6. Gary Oldman
Long undervalued by the Academy, Gary Oldman is and always will be, my favourite actor of all time. I'd argue that the sheer versatility of his career is Oscar worthy alone. He has the ability to play both protagonist and antagonist with intricate ease, although perhaps he is best recognised for his villainous turns in The Professional, JFK and Dracula. His performance as Sid Vicious in the 1986 film Sid & Nancy was so impressive and genuine, that many people stated, "Gary Oldman plays Sid Vicious better than Sid Vicious can play himself". However despite this heavy praise, there was not even a murmur of an Oscar nomination for that performance! Fellow actors have also been waxing lyrical over Oldman's talents. The Kings Speech star, Colin Firth stated,"The guy is a candidate for the greatest living actor". So it appears that the only people that don't appreciate Oldman as a world class actor are the Academy! To date he has only one Oscar nomination, for his outstanding performance as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. This portrayal was chock full of such artistry and subtlety that I am at a loss as to how he got beaten by Jean Dujardin's over-dramatic performance in The Artist. Oldman is probably most popular among the public for his token appearances in big commercial franchises such as Harry Potter and The Dark Knight trilogy.