10 Actors You Won't Believe Don't Have Oscars Yet
4. Willem Dafoe
The insanely versatile character actor still primarily known for his villainous turn in Spider-Man has been collecting Oscar nominations since 1987. Often unrecognisable in his parts, Dafoe is committed to his craft and will always put his characters above his ego.
With nominations for Platoon, Shadow of the Vampire, The Florida Project and At Eternity's Gate, Dafoe has shown he can perform in any kind of film and produce exceptional work. His closest shot at winning the gold statuette would likely have been The Florida Project, a role where his kind and sympathetic hotel manager did very well at the majority of the craft awards. Unfortunately for Dafoe, it was another (at the time) underappreciated actor in Sam Rockwell that dominated the major award shows.
Dafoe's transformative work can sometimes be too good for the Academy to even recognise as his mesmerising turn as a crazed and demented lighthouse keeper in The Lighthouse went unnoticed despite it being some of his very best work. Instead, the Academy likely saved a spot for two time Oscar winner Tom Hanks who was nominated for his sweet but otherwise bland performance as Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood.