An Academy Award nomination is among the highest and most coveted honors that an actor in the film industry can aspire to achieve. Every year, thousands of actors deliver performances across countless movies worldwide, many of which are exceptional. Yet, only 20 performances each year receive an Oscar nomination.
Consequently, it is a remarkable achievement for a movie to earn any acting Oscar nods, let alone several—and it is an incredibly rare occurrence for a film to receive a nomination in every acting category. Only 15 movies throughout history have achieved this immense feat, ten of which are arguably among the strongest films ever nominated for acting Oscars.
10
‘Coming Home’ (1978)
Image via United Artists
Hal Ashby‘s romance war drama <em>Coming Home</em> may not be regarded as one of the best war films of the New Hollywood movement, but it is an incredibly underappreciated film that garnered eight Academy Award nominations. These included Best Supporting Actor for Bruce Dern, Supporting Actress for Penelope Milford, a Best Actor win for Jon Voight, and a Best Actress win for Jane Fonda.
As one of the best Vietnam War movies nominated for Best Picture, Coming Home excels for numerous reasons, not least of which is its cast. The performances are powerful and filled with raw emotion, particularly highlighting Fonda’s transformative turn and Voight’s psychologically intense work.
9
‘Silver Linings Playbook’ (2012)
Image via TWC
Before his reputation and popularity declined, David O. Russell was an Oscar darling throughout the 2010s. With eight nominations, Silver Linings Playbook remains Russell’s second most Oscar-nominated movie to date and one of the most nominated films at the 2013 Academy Awards. These nominations included Best Actor for Bradley Cooper, Supporting Actor for Robert De Niro, Supporting Actress for Jacki Weaver, and a Best Actress win for Jennifer Lawrence.
Fittingly, Silver Linings Playbook is both one of the best romantic dramedies of the 2010s and one of Jennifer Lawrence’s most essential films. The movie became the first film since 1981 to earn nominations in all four acting categories, a well-deserved achievement. Each actor delivers top-tier performances, with Lawrence giving what may be the most powerful and complex performance of her entire career.
8
‘From Here to Eternity’ (1953)
Image via Columbia Pictures
A quintessential romance war drama of the 20th century, Fred Zinnemann‘s From Here to Eternity, based on James Jones‘ 1951 novel, was nominated for an impressive 13 Academy Awards, winning eight. These nominations included Best Picture, Best Actor for both Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster, Actress for Deborah Kerr, Supporting Actor win for Frank Sinatra, and Supporting Actress win for Donna Reed.
The performances are commanding and fiery, with each actor making a significant impact on screen. Reed and Sinatra transformed their star personas in Golden-Age Hollywood with their incredible performances, while the rest of the cast also delivered phenomenal work. Overall, From Here to Eternity is nearly perfect in every aspect, with its performances being one of its strongest elements.
7
‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ (1967)
Stanley Kramer’s romantic dramedy‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’, released in 1967, stands out as a groundbreaking classic that positively depicted interracial marriage at a time when such representations were rare. The film garnered ten Oscar nominations including Best Actor for<strong Spencer Tracy, Supporting Actor forCecil Kellaway, Supporting Actress forBeah Richards, and a Best Actress win for legendaryKatharine Hepburn.
Katharine Hepburn remains the only performer to have won four acting Oscars, and her win here was as deserved as all her others. However, this does not diminish the excellence displayed by the rest of the cast or the film itself. The actors deliver a masterful representation of naturalistic acting that emerged in Hollywood post-Golden Age, making this film a masterclass in subtext and dialogue writing.
The ’70s and ’80s were transformative decades for actors transitioning into directors, withWarren Beatty’s‘Reds’, his second feature film as director, standing out as one of the best cinematic epics from that era. Beatty received a nomination for Best Actor whileDiane Keaton,
Jack Nicholson,
andMaureen Stapleton received nominations as well.
This film showcases unparalleled ambition that Beatty spent over a decade crafting. Released during the Cold War’s peak,‘Reds’is politically sharp and structurally brilliant while benefiting from some of the rawest human performances seen in ’80s Hollywood.
Sunset Boulevard
- Release Date:
- August 10, 1950
- Runtime:
- 110 minutes
- Director:
- Billy Wilder
- Writers:
- Charles Brackett,
Billy Wilder,
D.M. Marshman Jr. -
Gloria Swanson
Norma Desmond
