10 Oscar-Worthy Recent Performances The Academy Will Ignore
4. Chiwetel Ejiofor - The Lion King
Not once has the Academy nominated a voice-actor for an Oscar, and sadly, I don’t think that trend is going to be bucked. Robert Williams in Aladdin, Kevin Spacey in Moon, Ellen DeGeneres in Finding Nemo, nor Scarlett Johansson in Her; all were worthy adversaries though none got a nomination.
The Lion King remake has been getting middling reviews from fans and critics alike, but most everyone can agree that Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Scar brought an actual performance while the other actors just read the lines.
His take on Mufasa’s brother was always going to be compared to the original actor, Jeremy Irons, though Ejiofor matched admirably. The film is a virtually an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Ejiofor tapped into his English roots and delivered a glorious and, well, Shakespearean take.
Though it didn’t look as people wanted, the remakes take on Scar was aesthetically horrifying and adding Ejiofor’s haunting voice to it made it truly chilling. While the lions weren’t able to express much emotion, Ejiofor made sure to make up for it with a frightening and truly powerful delivery.