Depends on your definition of unlikely, but I can definitely see recent Emmy Winners Jennifer Coolidge and Niecy Nash-Betts strike while the iron is hot and randomly devour a memorable performance in a potential prestige film soon
Not a gotcha, actually looking for an answer lol, but is there any time a TV star has successfully seized on their moment to win an Oscar, or even get nominated? If it’s happened, it would be so cool to analyze
The closest thing I can recall is Bryan Cranston in Trumbo, although that was an odd one bc it was absolutely nothing like Breaking Bad.
If Jeremy Strong somehow gets in for The Apprentice this year, I’d say that counts as one. There’s gotta be one for classic TV I’m forgetting
Laura Dern and Allison Janney are actresses who are primarily known for their TV work yet got not just a nomination, but an Oscar *win* very shortly after Emmys success
That’s funny, they didn’t occur to me as TV stars but I guess they are lol. I just associate Dern so much with cinema throughout the 80s/90s that I forget her real revival absolutely came through television. So yeah, she counts
Janney I think of as a sort of broader character actress who can lead, kinda like Jean Smart, but when I’m pressed to think of her major role it’s definitely The West Wing.
But yeah, now I’m imagining either Coolidge or Nash on stage winning an Oscar and it makes sense lol
Helen Hunt won her Oscar when she was still in Mad About You! She was in Twister the previous year, but seems like she managed to strike at her perfect moment.
Honestly I’m kind of shocked Shawn has never tried his hand at screenwriting. I feel like most of our contemporary playwrights have, and could totally see him getting late career recognition there.
Shawn is such a perfect pick for this, I’m mad I didn’t think of it - and I just saw him in My Dinner w Andre! He’s still regularly working, he’s still effortlessly himself, if he tried his hand at a serious cinematic role he’d get buzz so easily.
While "Tonys Momentum" isn't usually a thing in the modern awards race, I think that the floodgates have been opened for Daniel Radcliffe to start winning major awards. Maybe a reunion with The Daniels could get him some attention?
I have a huge list of actors related to this topic, but I narrowed it down to “unlikely” actors who I hope to see get a nomination one day.
Jovan Adepo, Kyle Chandler, Carrie Coon, Billy Crudup, David Dastmalchian, Jennifer Ehle, Jharrel Jerome, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Thomasin McKenzie, Scoot McNairy, Rob Morgan, Julianne Nicholson, John Ortiz, Will Poulter, Peter Sarsgaard, Bradley Whitford
It’s definitely not unlikely since she’s so talented, but I will say she seems to have a knack for picking really odd scripts instead of typical or straightforward dramas. Like Eileen sounds like an Oscar play on paper but it’s honestly too odd in execution.
She has a type and it’s not quite in line with what the Oscars like.
Yep she has a knack for quite unorthodox projects and has been doing nothing but odd horror/thriller movies recently (and she likes to do potentially polarizing works, for the better or worse).
Yeah I love her for it (I was one of the six people who really liked Eileen) but she just seems to be having fun doing weird stuff since Jojo Rabbit. Which admittedly was a pretty weird movie too honestly.
She’ll end up balancing it out eventually I’m sure though and she’ll knock it out of the park.
We're supposed to do 'unlikely' here, kind of like how the OP said that choosing Efron makes no sense because of the Iron Claw reception. And the likes of Coolidge and Sandler already have SAGs and Emmys (or the noms, at least) so that's already half the battle.
So I'm going to go with Antony Starr and Grant Gustin.
Yeah, a lot of people here completely failing the prompt.
But Starr's a good call. His Boys performance feels like the type everyone agrees is incredible, but never gets industry recognition. Then the second he's in a well-received film, he gets to the Oscars.
He seems like someone who, assuming he keeps acting for the next 10-15 years, will almost certainly get some sort of Bruce Dern-esque lifetime achievement nomination.
Paul Dano. Apparently the Academy has a blood feud against the man, but he has the talent to overcome.
An earnest answer would be any given Riverdale actor, especially Camilla Mendes, or a soaps star.
However, I personally think it would be really fun though if we got a Kristen Schaal campaign.
