Here are ten actresses that have never been nominated for an Oscar but rightfully deserve one.
Maria
Bello: An
indie darling from day one, Maria Bello graduated from her television roots on
ER into the crosshairs of cinema with her daring performance as Kitty in the
underrated and under-seen Permanent Midnight, alongside Ben Stiller
before he was too good to bleed his own blood. Even managing to bring a touch
of class to crap like Coyote Ugly, Bello really came into prominence
three years later in The Cooler, with her perfect portrayal of Natalie
the cocktail waitress, melting the heart of William H. Macy as well as our own.
This performance should have received a nomination to pair with Alec Baldwin’s,
but Bello was only getting started. In 2005, David Cronenberg gave us the
modern classic A History of Violence, where Bello bared her soul—and
other body parts actresses rarely have the nerve to bare—in a performance of
raw emotional intensity that culminated in one of the most breathlessly acted
love scenes in recent years. It was here that Bello demonstrated her mastery of
not just acting the emotional wreck, but showing the psychological torture of
withholding emotion for the perceived greater good, and how that mental
pressure cooker can have unexpected casualties. Despite getting sidetracked
here and there in a Grown Ups movie or two, Maria Bello has made it
abundantly clear that she is a force to be reckoned with.
Jamie
Lee Curtis:
Birthed from Hollywood royalty but not defined by it, Jamie Lee Curtis began
her career as the definitive “scream queen” of her era, playing the iconic and
virginal Laurie Strode in the immortal classic, John Carpenter’s Halloween.
After coasting along in horror flicks of 70s and 80s—Prom Night, Terror
Train, and The Fog, just to name a few—Curtis took a sharp left turn
into comedy with John Landis’ Trading Places, where her performance as
the chest-baring hooker with a heart of gold made her a fan favorite across the
board. Over the years, Curtis took many risks with her image, playing
everything from a rookie cop in Kathryn Bigelow’s Blue Steel to the
heartwarming makeup artist in the tearjerking My Girl. But despite
returning to the slasher well with a rock solid performance in the Highlander-inspired
Halloween: 20 Years Later, Curtis is at her most energetic and award-worthy
in comedy. She’s not just an actress who can make you laugh; she can elevate
material that would have been thankless in the hands of lesser talent. I don’t
think anyone will forget her striptease as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s wife in True
Lies, and her riotous turn as a disembodied Lindsay Lohan in Freaky
Friday took what should have been a forgettable Disney remake, and made it
comedy gold. We can only hope that Jamie Lee will stop promoting yogurt long
enough to sink her teeth into a script worth her talents.
Rosario
Dawson:
Not many women can escape a Larry Clark movie with their clothes on and live to
tell the tale. Rosario Dawson is an actress who lives to take chances and work
for the best of the best, starting out with she was just 16 year old in Kids,
taking roles in two of the last good Spike Lee films (He Got Game and
the masterful 25th Hour), and even stretching her comedy muscles in The
Rundown, Clerks II, and Alexander. Okay, the last one wasn’t
funny on purpose, but you get what we’re talking about. Although rarely a
leading woman, Dawson has become one of the most recognizable character
actresses of her generation, lending real weight and energy to her roles, even
in the most thankless films—cough, Pluto Nash, cough. But even wading
through some of the mainstream dreck, Rosario has managed to prove that she can
do it all, from bombastic comedy to gut-wrenching action. She has the looks,
prowess and sex appeal that can be intimidating, yet remains grounded with a
girl-next-door quality that makes you want to grab a beer with her. She can
captivate as well as titillate with a smile that can melt your heart while
simultaneously letting you know you’re about to die from a gunshot to the dome.
Rosario Dawson may be the youngest actress on this list, but has an impressive
resume that is sure to continue to astound as it builds.
