Forgotten Oscar Winners

Considering there have been 87 iterations of the Academy Awards, you can be more than forgiven for forgetting a few of the victors. Below are some winners that you would have almost certainly forgotten.

Marlee Matlin (1986) – Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Children of a Lesser God)

Actress Marlee Matlin is phenomenal. At the age of 18 months she lost all the hearing in her right ear and 80 per cent of her hearing in her left in what was believed to be congenital hearing loss (you can find out more about the condition at Hidden Hearing). Matlin went on to carve out a hugely successful acting career. Her role in Children of a Lesser God was the first time that a person with a hearing impairment had been cast in a leading role since the 1926 silent movie, You’d Be Surprised. She is also the youngest ever actress to have won the big gong. However, with work drying up after her success, it has simply become far harder to remember Matlin due to her retreat into the acting shadows.

Crash (2005) – Best Picture

The 2004 movie, Crash, featured one hell of an ensemble cast, including acting stalwarts Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon – who was without doubt the best thing about the movie – Brendan Fraser, Thandie Newton, Michael Pena, Don Cheadle, and Ludacris. The film itself didn’t fare overly well at the box office, falling just shy of the $100 million mark, which goes some way in understanding why this film isn’t easily remembered as an Academy Award winner. Moreover, it was going up against Ang Lee’s superb Brokeback Mountain and Capote, which featured yet another critically acclaimed turn by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Marisa Tomei (1992) – Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (My Cousin Vinny)

Starring alongside Joe Pesci, who at the time was one of the hottest actors in Los Angeles, Marisa Tomei announced herself to the world with a comical performance in the courtroom drama, My Cousin Vinny. Since that victory there is an urban rumour circulating around Hollywood that Tomei was actually awarded the Oscar by mistake. Many believe it was supposed to have gone to Vanessa Redgrave for her performance in Howard’s End.

Nicolas Cage (1995) – Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Leaving Los Vegas)

Alongside cats, Nicolas Cage has become one of the internet’s favourite memes, shedding his respected actor cloak. With recent films Outcast and Rage garnering Rotten Tomatoes ratings of six and 14 per cent respectively, Cage couldn’t be further from the minds of those within the Academy. However, there once was a time, before Cage moved over into the world of action blockbuster, where Cage was one of the first names to be considered for the biggest prize in Hollywood. In all fairness, his performance in Leaving Las Vegas truly is spellbinding. His portrayal of a tortured, suicidal alcoholic puts the audience through all the emotions, while his commitment to the role gave it an edge of realism that is too often missing in movies. This is Cage at his best but sadly it is doubtful that this piece of commendable work is what he will be remembered for.