LGBTQ+ Actors Robbed of a Nomination

Awards season can be unpredictable. Release calendars, campaign budgets, and eligibility windows can tilt the playing field in ways that leave major performances outside the final ballot. Many LGBTQ+ actors have delivered work that earned festival attention and industry recognition yet still missed an Academy Award nomination.

Below is a fact focused look at twenty five cases where the performances were visible across precursors or historic moments and still went unrecognized by the Academy. Each entry notes the role, the film, the year, and the measurable reception around it so you can see exactly how a nomination slipped away.

Andrew Scott

In 2023 Andrew Scott led ‘All of Us Strangers’ as a London screenwriter confronting grief and memory. The film premiered on the fall festival circuit and opened in North America during the heart of awards season.

Scott received a Best Actor nomination at the BAFTA Film Awards and a Best Actor nomination at the Golden Globes. The Academy did not nominate him for Best Actor.

Lily Gladstone

In 2016 Lily Gladstone portrayed a solitary ranch hand in ‘Certain Women’. The film played major festivals and drew widespread critical praise for its quiet character studies.

Gladstone won several top regional critics prizes and received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Supporting Actress. The Academy did not nominate her for acting that year.

Kristen Stewart

In 2014 Kristen Stewart played a personal assistant whose relationship with a famous actor shifts in ‘Clouds of Sils Maria’. The performance drew strong attention in Europe and the United States.

Stewart won the César Award for Supporting Actress and became the first American actor to win an acting César. The Academy did not nominate her for an Oscar for this role.

Angelina Jolie

In 2007 Angelina Jolie starred as journalist Mariane Pearl in ‘A Mighty Heart’. The drama recounted real world events and opened to strong notices for its lead performance.

Jolie earned Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The Academy did not nominate her for Best Actress that year.

Elliot Page

In 2005 Elliot Page broke through with ‘Hard Candy’. Page played a teen who turns the tables in a tense two hander that drew attention at festivals and specialty box offices.

Page collected wins and nominations from multiple critics groups for the performance. The Academy did not nominate Page for an acting award for this film.

Rupert Everett

In 1997 Rupert Everett scene stole as George in ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’. The role became a cultural touchpoint and a highlight in a major studio release.

Everett earned a Golden Globe nomination for Supporting Actor and won the BAFTA Film Award for Supporting Actor. The Academy did not nominate him for an Oscar.

Anthony Perkins

In 1960 Anthony Perkins portrayed Norman Bates in ‘Psycho’. Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller received multiple Academy Award nominations in other categories and reshaped the genre.

Perkins collected international attention and later industry honors for his work in the film across retrospectives and lists. The Academy did not nominate him for acting for ‘Psycho’.

Derek Jacobi

In 1998 Derek Jacobi played artist Francis Bacon in ‘Love Is the Devil’. The film premiered at Cannes and centered on Bacon’s life and partnership with George Dyer.

Jacobi received awards recognition in the United Kingdom for the performance including wins from British critics circles. The Academy did not nominate him for an Oscar.

Stephen Fry

In 1997 Stephen Fry headlined ‘Wilde’ as Oscar Wilde. The biographical drama covered the author’s literary success and legal persecution and played widely in the United Kingdom and abroad.

Fry earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama. The Academy did not nominate him for acting.

Ian McKellen

In 1995 Ian McKellen adapted and starred in ‘Richard III’. The film reimagined Shakespeare’s play in an alternate twentieth century setting and toured festivals before its theatrical run.

McKellen received a Best Actor nomination at the BAFTA Film Awards for the role. The Academy did not nominate him for acting for this performance.

Ezra Miller

In 2011 Ezra Miller portrayed Kevin in ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’. The film’s release brought strong attention to its trio of performances and drew year end discussion across critics groups.

Miller collected several regional critics awards for Supporting Actor and appeared on numerous breakout performer lists. The Academy did not nominate Miller for acting.

Amandla Stenberg

In 2018 Amandla Stenberg led ‘The Hate U Give’. The adaptation centered on a teen navigating community activism and personal loss and played widely with schools and community screenings.

Stenberg won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture and received breakthrough honors from national organizations. The Academy did not nominate Stenberg for acting.

Anne Heche

In 1997 Anne Heche co starred in ‘Donnie Brasco’. Her performance anchored the film’s domestic drama opposite a lead role in a high profile crime story released by a major studio.

Heche received critics prizes during year end voting for her supporting work. The Academy did not nominate her for acting for this film.

Jodie Foster

In 2007 Jodie Foster starred in ‘The Brave One’. The urban thriller opened in early fall and centered on a radio host who survives a violent attack.

Foster won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for the performance. The Academy did not nominate her for an Oscar that year.

Michelle Rodriguez

In 2000 Michelle Rodriguez debuted in ‘Girlfight’. The film premiered at Sundance and won the Grand Jury Prize and the Directing Award, giving the performance immediate industry visibility.

Rodriguez won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance and received additional breakthrough citations. The Academy did not nominate her for acting.

Chloë Sevigny

In 1998 Chloë Sevigny co led ‘The Last Days of Disco’. The film chronicled friendships and shifts at the end of a nightlife era and built on Sevigny’s rising profile in independent cinema.

Sevigny received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead for the performance. The Academy did not nominate her for acting for this film.

Aubrey Plaza

In 2022 Aubrey Plaza headlined ‘Emily the Criminal’. The thriller premiered at Sundance and expanded theatrically during the summer with strong word of mouth.

Plaza earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Lead Performance and appeared on multiple year end top ten lists for acting. The Academy did not nominate her for an Oscar.

Sarah Paulson

In 2016 Sarah Paulson starred in ‘Blue Jay’. The intimate black and white feature followed two former high school classmates reuniting in their hometown and premiered at Tribeca.

Paulson received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead for the role. The Academy did not nominate her for acting.

Ben Whishaw

In 2020 Ben Whishaw led ‘Surge’. The film premiered at Sundance and followed a man in London over a volatile twenty four hour period.

Whishaw received the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting at Sundance for his performance. The Academy did not nominate him for acting.

Gillian Anderson

In 2000 Gillian Anderson starred in ‘The House of Mirth’. The period adaptation opened to strong reviews for its lead portrayal of Lily Bart.

Anderson won the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress and collected additional critics honors. The Academy did not nominate her for acting.

Daniela Vega

In 2017 Daniela Vega led ‘A Fantastic Woman’. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and later won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Vega received multiple international festival acting honors and became one of the most visible transgender stars on the awards circuit that year. The Academy did not nominate her for acting.

Ian Charleson

In 1981 Ian Charleson portrayed Eric Liddell in ‘Chariots of Fire’. The Best Picture winner became a landmark British film with multiple Academy Award nominations.

Charleson’s performance received recognition in the United Kingdom including nominations from national awards bodies. The Academy did not nominate him for acting.

Dirk Bogarde

In 1963 Dirk Bogarde starred in ‘The Servant’. The film marked a key collaboration with director Joseph Losey and became a touchstone of British cinema in the decade.

Bogarde won the BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor for this performance. The Academy did not nominate him for acting.

Farley Granger

In 1951 Farley Granger led ‘Strangers on a Train’. Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller earned technical nominations and became one of the director’s signature titles.

Granger’s performance helped define the film’s enduring reputation across restorations and retrospectives. The Academy did not nominate him for acting.

John Cameron Mitchell

In 2001 John Cameron Mitchell brought his stage creation to the screen with ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’. The film played Sundance and built a dedicated audience during its theatrical run.

Mitchell earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for the role. The Academy did not nominate him for acting.

Share the performances you would add to this list in the comments.