12 Actors With The Most Nominations But Zero Wins At The Oscars

Glenn Close is now tied as the actor with the most nominations without a win. by Jake Viswanath April 23, 2021 Netflix

Michelle Williams — 4 Nominations

The Weinstein Company • Brokeback Mountain , 2006 (Best Supporting Actress) • Blue Valentine , 2011 (Best Actress) • My Week With Marilyn , 2012 (Actress) • Manchester by the Sea , 2017 (Supporting Actress) The Oscars love to award actors who play icons, so if Williams can’t win for playing Marilyn Monroe of all people, then what does she have to do?

Bradley Cooper — 4 Nominations

Warner Bros. • Silver Linings Playbook , 2013 (Best Actor) • American Hustle , 2014 (Best Supporting Actor) • American Sniper , 2015 (Actor) • A Star Is Born , 2019 (Actor) We live in a world where Cooper, best known as an actor, has won a Grammy but not an Oscar. He has garnered eight nominations, including four as a writer and producer, without winning a single one.

Saoirse Ronan — 4 Nominations

IMDb • Atonement , 2007 (Supporting Actress) • Brooklyn , 2015 (Actress) • Lady Bird , 2017 (Actress) • Little Women , 2019 (Actress) At this rate, Ronan is a surefire bet to get nominated for Best Actress every two years or so. Perhaps 2022 will finally be her year.

Arthur Kennedy — 5 Nominations

IMDb • Champion , 1949 (Supporting Actor) • Bright Victory , 1951 (Actor) • Trial , 1955 (Supporting Actor) • Peyton Place , 1957 (Supporting Actor) • Some Came Running , 1958 (Supporting Actor) His 1990 death means that Kennedy cannot vie for another Oscar, but fans can take comfort in the fact that Trial did win him a Golden Globe Award.

Albert Finney — 5 Nominations

IMDb • Tom Jones , 1965 (Actor) • Murder on the Orient Express , 1975 (Actor) • The Dresser , 1984 (Actor) • Under the Volcano , 1985 (Actor) • Erin Brockovich , 2001 (Supporting Actor) Finney is one of the rare actors to acquire Oscar nominations across four different decades. However, he wasn’t able to win before his 2019 death.

Irene Dunne — 5 Nominations

Mondadori Portfolio/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images • Cimarron , 1931 (Actress) • Theodora Goes Wild , 1936 (Actress) • The Awful Truth , 1937 (Actress) • Love Affair , 1939 (Actress) • I Remember Mama , 1948 (Actress) Unlike most actors with multiple Oscar nominations, Dunne only received nods in Best Actress, proving her power as a leading lady.

Amy Adams — 6 Nominations

Columbia Pictures • Junebug , 2006 (Supporting Actress) • Doubt , 2009 (Supporting Actress) • The Fighter , 2011 (Supporting Actress) • The Master , 2013 (Supporting Actress) • American Hustle , 2014 (Actress) • Vice , 2019 (Supporting Actress) Adams should’ve also been nominated for Enchanted , but that’s a whole different story.

Thelma Ritter — 6 Nominations

John Springer Collection/Corbis Historical/Getty Images • All About Eve , 1950 (Supporting Actress) • The Mating Season , 1951 (Supporting Actress) • With a Song In My Heart , 1952 (Supporting Actress) • Pickup On South Street , 1953 (Supporting Actress) • Pillow Talk , 1959 (Supporting Actress) • Birdman of Alcatraz , 1962 (Supporting Actress) Ritter is the most nominated person in the Best Supporting Actress category — how didn’t she win?

Deborah Kerr — 6 Nominations

Donaldson Collection/Moviepix/Getty Images • Edward, My Son , 1950 (Actress) • From Here to Eternity , 1954 (Actress) • The King and I , 1957 (Actress) • Heaven Knows , Mr. Allison , 1958 (Actress) • Separate Tables , 1959 (Actress) • The Sundowners , 1961 (Actress) Despite not winning one competitive award, Kerr was given an Honorary Oscar in 1993. Ironically, it was presented by the one woman who has more nominations without winning.

Richard Burton — 7 Nominations

John Springer Collection/Corbis Historical/Getty Images • My Cousin Rachel , 1952 (Supporting Actor) • The Robe , 1953 (Actor) • Becket , 1964 (Actor) • The Spy Who Came In From the Cold , 1965 (Actor) • Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , 1966 (Actor) • Anne of the Thousand Days , 1969 (Actor) • Equus , 1977 (Actor) If it’s any comfort, Burton won virually every other acting honor, including a Tony, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Awards.

Glenn Close — 8 Nominations

Sony Pictures Classics • The World According to Garp , 1983 (Supporting Actress) • The Big Chill , 1984 (Supporting Actress) • The Natural , 1985 (Supporting Actress) • Fatal Attraction , 1988 (Actress) • Dangerous Liasons , 1989 (Actress) • Albert Nobbs , 2012 (Actress) • The Wife , 2019 (Actress) • Hillbilly Elegy , 2021 (Supporting Actress) After losing to Yuh-Jung Youn at the 2021 Oscars, Close is now tied with Peter O’Toole as the most Oscar-nominated actor without a single win.

Peter O’Toole — 8 Nominations

Michael Ochs Archives/Moviepix/Getty Images • Lawrence of Arabia , 1962 (Actor) • Becket , 1964 (Actor) • The Lion in Winter , 1968 (Actor) • Goodbye, Mr. Chips , 1969 (Actor) • The Ruling Class , 1972 (Actor) • The Stunt Man , 1980 (Actor) • My Favorite Year , 1982 (Actor) • Venus , 2006 (Actor) O’Toole is the most Oscar-nominated actor without a win. He jokingly called himself the “biggest loser of all time” before his 2013 death.