Right Oscar, Wrong Role

Name an Oscar winning actor or actress who you think won for the wrong role. A couple of examples come to mind for me:

Diane Keaton won for ANNIE HALL, but I think she should have won for LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR or REDS


Susan Sarandon won an Oscar for DEAD MEN WALKING, but I think her work in THELMA AND LOUISE and LORENZO'S OIL was way more deserving.


Al Pacino gave at least half a dozen performances more Oscar worthy than SCENT OF A WOMAN, especially DOG DAY AFTERNOON.

John Wayne,got his Oscar for True Grit.I liked him more in Sands of Iwo Jima and They Were Expendable.

Denzel Washington- should have won for THE HURRICANE
Humphrey Bogart- should have won for CASABLANCA
Ingrid Bergman- should have won for CASABLANCA
Grace Kelly- should have won for REAR WINDOW
Morgan Freeman-should have won for SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

Tommy Lee Jones - won in 1994 for The Fugitive. As good as that performance was, it always seemed a bit of a gift from the screenwriter ... lots of pithy lines to deliver in a mannered way. Ralph Fiennes was extraordinary in Schindler's List and should have won. Jones should have been nominated for No Country for Old Men in 2007, a far more nuanced performance.

__________________
Scarecrow: I haven't got a brain ... only straw. Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven't got a brain? Scarecrow: I don't know. But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they? Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

I liked John Wayne better in THE SHOOTIST. I also agree regarding Tommy Lee Jones, but I think the performance that he should have won for was JFK...talk about a nuanced performance.

I saw Sands of Iwo Jima a long time ago on TV.It ws the first time I saw John Wayne and what a terrific performance it was.That movie brought a lump to my throat.It did get him an Oscar nomination.

Paul Newman. He won for The Color of Money, he should have won for Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Hustler, Sometimes A Great Notion, and Nobody's Fool

I've heard from people before that Washington should have won for THE HURRICANE. Personally, I think he should have won for MALCOLM X.

Grace Kelly definitely stole Judy Garland's Oscar from her...I saw THE COUNTRY GIRL for the first time a few years ago and I'm convinced the only reason Kelly won the Oscar was because she dared to step in front of a movie camera without makeup.

Newman gave at least 10 performances that were superior to THE COLOR OF MONEY.

Anthony Hopkins was never better than in 1978's MAGIC:

__________________
"Yes, citizen, there is no cause for alarm -- you may return to your harpsichord."

I think Robin Williams should have won for Good Morning Vietnam, rather than Good Will Hunting. Don't get me wrong he was good in Good Will Hunting, but his performance in Good Morning Vietnam was unforgettable.

I totally agree about Anthony Hopkins in MAGIC and I agree that Robin Williams should not have won for GOOD WILL HUNTING (that Oscar should have gone to Burt Reynolds). Williams was better in THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP and ONE HOUR PHOTO.

I agree with you regarding Morgan Freeman.

I have to admit that I'm one of the few people on the planet that has never seen CASABLANCA, but I will admit that I have always hated the fact that Bogart won over Brando for STREETCAR and that my favorite Bergman performance is NOTORIOUS.

Paul Newman should have won for THE VERDICT.