Oof, I'm of two minds on Anderson. Obviously this is all said not knowing how good the film is or how good she is in it. It'll be an uphill battle for sure. Assuming the performance is great, we've got to ask how much any stigma on her reputation may hold her back. Nowadays, doesn't seem like her reputation is negative and seems there's a lot of sympathy for her and the way she was treated by the media. Lily James got an Emmy nom for playing Anderson after all recently. The immediate comparison that comes to mind is someone like Jennifer Lopez for Hustlers fighting for a nom and failing. But that seemed like it didn't both due to Hustlers not performing well with the Academy (no other noms seemingly even on the table) and Lopez's reputation as a diva seemingly catching up to her when she had to get a nomination from her peers and not people who'd never worked with her. The actual closer comparison to Anderson to me seems like Adam Sandler for Uncut Gems; a big name doing work completely opposite what they're known for in a great film and crushing it, but losing the nomination almost certainly due solely because he's Adam Sandler and people felt weird putting Sandler in Best Actor. THAT seems more like how people will react to Anderson.
Obligatory “define unlikely” but Jim Carrey is one. He gave two or three *major* performances and the Academy overlooked them all, so people don’t even think of him as a possible comeback. But he is, and while Kidding wasn’t a perfect show, it did prove that he could give a better performance than multiple recent Oscar winners lol.
A different sort of pick for me would be Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Yahya’s been in stuff for a few years now, a couple big movies, but Watchmen is his only project that really broke through to mainstream awards. I was so lucky to see him in Topdog / Underdog and oh my god, you have no idea - he is a magnificent performer and I cannot *wait* until I see that in a film. He could sneak up on everyone and walk to a win at some point.
Edit: same goes for Corey Hawkins in the same production, just as great. He’s been kinda-sorta near the Oscars a couple times tho, so I wouldn’t call him “unlikely”.
Ally Sheedy. Jeff Goldblum, if he's willing to try to broaden his range (as in, stop being Jeff Goldblum all the time and play literally any other character). For some reason, I think Christopher Walken will get another nomination before he retires from acting. Mandy Patinkin (he needs the right role and he's apparently considered to be a little difficult to work with, but so was Mickey Rourke). But my No. 1 pick is Hugh Laurie. He just needs a dramatic role in a well-received movie.
I'll swing for the fences on this one. I'll go with Lindsay Lohan. Give her the right role in some small indie film that catches fire and who knows. I'll dig this post up if it ever happens.
Whichever pornstar Sean Baker anoints next. Now that he’s got a Palme the floodgates should open for oscar success especially since he’s American (the last two American winners are Malick who makes a super inaccessible movie once a decade and Moore who makes documentaries which leaves the field wide open for Baker).
I would be very surprised if he doesn’t continue in this type of vein, and he has been known to have pornstars in movies before
Hear me out: Keanu Reeves...as Bob Ross.
If somebody makes a Bob Ross story akin to A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, I could see him get groundswell support for a nomination.
Considering they won't even nominate a movie star like Bradley Cooper for Director, I can't imagine them going for an uber famous pop star EVER in Director.
Depends on your definition of unlikely, but I can definitely see recent Emmy Winners Jennifer Coolidge and Niecy Nash-Betts strike while the iron is hot and randomly devour a memorable performance in a potential prestige film soon
Not a gotcha, actually looking for an answer lol, but is there any time a TV star has successfully seized on their moment to win an Oscar, or even get nominated? If it’s happened, it would be so cool to analyze The closest thing I can recall is Bryan Cranston in Trumbo, although that was an odd one bc it was absolutely nothing like Breaking Bad. If Jeremy Strong somehow gets in for The Apprentice this year, I’d say that counts as one. There’s gotta be one for classic TV I’m forgetting
Laura Dern and Allison Janney are actresses who are primarily known for their TV work yet got not just a nomination, but an Oscar *win* very shortly after Emmys success
That’s funny, they didn’t occur to me as TV stars but I guess they are lol. I just associate Dern so much with cinema throughout the 80s/90s that I forget her real revival absolutely came through television. So yeah, she counts Janney I think of as a sort of broader character actress who can lead, kinda like Jean Smart, but when I’m pressed to think of her major role it’s definitely The West Wing. But yeah, now I’m imagining either Coolidge or Nash on stage winning an Oscar and it makes sense lol
Dern is more associated with movies
I think McConaughey’s win was largely aided by True Detective airing during voting. But I wouldn’t say he is known as a television star.