Gina
Gershon:
In 1996, the Wachowski Brothers—er, siblings—arrived with one of the single
most impressive directorial debuts ever. Bound is a film that gave two
actresses known for being eye candy a chance to show that they could not only
look good, but act their asses off in a modern mob classic that should have
placed Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly at the forefront of actresses in the
business. It’s a good way to wash the taste of Showgirls out of your
mouth. Gershon has continued making brave choices, even some that her agent
probably thinks were not so bright, like fillating a piece of fried chicken
standing in for Matthew McConaughey’s junk. But hey, most anything is a step up
from being a sixth-billing love interest for Tom Cruise in Cocktail.
Gershon’s career has been mostly relegated to television series appearances and
voiceover work for the last decade, but her balls-out performance in Killer
Joe reminded us that McConaughey wasn’t the only one who still had the
chops… or the drumsticks. With four projects upcoming and a resume of a
prolific working actress, we hope it’s only a matter of time before Gina
Gershon gets another role like Bound that allows her to stretch her
muscles in a role that befits her considerable talent.
Ashley
Judd:
Popping up on two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and then
showing up in a bit part as “Wife of Paint Store Owner” in the Christian Slater
vehicle Kuffs, things could have gone very differently for Ashley Judd.
As it stands, she got the attention of the right people and popped up in Heat
not too long after. Her performance the following year as Pam Anderson (no
relation) in Normal Life showed us that she was the real deal, because
let’s be honest: it’s very difficult acting opposite Luke Perry when he’s
trying to sport a mustache that makes Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite look
like Tom Selleck. It was her performance as the kidnapping victim in Kiss
the Girls opposite Morgan Freeman that brought Ashley Judd into the
mainstream, where she enjoyed brief success before heading back the independent
route, because when William Friedkin acts you if you want to play a mentally
unbalanced woman, you say yes. Bug remains one of the most eclectic and
absurdly disturbing films of the 2000s, with two performances from Judd and
Michael Shannon that deserved serious awards consideration, but alas went
overlooked. Very few films featuring a “descent into madness” make you feel
like you’re on the sinking ship, but thanks to Judd’s empathic powerhouse
portrayal of Agnes White, we are with her every step of the way. All Dolphin
Tales aside, Judd is an actress whose talents remain grossly under-tapped.
Sheryl
Lee: Sheryl
Lee’s debut in the film and television world as Laura Palmer in David Lynch’s Twin
Peaks solidified the actress’ career in the mainstream consciousness; an
actress who not only exceeded the demands of Hollywood glamour but possessed a
keen ability in portraying deeply conflicted characters. Her fearless dive into
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and Bliss, with the rawness of her
onscreen nudity matched by her naked emotions, represented two extremely
difficult roles for anyone to play, let alone with such gusto. Let’s not forget Vampires as the sexy
sidekick to vampire hunter James Woods.
Also a regular animal rights activist and wife of Neil Diamond’s son
Jesse, the West German actress took a hiatus from acting around 2005 but
returned 5 years later with Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone. Now a
veteran recently starting to act again, Mrs. Lee has yet to have her due as an
Oscar nominee. Although a winner of several Saturn Awards as well as honors
from the Detroit Film Critics Society, the Golden Statue has yet to grace her
mantelpiece. Considering her recent resurfacing in both film, television and
voice work for the video game BioShock 2, the time has come for her to
earn a shot at winning the Academy Award she so deserves.
Jennifer
Jason Leigh: Daughter
of the late Vic Morrow and Barbara Turner, Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American
actress mostly known for not only taking on troubling, difficult roles
including but not limited to prostitutes and drug addicts, but for the intense
method preparation with which she sinks her teeth into them. Memorable for her
appearance in the 80s sex comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Leigh
quickly established herself as an actress who would go above and beyond in her
efforts to research a character. For Single White Female, she spent time
inside actual psych wards. She also established herself as a fearless and
confident actress by diving into such unplayable roles as the prostitute
Tralala in Last Exit to Brooklyn and the pill-popping victim of
childhood sexual abuse in Dolores Claiborne. Clearly this is a
mainstream talent to be taken seriously and learned from. And yet even after
her marriage to director Noah Baumbach and dabbling briefly into directing with
her first feature The Anniversary Party, she still has yet to earn a
single Oscar nomination as an actress, writer or director. Judging by her ouvre
and the distances traveled by this extraordinary actress, it’s kind of shameful
she hasn’t had a fair shot at winning a much deserved Academy Award.
