaplin -- a jaw dropping performance. One of the best portrayals I've ever seen.

[Docreed2003]

37. I love Scent of a Woman....

It is easily in my top ten of movies, but I agree with your assessment. Gun to my head, I’d probably say Denzel as Malcom X but man is Downey’s performance underrated in Chaplin. Stephen Rea’s Performance is great as well. Finally, I like “Unforgiven”, but let’s be honest, if Pacino is gonna get knocked for playing himself in “SoaW” the same could be said for Eastwood in “Unforgiven”

[Algernon Moncrieff]

50. Eastwood won Best Picture, and honestly I think he'd rather be recognized as a director/producer

Downey as Chaplin was a shocker. By 1993, we knew Denzel could act - that was a given. Downey had mostly been known for comedy roles -- no one saw that performance coming, and it.was.amazing. One of those two should have taken home the hardware.

[red dog 1]

35. Jodie Foster for her role in "The Accused" (1988)

That year, either Melanie Griffith (Working Girl) or Sigourney Weaver (Gorillas in the Mist) should have gotten the Oscar, imo.

(Jodie Foster did deserve the Oscar she got for Silence of the Lambs in 1991)

[Algernon Moncrieff]

42. Sigourney Weaver never got the recognition she deserved from the Oscars

I will say that was a tough year. Very competitive.

[zipplewrath]

36. Sandra Bullock

Blind Side

Not that it was a bad movie, or that her performance was lousy. It's just that it wasn't particularly extraordinary.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

43. I think it was essentially an award for her body of work.

[Docreed2003]

38. Emma Stone for LaLa Land

Maybe I’m biased because I didn’t care for the movie, but I don’t think that was “Best Actress” worthy. For my money, Portman should have won for “Jackie”. That performance was absolutely haunting in its raw emotion. I thought she brought an element of authenticity and respect to the role and her dedication to capturing the personal side of Jackie is just amazingly gut wrenching.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

49. I saw about 20 minutes of Jackie on a plane

From what I saw, Portman absolutely nailed it.

[Docreed2003]

54. Its definitely worth a watch....

Portman worked extremely hard to nail the public accent that Jackie gave in interviews and movies, as well as her actual “at home” voice. The emotion she was able to capture in that film was just gut wrenching. I still can’t fathom how she didn’t win Best Actress.

[TexasBushwhacker]

70. Well, she won for Black Swan in 2011

So that may have worked against her. I liked her very much in Closer and V for Vendetta too, as well as The Professional.

[madaboutharry]

76. I think she was wonderful as Jackie.

I thought she should have won.

[Midwestern Democrat]

40. The biggest shocker ever had to have been Art Carney winning for "Harry and Tonto" in 1974.

He beat Albert Finney in "Murder on the Orient Express", Dustin Hoffman in "Lenny", Jack Nicholson in "Chinatown", and Al Pacino in the "The Godfather Part II". I'm guessing that Nicholson, Pacino, and Hoffman must have split the vote pretty evenly and that's what allowed Carney to slip through.

[Yavin4]

47. Dammit! You beat me to it!!!

I didn't see your post.

[Tikki]

41. John Wayne......

Tikki

[Yavin4]

46. Art Carney in "Harry and Tonto". Thread over. I win.

He beat out: Jack Nicholson who was nominated for "Chinatown", Al Pacino, "Godfather II", Dustin Hoffman, "Lenny Bruce", and Albert Finney for "Murder on the Orient Express".

The only logical explanation is that those performances all canceled each other out and Carney won.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

48. I think it was also ""the others are all young and will have many other chances"

Carney will likely never get a chance like this.

Agreed - a baffling pick.

[Bradshaw3]

52. Can't say that Sean Penn didn't deserve it for Mystic River

But the fact that Paul Giamatti wasn't even nominated for Sideways was a joke. Add in that Jude Law was for Cold Mountain - doing one of the worst Southern accents I've ever heard - added to the diss.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

62. I have seen sideways many times...and you

Are so right ! Giamatti was flawless. He played down and out so brilliantly you literally want to grab him and shake some fun into him. When he and Church go to retrieve the wallet ...one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen.

[Bradshaw3]

64. "The plan is ... you go"

"Me? Yes, just walk in and say my friend was the one balling your wife .. so sorry."

Good description of Giamatti's performance. He was great in American Splendor (probably should have won for that) and John Adams. Never seems to get his due.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

65. Lol. So many good scenes!!! He managed

To play the deep down friend mixed with the I do not approve of what you do so realistically. Think we all have friends like that..the charming ne'er do well. I happen to also love Church too..think he's enormously underated. He's on HBO show Divorce...now.

On thing I do not like giamatti in now is think HBO ...he's fbi or something? Bad show imho

[Act_of_Reparation]

72. Anyone who won their award starring in a biopic.

Colin Firth, especially.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

77. Not getting that

There have been many incredible performances in Biopics. Ben Kingsley as Gandhi; James Whitmore as Harry Truman; Natalie Portman as Jackie K-O; Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln.

[Act_of_Reparation]

78. In most cases, the biopic performance is more about mimicry than acting.

The actor is judged by how accurately they present the subject's persona. It's the dramatic equivalent of the comedic impersonation.

I don't think this is necessarily the actor's fault, either. The biopic genre is generally derivative, boring, and unchallenging. The plots are simple, the beats identical, and the characters one-dimensional.

Also, I would not categorize Lincoln as a biopic. The movie was not about Lincoln or Lincoln's life. Rather, the film was about a single event, which I feel sets apart from and places it well above the average biopic. I remember Lincoln pretty well, but I couldn't recite to you a single line Colin Firth delivered in The King's Speech.

[red dog 1]

80. Charlton Heston in 1960 (for Ben Hur)

Either Jack Lemmon (Some Like It Hot) or Jimmy Stewart (Anatomy of a Murder) would have been a better choice that year.