10 Actors Who Tried Like Hell To Win An Oscar (But Failed)

There seem few ways more certain to bag oneself an Oscar than being a long-respected actor taking on the role of a prominent historical figure; and if you're a British actor, it most certainly doesn't hurt if the figure in question is a monarch.

Years later, this would prove a winning combination for Helen Mirren with The Queen, and Colin Firth with The King's Speech - yet, to the surprise of many, it did not lead to an Oscar for Judi Dench on 1997's Mrs Brown.

Director John Madden's film marked Dench's first time playing Queen Victoria (a role she has subsequently reprised in Victoria and Abdul), and centres on her then-scandalous friendship with Scottish servant John Brown, played by Billy Connolly.

The role won Dench rave reviews and awards from BAFTA, the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild, yet the Oscar that year somewhat controversially went to Helen Hunt in As Good As It Gets.

It's widely believed that the Academy acknowledged their error by giving her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar the following year, this time for playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare In Love; this despite the fact she only has around 6 minutes of screen time.