The 2023 Academy Awards® are around the corner, and soon enough, we’ll be celebrating the biggest movies of the past year and the outstanding performances that helped bring those stories to life. Four of those actors – Colin Farrell, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Brendan Gleeson – each have a chance of taking home an Oscar® for the first time in their respective careers. And while their performances in movies like EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE and THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN are arguably the best of the year, each of those actors are more than overdue of an Oscar.
So, come with us as we break down the incredible careers of the much-deserved Oscar nominees and make a case for why their names should have been called long ago. And after that, make sure to stick around and read about AMC Theatres’ Best Picture Showcase, which is giving audiences another opportunity to check out the best 2022 movies, some of which have special $5 Fan Fave showtimes.
Colin Farrell
Despite being one of the most recognized and prolific actors of the early part of the 21st century, Colin Farrell has only received one Academy Award nomination, which was for his lauded performance in THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN. It is one of those facts that you just have to double-check because it just seems so preposterous for an actor with Farrell’s level of talent to not be recognized by the Academy all these years. Movies like IN BRUGES, which earned Farrell a Golden Globe® in 2009, THE LOBSTER, and even THE NEW WORLD have featured memorable turns by the actor, all of which could – or should – have led to at least a nomination for the star.
But maybe, just maybe Farrell will join the ranks of other actors to win an Oscar on their first nomination. He already won the Golden Globe for his portrayal of Pádraic Súilleabháin, and that could prove to be a strong indication of how things go at the upcoming ceremony. Plus, he’s more than deserving of it after bringing to life one of the most emotionally complex characters in recent memory.
Michelle Yeoh
For the better part of the past 40 years, Michelle Yeoh has been one of the most dynamic actresses, doing everything from sharing the screen – and fight scenes – with Jackie Chan to helping James Bond save the world to playing an eloquent yet strong-willed mother in one of the biggest romantic comedies of the past decade, and that’s barely scratching the surface of her career. How Yeoh has not been nominated in the past for her roles in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, or CRAZY RICH ASIANS is anyone’s guess, but it looks like the actress is finally about to get her time in the Oscars spotlight.
The clear frontrunner for Best Actress at the 2023 Academy Awards, Yeoh’s portrayal of Evelyn Wang in EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE was not only out of this world, it was out of this universe. The way in which Yeoh channeled her background in martial arts films and combined it with her dramatic abilities was nothing short of amazing, and a performance we’ll be gushing over for years, if not decades, to come.
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is one of those actresses where you are all but certain she has received an Academy Award nomination or two in the past, but oddly enough, this is the Hollywood star’s first time being considered for an Oscar. This is another one of those “That can’t be true” situations, as Curtis’ body of work is absolutely incredible, including wonderful displays of acting ability in the likes of TRADING PLACES, A FISH CALLED WANDA, and TRUE LIES. The 1995 Oscars were stacked in the Best Actress category, but there’s a case to be made for Curtis’ performance in James Cameron’s action comedy.
After years of being known as one of Hollywood’s best “scream queens,” there’s a really good chance “Academy Award-Winning Scream Queen” is added to the end of Curtis’ name following the 95th Academy Awards. The Best Supporting Actress category is one of the most stacked at the upcoming ceremony, and Curtis is one of the frontrunners thanks to her powerful and multi-faceted performance in EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE.
Brendan Gleeson
Rounding out this list of actors overdue for an Oscar is Brendan Gleeson, who, like his co-star from THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, is more than deserving of the hardware. Throughout his career, Gleeson has given stellar performances in everything from COLD MOUNTAIN to 28 DAYS LATER and GANGS OF NEW YORK to PADDINGTON 2, all of which were worthy of earning the talented and versatile actor a nomination or two. This is especially true for his take on Knuckles McGinty in the PADDINGTON sequel, as he was honestly one of the best things about the incredible family-friendly comedy adventure. But this all could change in the very near future.
Gleeson is nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 95th Academy Awards, and his portrayal of Colm Doherty could very well change his fortune. Martin McDonagh’s remarkable character-driven tragicomedy about the dissolution of a longtime friendship was made all the better thanks to Gleeson’s nuanced performance, and it could be enough for Gleeson to finally hear his name called at the big event.
