Snubbed? 24 multiple Oscar nominees who never won: Hollywood’s Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix made it fourth time lucky, but Bradley Cooper and Amy Adams are still waiting

Apr 23 , 2021

Will Bradley Cooper, Michelle Williams or Saoirse Ronan ever win an Oscar? They’ve all been nominated four times or more each, and no luck so far. Photos: Warner Bros, Alliance Vivafilm, Sony

Glenn Close earned her ninth Academy Award nod for Netflix’s Hillbilly Elegy – if she loses she’ll be tied with Peter O’Toole for most nominations without a win

Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix both scored their first wins in 2020 for Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood and Joker, after four unsuccessful earlier outings

Each year, deserving performances necessarily lose out in the Oscars’ best-acting categories. But there are a handful of great actors that the Academy has repeatedly nominated and neglected.

This year, Glenn Close is nominated an eighth time for her role in Netflix’s Hillbilly Elegy. If she loses again, she’ll be tied with Peter O’Toole as the actor with the most Oscar nominations without a win (though O’Toole won an honorary Oscar).

Haley Bennett, Glenn Close and Owen Asztalos in Hillbilly Elegy. Photo: Netflix

Close was nominated two years ago in the lead actress category for The Wife and was the perceived front runner – until she lost to Olivia Colman.

Joaquin Phoenix and Brad Pitt turned their luck around last year. They both scored their first acting wins on their fourth nomination, Phoenix for lead actor for Joker and Pitt for supporting actor for Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.

Brad Pitt accepts the actor in a supporting role award for Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, onstage during the 92nd Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre in February 2020 in Hollywood, California. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

Others haven’t been so lucky.

Here are 24 actors who have been nominated for at least four acting Oscars without winning once:

Saoirse Ronan – 4 nominations

Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson in Brooklyn. Photo: handout