Some accomplished Hollywood players have been consistently passed over by the Academy. Edward G. Robinson was never nominated, despite a number of estimable roles in such films as Little Caesar and Key Largo, and despite considerable range, excelling in playing men on both sides of the law, like his detective in Double Indemnity.

All the winners of major critics groups who have failed to receive the Academy's recognition probably deserved nomination. The most conspicuous omissions among performers, all cited by the New York Film Critics, include: Greta Garbo in Anna Karenina, Ida Lupino in The Hard Way, Tallulah Bankhead in Lifeboat, Ralph Richardson in Breaking the Sound Barrier, Liv Ullmann in Cries and Whispers and Scenes from a Marriage.

The year of 2001 also saw the failure of two directors to receive a nomination for their Best Picture nominees. In the Bedroom secured five nominations (three of which for its actors), but left its novice helmer, Todd Field, in the cold.

In 1995, although their films were cited in several categories, directors Ron Howard (Apollo 13) and Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility) came up empty-handed.

When Marisa Tomei was nominated in 2001 for a second Supporting Actress for In the Bedroom, her agents and friends hoped she would win–and finally live down one of Oscar's biggest myths. Since her win, Tomei gas been dogged by talk that presenter Jack Palance had read the wrong name at the podium.