Tin Can Lineup: Most Talented Actors without an Oscar Nomination

The Academy Awards are the pinnacle of acting recognition. While there is an impressive list of Actors/Actresses who have never won an Oscar, there is an even more shocking list of people who have never even been nominated for their talents. So once again we assembled the Tin Can "I"-Team and got to the bottom of who are the 10 most talented actors (still acting) to never receive a nom. Sifting through the yearly influx of films and great performances obviously isn't an easy task for the Academy but these 10 talented actors seem to always fall through the cracks. Take a look after the jump.

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10.) Ewan McGregor

It's hard to believe it s been 14 years since McGregor burst onto the scene with his role as "Renton" in Danny Boyle's "Trainspotting". Yet somehow this 39 year old Scotsman has eluded the Academy's attention. His best chance was probably "Moulin Rouge" for which his co-star Nicole Kidman was nominated. McGregor though has been delivering solid performances for well over a decade. He took on the Obi-Wan role for the 3 new Star Wars films, was outstanding in his work on Tim Burton's "Big Fish" and was brilliant in the Scottish indy "Young Adam." McGregor always seems to fly under the radar, but we have no doubt that if he keeps up his consistency he will eventual turn the Academy's heads.

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9.) Scarlett Johansson

Ms. Scarlett has the honor of being the youngest person on this list, as well as the only actress. It seems to us that the Academy seems to be kinder to the fairer sex. Johansson though has arguably the biggest snub on this list as her turn as "Charlotte" in Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation". Though only 25 years old Johansson seems to have separated herself from most of the rest of her age group. Besides "Lost in Translation" she's also turned in solid performances in the mostly overlooked "The Prestige", "The Other Boleyn Girl" , "The Black Dahlia" and actually shared the screen with 2 other actors on this list in "The Island." With her age and talent it would have to be considered a mild upset if she didn't eventually win an Oscar, let alone never receive a nomination.

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8.) Jeff Daniels

When you watch an actor apply his craft at a high level for 3 decades, in every possible range of roles and not garner the recognition that he deserves its easy to include him on this list. Nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in 1985's "Purple Rose of Cairo" and again 20 years later in 2005's "The Squid and the Whale" Daniels has shown his lasting power. Few actors anywhere can match Daniels versatility in our view. Besides his dramatic roles Daniels has proven himself to be a fine comedic actor and is probably best known for his part as "Harry" in the comedy classic "Dumb and Dumber" It's not everyday you see an actor bounce back and forth between all the genres and still keep his performance level this high. At 55 years old, and his leading roles dwindling chances are Daniels will never get his Oscar nom, which Tin Can believes is a shame.

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7.) James Franco

Franco was possibly the hardest actor on our list to place. We wanted to bring you a list of the most talented actors currently working to never receive an Oscar nom, and in our minds Franco is one of the more talented actors you'll find on screen these days. However he hasn't had too many roles we can point to and say "He was snubbed there" Although we think he could of been nominated for his supporting role in "Milk". What stands out about Franco (much like Daniels) is his wide range of both dramatic and comedic roles. He steals the show in "Pineapple Express" and is hilarious in "Date Night." As an actor/writer/director Franco will surely be around for a long time and eventually find the role (or roles) for which the Academy will not be able to ignore.

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6.) Mark Ruffalo

Another one of our favorite actors who apparently the academy hasn't noticed yet. Ruffalo has a impressive list of roles and movies on his resume with "Zodiac", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Reservation Road", "Collateral", and this years "Shutter Island." However his best performance to date may have been in 2000's "You Can Count on Me" for which his co-star Laura Linney was nominated for Best Actress. While he has a penchant for choosing good roles, he doesn't seen to be the household name that a lot of actors on this list are. Hopefully his recent signing to play the "Bruce Banner/Hulk" role in the upcoming "Avengers" blockbuster will change that even if it isn't a Oscar type role. We'd like to see Ruffalo get a meaty leading role to show the academy his talent on full display.

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5.) Jim Carrey

We really can't explain how Carrey hasn't been nominated to this point. Our best guess is he was just so ingrained in people's minds as the "funny faces" guy that he simply can't break out of that mold completely even if he has shown us differently time and time again. How he wasn't even nominated for his performance as his hero Andy Kaufman in "Man on the Moon" is a head scratcher. While the film itself may have been a slight disappointment Carrey captured one of the most interesting entertainers of modern time perfectly. Perhaps one of the most underrated movies, and performances of our time is Jim Carrey as "Truman Burbank" in 1998's "Truman Show." Predating the success of "Survivor" and reality T.V. "The Truman Show"s tale of a world caught up in the real life actions of a normal human being seems almost prophetic and Carrey nailed it. Not to mention his teaming with Kate Winslet in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Throw in the fact that his comedic roles in "Dumb and Dumber", "Cable Guy", "Liar Liar" and "Me Myself Irene" have cemented him as one of the most underappreciated actors of our time.

