10 Most Outrageous Oscar Snubs
6. Shakespeare In Love (Best Supporting Actress - Judi Dench)
Shakespeare In Love won the Best Picture Oscar in 1999; Gwyneth Paltrow took home the Actress prize. And somehow, neither of those two facts are the film's oddest. Judi Dench, verified national treasure, went home with the Best Supporting Actress gong for eight minutes' work.
OK, so her eight minutes of screen time don't necessarily equate to the amount of graft she put in. But to provide Dame Judi with the Academy Award for a shift of this nature seems almost perverse. Imagine you were Kathy Bates or Lynn Redgrave, watching Dench stride onto the stage. You'd be livid.
She's far from the only performer to have won under such circumstances, either – Anthony Hopkins famously has about 20 minutes' screen time in The Silence Of The Lambs, and he took the Best Actor Oscar nonetheless (not even supporting on this occasion). Given just how much clout Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter has in his brief appearance, however, it's slightly more justifiable.
Shakespeare In Love was of its time, attempting to chase that English Patient prestige, and naturally Judi Dench is excellent in her appearance. But to award an actual Oscar for that? Won't somebody please think of Kathy Bates?