Advance buzz on Mickey Rourke’s performance in “The Wrestler” is so strong that the enigmatic ex-pugilist is a virtual lock for an Academy Award nomination. “Frost/Nixon” star Frank Langella, too, seems poised finally to snag an Oscar nod after being snubbed for last year’s “Starting Out in the Evening.” If Mr. Rourke and Mr. Langella get some Oscar love, there’s hope for other great, chronically passed-over (and, for the sake of our story here, passed-on) actors.
Donald Sutherland- The guy works cheap and probably way too often. Perhaps for that reason, his great roles (“M*A*S*H,” “Ordinary People,” “Kelly’s Heroes”) have been lumped together with the forgettable clock-punching work.
Maureen O’Hara- We’re still haunted by Miss O’Hara’s performance as a frightfully bloodless rationalist in “Miracle on 34th Street,” but the fact that she was never nominated, especially for unforgettable work alongside John Wayne in John Ford classics including “The Quiet Man” and “Rio Grande,” is astonishing.
Fred MacMurray- All right, all right. Enough about “Son of Flubber” and “My Three Sons.” The late actor’s brilliant turn as an insurance rep in Billy Wilder’s noir masterpiece “Double Indemnity” was criminally unrecognized by the academy.
Martin Sheen- Why was this man passed over for his starring roles in “Badlands” and “Apocalypse Now” and his terrifically affecting supporting role in “Wall Street”? It’s certainly not his politics.
Kevin Bacon- Mr. “Six Degrees” has the Sutherland bug, which sometimes prevents him from saying “No.” But right up to the present moment, with his turn as President Nixon’s loyal-to-a-fault straight arrow of an aide in “Frost/Nixon,” Mr. Bacon has notched an impressive resume of indispensable supporting roles - “Diner,” “A Few Good Men,” “Apollo 13” and “Mystic River” among them - and, with 2004’s “The Woodsman,” a brave lead performance.
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