Although it is by no means the be-all and end-all for an actor, winning an Academy Award is arguably both the pinnacle of their profession and the ultimate recognition from their peers. However, plenty of legendary talents have done just fine without an Oscar on their mantlepiece; Peter O'Toole was nominated eight times without success, Richard Burton was overlooked on seven occasions and even Alfred Hitchcock failed to be awarded a statue. It took Martin Scorsese until his sixth nomination to finally secure Best Director and that was for The Departed, which is nowhere near his best movie. Then when you think that Eminem, Renee Zellweger and Three Six Mafia all have Academy Awards, suddenly it doesn't seem so important after all. Amongst all of this, spare a thought for poor Kevin O'Connell; the veteran sound mixer is still without an Oscar after twenty nominations. This article will take a look at ten actors who are as close to a sure thing as you can get to win an Oscar one day, and how they could potentially do it. The list has a youthful angle, as the choices have been limited to actors under 40, mostly because the sheer volume of quality thespians that have been continually overlooked could easily turn this into a top 50. You can probably guess who takes the number one spot, but read on to find out who makes up the remaining nine. Do you agree with the choices on this list? Are there any other names that you would have included? As always, sound off in the comments below.
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