10 Phenomenally Talented Actors Who Have Never Won Oscars

6. Laura Linney

Laura Linney's first substantial role (save for her part as Dr. Ross in Congo, which we can pretend never happened) was in 1997's Truman Show in which her performance, along with everyone else, was overshadowed by the "Jim Carrey-does-drama" hype of the time. Maybe not a truly "meaty" role, Truman Show gave Linney a chance of some range outside of "school teacher" and "good-looking scientist." Most probably know her from her role as overly-devoted sister in Love Actually, by 2003 she'd already been nominated for Best Actress for her turn in the 2000 indie-drama You Can Count On Me. In it, she plays a single mother whose life is thrown into upheaval when her younger brother returns home after a long absence. In 2005, she was nominated for her supporting role in Kinsey, but lost to Cate Blanchette's work in The Aviator (they really do love biopics). Linney was nominated one last time in 2008 for her work in The Savages, opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman. That year, the Oscar went to Marion Cotillard for Le Vie en Rose. But what is most criminally underrated in her body of work is her supporting role in 2005's Squid and the Whale, for which she wasn't even nominated. Still, this is an actress with plenty of fine work left to do and perhaps she will find herself giving an acceptance speech one of these days.