10 Phenomenally Talented Actors Who Have Never Won Oscars

By Andrew Sheldon /

3. Julianne Moore

After a career of small roles in film and television, Julianne Moore broke out in Robert Altman's acclaimed 1993 masterpiece Short Cuts. In it, she plays Marian Wyman, an oil-painter at odds with her husband and their boring relationship. In 1994, the cast won a special award at the Golden Globes for Best Ensemble. In 1998, she garnered nominations from both the Golden Globes and the Academy for her turn as Amber Wavves - estranged mother, drug addict, and porn star - in PT Anderson's Boogie Nights. The following year, she gave a wonderfully operatic performance as Linda Partridge in Anderson's next movie, Magnolia. Her next nomination came in 2000 for her role as Sarah Miles in the adaptation of Graham Greene's The End of the Affair, but her big year came in 2003, in which she was nominated twice: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her part in The Hours and Best Lead Actress for Far From Heaven. Like Sigourney Weaver before her, Julianne Moore left that year empty-handed.