2. Richard Gere
After a career that has been going strong for over 30 years, Richard Gere's terrific performance as a conflicted and troubled hedge fund manager in last year's Arbitrage seemed to be the performance that would finally land him an Oscar nomination. However, Gere's work once again was off the ballots when the nominations were announced. This was not the first time Gere has been in this position. His first snub was in 1978, when he was not nominated for Best Actor in the haunting and beautiful romance drama, Days Of Heaven, one of his earliest roles. With industry buzz strong around 1982's An Officer And A Gentleman, Gere's starring role in the military drama seemed to be his best bet at the Best Actor award. The film was nominated for 6 Oscars including 2 for his co-stars Debra Winger and Louis Gosset Jr., yet once again Gere was left out of the love and failed to pick up a nomination. His performance in the 1996 legal drama Primal Fear as a confident attorney who finds trouble defending his latest client was given a lot of praise, yet he was overlooked by his young co-star Edward Norton. Norton's performance as a schizophrenic altar boy (his film debut) on trial for murder was Oscar nominated, Gere was left on the sidelines again. In 2002, Gere was the lead in the musical Chicago. Chicago was one of the most acclaimed films of the year and Gere was getting the best reviews of his career. Chicago was nominated for 12 Oscars, including 4 acting nominations, but once again Gere was not recognized by the Academy in the Best Actor category - one of that year's most controversial snubs. Gere, who is also one of the most prolific humanitarians in Hollywood, may have had his best chance at an Oscar nomination last year, but time will tell if his work and the Academy can come to an agreement in the future.