10 famous actors who should have received their Oscar earlier (11 photos)

Here are 10 famous actors of the past and present, who today are winners of the most famous film award in the world, that is, the Oscar. There’s just one “but” - they all received their first statuette with a clear delay.





Each of them had a role (or even a couple) where they had already given their best acting performance, but for some reason they did not receive an award (or even a nomination!), and they had to wait for another opportunity. For some, this wait lasted many years.

We absolutely do not deny that the actors listed should have received an Oscar for the role for which they ultimately received it. But if they took a statuette for those films that we will name, no one would be at all surprised. And in some places it would look even more deserved. See for yourself.

Leonardo DiCaprio



He won his first Oscar for The Revenant (2015), but gave it his all and should have won the award a couple of years earlier for his role in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street (2013).

Joaquin Phoenix





He received his first Oscar for Joker (2019), but should have received the award at the beginning of the century for his supporting role in Gladiator (2000). Moreover, then he played the role of an even greater scoundrel than Arthur Fleck.

Morgan Freeman



He received his first Oscar for the film Million Dollar Baby (2004), but should have received it 10 years ago for his role as Red in the great Shawshank Redemption (1994).

Will Smith



Controversially won an Oscar for King Richard (2021), but should have won the award twenty years ago for his role in another sports film, where he also played a real-life man, Ali (2001).

Robin Williams



Won his only Oscar for Good Will Hunting (1997), but should have won the award for his leading role in Dead Poets Society (1989).

Daniel Kaluuya



Won an Oscar for his supporting role in Judas and the Black Messiah (2020), but should have won the award for his leading role in the breakthrough horror Get Out (2017).

Jack Nicholson



He received his first Oscar for the legendary film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), but a year before that, Jack had already earned the award for Roman Polanski's crime-detective masterpiece Chinatown (1974).

Al Pacino



He received the only (!) Oscar so far for his role in the film “Scent of a Woman” (1992), but he should have received it long before that, and here you can choose for what exactly. At a minimum, for one of the first two parts of “The Godfather” (1972; 1974), or, in extreme cases, for “Serpico” (1973) or “Dog Day Afternoon” (1976).

We remind you that Al Pacino did not even receive an Oscar nomination for his role in the film “Scarface” (1983). And then we will look at two similar examples.

Jeff Bridges



He received his first Oscar for his role in the film “Crazy Heart” (2009), but should have received, firstly, a nomination, and secondly, the award itself for the cult “The Big Lebowski” (1998).

Gary Oldman



He won his first Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour (2017), and received his first nomination for his role in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy! (2011). However, we all understand that this actor should have been nominated and won an Oscar back in the 1990s, at least for his role as Norman Stansfield in the film “Leon” (1994).

Which famous actresses deserved their first Oscar before they received it?