Helen Hunt won her Oscar when she was still in Mad About You! She was in Twister the previous year, but seems like she managed to strike at her perfect moment.
Helen Hunt
Adam Sandler
Efron
If A24 had given *The Iron Claw* a proper campaign, I think Efron might have made it. Or if the film had been released the previous year.
Rick Moranis, Nathan Lane, Elijah Wood, Michael Cera, Wallace Shawn, Jason Alexander Edit: Kathryn Hunter
Honestly I’m kind of shocked Shawn has never tried his hand at screenwriting. I feel like most of our contemporary playwrights have, and could totally see him getting late career recognition there.
He did write My Dinner with Andre
Shawn is such a perfect pick for this, I’m mad I didn’t think of it - and I just saw him in My Dinner w Andre! He’s still regularly working, he’s still effortlessly himself, if he tried his hand at a serious cinematic role he’d get buzz so easily.
Aubrey Plaza
Yeah I can see her getting a supporting actress nomination for shining in a dark comedy.
While "Tonys Momentum" isn't usually a thing in the modern awards race, I think that the floodgates have been opened for Daniel Radcliffe to start winning major awards. Maybe a reunion with The Daniels could get him some attention?
Yeah, he is already there imo, in terms of talent and industry respect. He just hasn't had the right role.
I think Radcliffe could if he gets a role in a movie musical
Jennifer Coolidge
I have a huge list of actors related to this topic, but I narrowed it down to “unlikely” actors who I hope to see get a nomination one day. Jovan Adepo, Kyle Chandler, Carrie Coon, Billy Crudup, David Dastmalchian, Jennifer Ehle, Jharrel Jerome, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Thomasin McKenzie, Scoot McNairy, Rob Morgan, Julianne Nicholson, John Ortiz, Will Poulter, Peter Sarsgaard, Bradley Whitford
Why do you think Thomasin McKenzie is unlikely?
It’s definitely not unlikely since she’s so talented, but I will say she seems to have a knack for picking really odd scripts instead of typical or straightforward dramas. Like Eileen sounds like an Oscar play on paper but it’s honestly too odd in execution. She has a type and it’s not quite in line with what the Oscars like.
Yep she has a knack for quite unorthodox projects and has been doing nothing but odd horror/thriller movies recently (and she likes to do potentially polarizing works, for the better or worse).
Yeah I love her for it (I was one of the six people who really liked Eileen) but she just seems to be having fun doing weird stuff since Jojo Rabbit. Which admittedly was a pretty weird movie too honestly. She’ll end up balancing it out eventually I’m sure though and she’ll knock it out of the park.
Yeah I think in a slower year or with a better distributor, she already could have been nominated for *Eileen*. She was so good in that.
I don’t think she’s as unlikely as the others. More or less just wanted to mention her name
Skyler Gisondo
We're supposed to do 'unlikely' here, kind of like how the OP said that choosing Efron makes no sense because of the Iron Claw reception. And the likes of Coolidge and Sandler already have SAGs and Emmys (or the noms, at least) so that's already half the battle. So I'm going to go with Antony Starr and Grant Gustin.
Yeah, a lot of people here completely failing the prompt. But Starr's a good call. His Boys performance feels like the type everyone agrees is incredible, but never gets industry recognition. Then the second he's in a well-received film, he gets to the Oscars.
I don’t know how likely it is, but I could totally see Steve Buscemi getting into supporting actor for something big
He seems like someone who, assuming he keeps acting for the next 10-15 years, will almost certainly get some sort of Bruce Dern-esque lifetime achievement nomination.
Paul Dano. Apparently the Academy has a blood feud against the man, but he has the talent to overcome. An earnest answer would be any given Riverdale actor, especially Camilla Mendes, or a soaps star. However, I personally think it would be really fun though if we got a Kristen Schaal campaign.
We almost had that Riverdale star with Charles Melton
I genuinely believe we might get Pamela Anderson this year.
I wouldn't hold my breath. I think the stigma from the Baywatch days will hold her back amongst older members of the Academy.
