8 Actors Who Should Have Won Oscars (But Never Will)

5. Sigourney Weaver

Why They Should Have Won: Though many people are unaware, Sigourney Weaver was nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of Ellen Ripley in Ridley Scott's Alien. It makes sense. The portrayal of Ripley is absolutely crucial to the success of the film, and the progression of the plot is carried squarely on her shoulders (shoulders which are alone on-screen for a large portion of the movie).

The nomination itself was a landmark achievement, the first major awards recognition for an actress in a horror or sci-fi role. To go on to win, then, would have been an incredibly significant Academy Awards victory.

As it stands the award went to Marlee Matlin for her role as Sarah Norman in Children Of A Lesser God €“ a film that much fewer people remember and that's nowhere near as important a part of film history (not to mention the fact that Weaver was the better actress).

Why They Never Will: Despite receiving three Oscar nominations over the course of her career (the others were for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, both in 1988, for Gorillas In The Mist and Working Girl respectively) it's been almost three decades since one of her performances was recognised by the Academy. Like Alan Rickman, Weaver's role as Ellen Ripley far out-shadows everything else she has done, and the fact that she was nominated but didn't win is likely indicative of the fact she never will.

Weaver was actually set to reprise her role as Ripley in a new Neill Blomkamp-helmed Alien movie, but due to Ridley Scott's upcoming Prometheus sequel, the project has been indefinitely shelved. Other than that, Weaver has three Avatar films and a role in the Ghostbusters reboot, none of which are likely to be worthy of Academy recognition.