Despite the success of Top Gun: Maverick’s placing the action film as the 12th most successful film of all time, Tom Cruise was once again unsuccessful in taking home an Oscar at the 95th Academy Awards earlier this week..
PA Casino wanted to look into this further. The experts utilised data from over 1,200 films on IMDb of Hollywood’s most famous stars to have never won an Oscar. This was then used to discover the average IMDb ratings for each actor, which was curated into two tables of the top 10 most successful male and female actors to have never won an Oscar.
Top 10 most successful male actors to have never received an Oscar:
Ranking |
Actor |
No. of movies scraped |
Average IMDb Rating [out of 10] |
|
1. |
Benedict Cumberbatch | 73 | 7.19 |
|
2. |
Ralph Fiennes | 91 |
6.99 |
|
3. |
Hugh Jackman | 67 |
6.97 |
|
4. |
Edward Norton |
51 |
6.84 |
|
5. |
Clint Eastwood | 126 |
6.77 |
|
6. |
Tom Hardy | 115 |
6.74 |
|
7. |
Johnny Depp | 120 |
6.71 |
|
8. |
Tom Cruise | 76 |
6.65 |
| 9. | Jake Gyllenhaal | 77 |
6.64 |
| 10. | Laurence Fishbourne | 126 |
6.60 |
Benedict Cumberbatch named most successful actor to have never won an Oscar
With an overall average IMDb rating of 7.19/10 across 73 films, Benedict Cumberbatch is the most successful actor to have never won an Oscar award. Known in more recent years for his starring role as Dr Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the Hollywood star has previously been nominated for Best Actor twice for his roles in ‘The Imitation Game’ (2015) and ‘The Power of the Dog’ (2022) but never managed to take home the award on both occasions.
Known for his brilliant roles as Amon Goeth in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Schindler’s List’ (1993), and M. Gustave in Wes Anderson’s ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ (2014), Ralph Fiennes’s average rating of 6.99/10 places him as the second most successful actor who has not secured the ultimate achievement. Set to reunite with Wes Anderson this year for the film ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’, we could soon see Fiennes finally take home the coveted award.
Top 10 most successful female actors to have never won an Oscar:
|
Ranking |
Actor | No. of Movies | Average IMDb Rating
[out of 10] |
|
1. |
Julie Walters | 75 | 6.82 |
| 2. | Lily James | 21 |
6.77 |
|
3. |
Rachel McAdams | 34 | 6.77 |
|
4. |
Scarlette Johansson | 61 |
6.72 |
| 5. | Zendaya | 18 |
6.69 |
|
=6. |
Glenn Close | 95 | 6.66 |
| =7. | Saoirse Ronan | 31 |
6.66 |
|
8. |
Amy Adams | 48 | 6.60 |
| 9. | Emily Blunt | 43 |
6.59 |
| 10. | Helena Bonham Carter | 108 |
6.54 |
Julie Walters is the most successful actress to never win an Oscar
Julie Walters is Hollywood’s most successful female actor to never have won the award, with an average IMDb rating of 6.82/10. This also ranks her fourth overall, with only a 0.15 lower rating than Hugh Jackman. Despite being best known for her roles in the ‘Mamma Mia!’ and ‘Harry Potter’ franchises, it was her supporting role in ‘Billy Elliot’ (2000) and lead role in ‘Educating Rita’ (1983) which saw her get nominated by the Academy, to which she was unsuccessful in taking home the award both times.
Lily James is the second cast member of the Mamma Mia! franchise yet to receive an Oscar, despite an average film rating of 6.77/10. Featuring alongside Ansel Elgort, her role as Deborah in ‘Baby Driver” (2017) was well-received by critics with an IMDb rating of 7.60/10, as well as her first role in a Netflix film, ‘The Dig’ also rated highly at 7.10/10. Despite these successes, Lily James is yet to be nominated for an Academy Award, making her the second most successful actress to have never received this achievement.
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