10 Phenomenally Talented Actors Who Have Never Won Oscars

10. Jim Carrey

Based on what I just read on the IMDB message boards, Jim Carrey needs Tarantino to resurrect him. After his NRA themed Funny or Die and coming out against the violence in Kick-Ass 2, people seem to have a lot of vitriol towards the man. I'm not here to speculate on how much his views on gun control have affected him professionally or on his mental state. All I know is Carrey has done some impressive work in his career. Maybe it's not consistent, but hell even Bill Murray had a couple of Garfields. Despite Jim Carrey first garnering a lot of attention for (literally) speaking out of his rear, there are some real performances of breadth and weight in his portfolio. As much as I appreciate the dark and tragic way he portrays The Cable Guy, his turn as Truman Burbank in 1997's The Truman Show, was his first real statement as a serious actor. Even though the role won him his first Golden Globe, Carrey wasn't nominated for an Academy Award. His next role to win him a Golden Globe nomination was 1999's Man on the Moon in which he humanised performance artist Andy Kaufman. Still, when it came time for Oscar nominations, Carrey didn't receive any recognition. After another dramatic turn in 2001's misunderstood The Majestic and the highly successful Bruce Almighty, Carrey tackled the role of Joel Barish in Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, written by Charlie Kaufman. With Bill Murray fresh off his Oscar win for Lost in Translation, it seemed that if there ever were a time for Jim Carrey to even be nominated, this was it. It was not. Fast forward to 2009, with his career beginning to quiet a bit commercially, I Love You, Phillip Morris slides into release just under the radar. In this true story, Carrey plays conman Steven Russell, who - after discovering his homosexuality - quits his safe job in produce, leaves his wife and kids, and moves to Florida to start playing the field. Floundering financially in his attempt to keep up with his lifestyle, he turns to fraud and finds himself in jail. The film chronicles his many successful escapes as well as his love interest with fellow inmate Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). As an actor, Carrey hits every note and gets to showcase his talents from broad humor to subtle drama in a way almost no role has provided before. His performance in this film is almost so perfect, the fact so few have seen it almost overshadows all lack of Academy consideration.