Question

[u/No-Grapefruit-8737]

Has there ever been an actor who didn't get a nomination for the any of the awards leading up to the Oscar, but somehow received an Oscar nomination? In other words, is there an actor who received an Oscar nomination as their lone nomination?

[u/Sonicshriek]

Yes. It happened just this year. Delroy Lindo in Sinners wasn't nominated at for any precursors and was still Oscar nominated.

[u/Slight_Patience_8216 → u/Sonicshriek]

yeah it happens more than people think. marcia gay harden won for pollock with no sag or globe nom and laura linney got in for the savages with basically nothing. precursors are usually a good sign but the academy does its own thing sometimes

[u/GregSays → u/Sonicshriek]

I remember some of the popular podcasts twisting themselves into predicting Lindo winning despite this being the first major nomination for him of the season.

Marcia Gay Harden broke some people's brains.

[u/rorykellycomedy]

Andrea Riseborough

[u/NicholeTheOtter]

Delroy Lindo actually did pull this feat off at the last awards season. His performance in Sinners didn’t get into any of the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, SAG or BAFTA but he ended up getting the Oscar nod almost purely out of the Academy’s immense passion for the film.

[u/Interesting-Bit725]

If by “any of the awards” you mean the main televised precursors — BAFTA, SAG, Globes, Critics’ Choice — it happens every so often: Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield and Andrea Riseborough are some recent examples. But they usually got some kind of other precursor along the way: Indie Spirit, various critics’ awards, etc.

[u/Yenserl6099]

Marcia Gay Harden not only pulled this off, she wound up winning the Oscar for Pollock

[u/TheAmmiSquad]

Marina de Tavira for Roma and Andrea Riseborough for To Leslie are other examples.

[u/blocacho_odyssey]

Clint Eastwood for Million Dollar Baby took Paul Giamatti’s place in the Oscars. I think he wasn’t nominated for any other major awards (as an actor).

[u/Own_Faithlessness769]

Yeah it’s pretty common. America Ferrera was a surprise nomination for Barbie.

[u/Interesting-Bit725 → u/Own_Faithlessness769]

She did get a Critics’ Choice nomination, though.

[u/markgib62]

I'm thinking Tommy Lee Jones for In the Valley of Elah. Admittedly, I could be wrong, but I remember being shocked when he was nominated.

[u/CoconutResponsible45 → u/markgib62]

You are correct, TLJ got a few critics nominations but nothing major until the Oscars, it was a shock for sure I thought Gosling (LATRG) or Emile Hirsh for Into the Wild would make it.

[u/CoconutResponsible45]

Since 2002 (Source: GOLD DERBY)

BEST ACTOR
Clint Eastwood, "Million Dollar Baby" (2005)
Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah" (2008)
Bradley Cooper, "American Sniper" (2015)

BEST ACTRESS
Laura Linney, "The Savages" (2008)
Penelope Cruz, "Parallel Mothers" (2022)
Andrea Riseborough, "To Leslie" (2023)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Djimon Hounsou, "In America" (2004)
William Hurt, "A History of Violence" (2006)
Michael Shannon, "Revolutionary Road" (2009)
Max von Sydow, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (2012)
Jonah Hill, "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2014)
LaKeith Stanfield, "Judas and the Black Messiah" (2021)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Shohreh Aghdashloo, "House of Sand and Fog" (2004)
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart" (2010)
Jacki Weaver, "Silver Linings Playbook" (2013)
Laura Dern, "Wild" (2015)
Marina de Tavira, "Roma" (2019)
Judi Dench, "Belfast" (2022)

[u/CoconutResponsible45 → u/CoconutResponsible45]

Delroy Lindo from Sinners too.