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4.) Steve Buscemi

Buscemi is a guy who never got the amount of big leading roles he should of. Perhaps not blessed with the good looks or physique that you think of when talking about Hollywood leading men, Buscemi has carved out a career playing odd balls or social outcasts. Buscemi always commands attention when he's on the screen, and often steals the spotlight from the people whose names are on the poster of the movie. His facial expressions are among the best in the biz, and always convey the emotion of the moment. Perhaps his best chance at an Oscar, and one of the bigger snubs we can find on this list was his role as "Carl Showalter" in the Coen Brothers "Fargo." One of our favorite Buscemi roles was that of the non tipping "Mr Pink" in the Tarantino crime drama "Reservoir Dogs." If you missed his powerful supporting performance in last years "The Messenger" then you missed his career summarized in less than 10 minutes of screen time. Possibly best known to wide audiences as the weird looking scene stealer in comedies like "Billy Madison", "Big Daddy", "Chuck and Larry" and "The Big Lebowski." Steve Buscemi not only has been underrated by the Academy but by the film community as a whole.

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3.) Gary Oldman

While probably best known to film goers today as "Sirius Black" from the "Harry Potter" franchise or "Commissioner Gordon" in the Christopher Nolan Batman films Gary Oldman has a long and highly touted career resume. Somehow though an Oscar nomination has eluded him. While he could of easily been nominated for his part in the "The Contender", to us he will always be Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone's forever controversial "JFK". While perhaps not the most historically accurate movie ever made, "JFK" brought to life one of the biggest incidents in the history of America for a brand new generation and Oldman's lone, or not so lone assassin leaves an indelible impression. Also standouts in "Leon: The Professional", "Dracula", "Sid and Nancy", "State of Grace" and "Immortal Beloved." Oldman has made a career out of playing dark and sinister characters with a subtlety and grace that is often missing from those types. The highly thought of Brit may be overlooked by the Oscars because he has never sought out celebrity like so many, and seemingly could care less about awards and accolades. Oscar nom or not, Gary Oldman is one of the finest actors of our generation.

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2.) Sam Rockwell

Rockwell is sadly another extremely talented actor, who perhaps your average movie goer would not know by name if pressed. A full blown star on the Indy circuit though, Rockwell's best work may not have been seen by the wide audience. In films like "Box of Moonlight" and  "Lawn Dogs" Rockwell proved his chops. In "The Green Mile" Rockwell hit the big time and had a strong supporting performance as murdering psychopath "Wild Bill Wharton." Rockwell was also memorable (given not in a Oscar worthy role) in the first "Charlie Angels" film as the flashy bad guy, was also was entertaining in TinCan favorite "Matchstick Men."  He received critical praise for his role in George Clooney's "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind." In more recent years he was outstanding in "Frost/Nixon" and "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." Rockwell was also brilliant in last years overlooked Sci-Fi mind bender "Moon" in which he carries the movie as pretty much the sole actor. The wait for Rockwell however may soon becoming to an end as there is a lot of Oscar buzz about his performance in the upcoming "Conviction" opposite Hilary Swank.

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1.) Christian Bale

Unlike some actors on this list, there is no doubt that Christian Bale is a household name. I mean he is Batman AND John Connor for gods sakes. All blockbuster franchises aside, Bale is an amazing and accomplished actor with seemingly only an Oscar Nomination (or win for that matter) missing from his resume. We find it hard to believe that Bale couldn't at least muster a nod for his chilling role in "The Machinist." Although some may say his drastic weight loss (63 lbs) was a tactic done solely to gain notoriety, at the very least it showed a dedication to his craft that you won't see matched very often. With a seemingly non-stop string of memorable performances in "The Prestige", "Rescue Dawn", "The New World", "Public Enemies" and "I'm Not There" Bale has proved time and time again that he is one of the most talented leading men in Hollywood today. For our money though his best performance came in 2000's "American Pyscho" as the yuppie ax murdering "Patrick Bateman." A movie that has since became a cult classic, and will undoubtedly become thought of more highly as time passes. Bale takes us into the mind of a insane killer and we watch as his insanity grows and his actions become more and more erratic. This Welshman is always a pleasure to watch and much like our #2 guy Sam Rockwell we believe his time is coming very soon. If "The Fighter" turns out to be as good as we think it will you could see Bale not only nominated but on stage for his talents very soon.