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

4. Liam Neeson

Why They Should Have Won: Though Tom Hanks' performance in Philadelphia is great, many consider Neeson's role as Oskar Schindler to be the better of the two.

Neeson's portrayal of the German spy who saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust was absolutely stunning, and at times heartbreaking, and absolutely worthy of Academy recogntion. Not only that, but while Schindler's List was unanimously viewed by critics as being a masterpiece, Philadelphia fared less well, with some criticizing its overly preachy tone and simplistic narrative. Why They Never Will: After Schindler's List, Neeson had a string of great dramatic roles, including Michael Collins in film Michael Collins, Valjean in Les Miserable and Rob Roy in Rob Roy. Unfortunately, however, the release and success of 2008's Taken completely shifted the course of Neeson's career, and he has since been playing flimsy, interchangeable characters in a string of action movies (including Taken 2 and 3, Unknown, and Run All Night). When he's not doing that, he's showing up in comedies, like Seth McFarland's A Million Ways To Die In The West and Ted 2. While Neeson remains endlessly entertaining to watch on-screen, it's unlikely he'll fall into a role as significant as Oskar Schindler ever again.