12 Times Actors Were Cheated Out Of An Oscar

2. 2013 - Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave

Who Actually Won? Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club Ejiofor's loss in the Best Actor category was another seemingly political, asinine defeat, missing out thanks to Matthew McConaughey's (to be fair, rather exceptional) performance in Dallas Buyers Club. It's as if Ejiofor was locked out because 12 Years A Slave was always a lock for Best Picture, meaning that the Academy could spread the wealth in other categories to other deserving performances; a strange reason to lock out one of the best performances of the decade so far - and the one preceding it, in fact. Ejiofor's quiet humility in the face of abject cruelty as a freed man abducted into slavery is going to be remembered for years to come - so much so that you could argue he doesn't need the Oscar to be recognised for a solid piece of work. But then, who does, really?