Isabella
Rossellini: Daughter
of famed actress Ingrid Bergman and director Roberto Rossellini, Isabella
Rossellini is one of cinema’s most dedicated and fearless actresses, ready to
dive in deep into roles most actresses would be afraid to touch. The former
wife of director Martin Scorsese had a couple small roles here and there, but
would gain worldwide recognition as the used and abused nightclub singer in
David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. As Rossellini bore her body and soul before
the camera, we saw an actress willing to submit to ugliness in the name of art.
Not to mention her singing wasn’t doctored in post by a third party vocalist.
Rossellini also held her own against the masterful Jeff Bridges in Peter Weir’s
Fearless as the confused and frustrated wife of a man in the throes of
trying to understand his near-death experience. Most recently, she was also the
leading lady in Guy Maddin’s throwback to early cinema of the 1900s, The
Saddest Music in the World. A commanding, almost maternal figure in the
film world, you would think this powerhouse of an actress easily had a shot at
being nominated for Best Actress. Unlike
her mother, Ingrid, who won three Academy Awards in her lifetime in addition to
many nominations, Isabelle Rossellini has yet to garner even one nomination to
her namesake. The time has come for Ms. Rossellini to earn her fair shot at
being recognized by the Academy as one of Hollywood’s most invaluable talents.
Theresa
Russell: Beginning
her debut in film with Elia Kazan’s The Last Tycoon before becoming
director Nicolas Roeg’s wife and regular leading lady over the course of six
films, Theresa Russell is one of the most talented and committed actresses to
still never receive an Oscar nomination. From her neurotic nymphomaniac in
Roeg’s Bad Timing to her transgender cameo in Roeg’s segment for Aria,
Russell is an actress willing to go the distance and then some for her roles.
How many actresses do you know who will subject themselves to the kind of
tumult required for a film as difficult and twisted as Bad Timing? Word has it she was originally offered the
role of Princess Leia in Star Wars and turned it down. A wise decision
in that even though Russell didn’t achieve the kind of mainstream success as
Carrie Fisher might have, she maintained control over her career and did exactly
the kinds of characters she wanted to. Among her last major roles have included
the titular prostitute in Ken Russell’s rebuke of Pretty Woman, Whore, but
she’s also, alongside Dylan Baker, appeared in the third Spider Man.
Already a veteran in the eyes of many cinephiles, if an Oscar worthy role
doesn’t come her way soon, she may never earn the widespread recognition and
respect she solely deserves.
Robin
Wright: The
former wife of actor Sean Penn, Robin Wright is an enormously gifted actress, director
and a singer. Making her debut in television on the show Santa Barbara,
Wright’s first major break into film came in 1987 with the role of Buttercup in
The Princess Bride. Appearing in numerous roles through the early
nineties, her second shot at superstardom came with the pivotal role of Jenny
Curran in the Best Picture winner Forrest Gump, for which she received
her first Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She also landed
the lead role for the period drama Moll Flanders. Soon she was a regular
in mainstream Hollywood films, managing to land at least one role per year
before her eventual foray into television. She would soon earn the Golden Globe
Award for her work on the 2013 web series House of Cards (of which she
also directed an episode), making her the first actress to win a Golden Globe
for an internet exclusive show. With this many accolades and awards bestowed
upon Robin Wright, it seems inconceivable that for every Golden Globe
nomination, she has yet to garner an Oscar nomination from the Academy Awards.
With three new films on the way, it’s time for the Academy to start paying more
attention to one of the finest mainstream actresses working today.
-
Blake O. Kleiner
-
Andrew Kotwicki
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