12 Actors Who Won Oscars For Completely The Wrong Role

10. Al Pacino

Al Pacino Dog Day Afternoon
Warner Bros.

Won For... Scent Of A Woman

Should Have Won For... Dog Day Afternoon

The syndrome of winning an Oscar for the wrong film might as well have been named for Al Pacino and Scent Of A Woman, no matter how much you like his raucous hoo-hahs. It's not a poor film at all, but Pacino's performance is your standard shouty, intense take and it's far from his best work.

Even worse, it somehow beat at least two far more deserving films to the Best Actor gong (either Denzel Washington's Malcolm X or Robert Downey Jr's Chaplin should have won), without being Pacino's best.

That accolade goes to Dog Day Afternoon (The Godfather pushes it, but not as meaningfully as some might say), a film that messed with the Pacino formula while still trading on that usual loud charisma and intensity. Under the surface of the performance is where the difference really shows: it is a more thoughtful and infinitely braver performance and the whole affair is significantly more moving.

It's just a shame it came up against Jack Nicholson's powerhouse One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest performance...

In this post: 
oscars
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

WhatCulture's former COO, veteran writer and editor.