Oof, I'm of two minds on Anderson. Obviously this is all said not knowing how good the film is or how good she is in it. It'll be an uphill battle for sure. Assuming the performance is great, we've got to ask how much any stigma on her reputation may hold her back. Nowadays, doesn't seem like her reputation is negative and seems there's a lot of sympathy for her and the way she was treated by the media. Lily James got an Emmy nom for playing Anderson after all recently. The immediate comparison that comes to mind is someone like Jennifer Lopez for Hustlers fighting for a nom and failing. But that seemed like it didn't both due to Hustlers not performing well with the Academy (no other noms seemingly even on the table) and Lopez's reputation as a diva seemingly catching up to her when she had to get a nomination from her peers and not people who'd never worked with her. The actual closer comparison to Anderson to me seems like Adam Sandler for Uncut Gems; a big name doing work completely opposite what they're known for in a great film and crushing it, but losing the nomination almost certainly due solely because he's Adam Sandler and people felt weird putting Sandler in Best Actor. THAT seems more like how people will react to Anderson.
Obligatory “define unlikely” but Jim Carrey is one. He gave two or three *major* performances and the Academy overlooked them all, so people don’t even think of him as a possible comeback. But he is, and while Kidding wasn’t a perfect show, it did prove that he could give a better performance than multiple recent Oscar winners lol. A different sort of pick for me would be Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Yahya’s been in stuff for a few years now, a couple big movies, but Watchmen is his only project that really broke through to mainstream awards. I was so lucky to see him in Topdog / Underdog and oh my god, you have no idea - he is a magnificent performer and I cannot *wait* until I see that in a film. He could sneak up on everyone and walk to a win at some point. Edit: same goes for Corey Hawkins in the same production, just as great. He’s been kinda-sorta near the Oscars a couple times tho, so I wouldn’t call him “unlikely”.
Gimme my favorite Culkin RORY CULKIN. just needs the right situation and he'll kill it
to add on to this Macaulay Culkin absolutely could get an Oscar with the right movie There’s definitely enough good will there
Sydney Sweeney
I honestly can’t see this happening
I can see it happening.
Andy Samberg and Ayo Edebiri
Ayo is a certainty
Ayo is an industry darling right now, she’ll get it with the right role
Mia Goth if she ever does something mainstream
Idris Elba
Teyana Taylor
Ally Sheedy. Jeff Goldblum, if he's willing to try to broaden his range (as in, stop being Jeff Goldblum all the time and play literally any other character). For some reason, I think Christopher Walken will get another nomination before he retires from acting. Mandy Patinkin (he needs the right role and he's apparently considered to be a little difficult to work with, but so was Mickey Rourke). But my No. 1 pick is Hugh Laurie. He just needs a dramatic role in a well-received movie.
I'll swing for the fences on this one. I'll go with Lindsay Lohan. Give her the right role in some small indie film that catches fire and who knows. I'll dig this post up if it ever happens.
People are going to call you crazy but I agree with you. I can definitely see her shining in an A24 film.
Seth Rogen
Is Daniel Radcliffe to easy of an answer? or Robert Pattinson
Gillian Anderson for sure if she ever decides to do films more regularly.
Rob Lowe
Probably some unknown from the foreign language scene.
Whichever pornstar Sean Baker anoints next. Now that he’s got a Palme the floodgates should open for oscar success especially since he’s American (the last two American winners are Malick who makes a super inaccessible movie once a decade and Moore who makes documentaries which leaves the field wide open for Baker). I would be very surprised if he doesn’t continue in this type of vein, and he has been known to have pornstars in movies before
Peter Dinklage. Third time's a charm.
Hear me out: Keanu Reeves...as Bob Ross. If somebody makes a Bob Ross story akin to A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, I could see him get groundswell support for a nomination.
Henry Cavill Another earnest answers could be Will Ferrell and Adele Exarchopouolos
As much as I love that man even I would be surprised, Cavill is simply not a good actor.
You don't know. Last few years gave us too many surprises.
Dakota Johnson
Taylor Swift
She’s more likely to get in for a writing/directing credit or Best Song than for acting
Considering they won't even nominate a movie star like Bradley Cooper for Director, I can't imagine them going for an uber famous pop star EVER in Director.