Obscure Oscar Nominees

Keshia Castle-Hughes for Whale Rider. Nobody knew who she was then, nobody knows who she is now.

I think many of the more of obscure actors (to US audiences) of the last 20 years who have snagged a nomination come via the Los Angeles film critics. They have an eye for foreign talent. Their nominations and wins for unexpected performers often results in an Oscar nomination as well. Fernanda Montenegro is one such, as well as that Colombian woman from Maria, Full of Grace.

OP- He deserved that nomination. Excellent performance!

Does Anne Ramsey's nom for Throw Momma From the Train count?

Demain Bichir is a rancid fucking actor. He deserves to go back to telenovelas.

Demian is a nice hot looking daddy.

His wife drowned herself just to get away from him.

Jonah Hill

R2 " that Colombian woman ..."

Proves my point!

R4 Who??? (yes, she counts!).

My mother was in a threesome with Anne Ramsay and Mr. Fyvush Finkle. She said she never came so hard.

R8 Jonah Hill got 2 Oscar nominations: Wolf of Wall Street and Moneyball, both for Supporting.

Janet Suzman

I know people will say "Who is that?"

There a quite a few in the supporting acting category. Here are a few: Catherine Burns Last Summer 1969 Rupert Crosse The Reivers 1969 Penelope Milford Coming Home 1978 Joe Mantel Marty 1955 Mako The Sand Pebbles 1966 Jocelyn Le Garde Hawaii 1966 Justin Henry Kramer vs Kramer 1979 Margaret Avery The Color Purple 1986

R4, I don't think Ramsey should count. She didn't exactly come out of nowhere when she did Throw Momma from a Train. It was after she did The Goonies, and that movie is (inexplicably) a sentimental favorite for eighties kids. She's probably better known for playing Mama Fratelli than for her nominated performance.

No one is more obscure, though, than Jocelyn LaGarde. She won the Globe and earned a nomination for Hawaii, which was her only acting role.

Am I really the first to say G? You can’t get more obscure than that.

[quote][R8] Jonah Hill got 2 Oscar nominations: Wolf of Wall Street and Moneyball, both for Supporting.

And he's returned to obscurity. The most publicity he's had since The Wolf Of Wall Street was around Beanie Feldstein being his sister.

The girl from Whale Rider had a kid at 16- the kid is older now than her mom was when mom was nominated.

Keisha Castle-Hughes probably expected that Game of Thrones would reinvigorate her career, but people ended up despising her character.

It's only been two years since Roma, but I'm fairly certain we're never going to hear from Yalitza Aparicio or Marina de Tavera again. At least Marina will have a career in Mexican television, but I don't think Yalitza even wants that.

The only thing Haing S. Ngor ever did after winning an Oscar was get shot in the head.

I own this thread, bitches!

Still, I have a hot boyfriend, more than 95% of you on this board will ever get.

Diane Varsi in “Peyton Place.”

Gabourey Sidibe has worked steadily since Precious.

Plus, if you're sufficiently aware of how attractive Gabourey Sidibe's boyfriend is, that's a pretty good sign that she hasn't faded into obscurity at all.

R10 Didn't I read somewhere that Yalitza Aparicio is now mopping Glenn Close's floors?

Jean Dujardin OWNS this thread, since he actually WON the Oscar.

Holy shit. That Demian Bichir guy? Never heard of him. But that photo? I want to jump his fucking bones. He is one hot man.

OP, I do a lot of thrift shopping and buy Blu-Rays. I picked up that film and was shocked to learn he was nominated for an Oscar. I had never even heard of the film.

R28 (and at least one other). It's a good movie. He gave a great performance. He deserved the nomination. He's real handsome. And if you check his IMDB credits, he has never stopped working. But most people today don't know who the fuck he is....and it wasn't even that long ago that he was nominated. (unlike Jocelyn LaGarde).

[quote]Rupert Crosse The Reivers 1969

He died of lung cancer only three years after. That puts a crimp in a career.

Harrison Ford: Oscar nominee

Damien Bechir was the husband villain on that big ass show Weeds. People know who he is. Anymore poorly thought out conclusions?

Jonah Hill is very famous with many hits. Just on that acclaimed Netflix Maniac with Emma stone. Some of you are stupid

'People know who he is."

Oh, yeah. He's a real household name: Clooney, Pacino. . .Demian Bechir. Hear people talk about him all the time. Enough already.

Catalina Sandino Moreno

I know I’m not getting Oscar nominations anymore because I can’t suck a certain producer’s dick.

Brie Larson. A 10 year old boy outacted her and he didn’t even get nominated. Thank heavens she’s been reduced to Nissan commercials.

Penelope Milford (1978)

Catherine Burns (1969)

Rosemary Harris (1994)

[quote] Jean Dujardin OWNS this thread, since he actually WON the Oscar.

No. He just went back home to France because he's more comfortable in his own language and he's a big star there and the roles are better. He was nominated for a Cesar (the French Oscar) earlier this year for the movie below.

R38. Yeah, poor Rosemary Harris, so unknown—2 Tony Awards (one for Lifetime Achievement) and 8 nominations. What a minor, obscure actress! (There are other places besides the movies.)

Massimo Troisi

Harold Russell

The Japanese woman and the Mexican woman from Babel. Supporting nominees. Can't be bothered to look them up.

I was shocked to learn Diana Scarwid was a nominee at one point.

Laurie Metcalf wasn’t obscure pre-Lady Bird, but it was her first time getting major attention for a film role. Despite the Oscar nomination, buzz, and mile-high stack of critics awards, she was pretty matter of fact about how the film did not create more opportunities for her in movies, and has not appeared in a live action feature since.

As for more genuinely obscure nominees: Penelope Milford, Leslie Browne, Lindsay Crouse.

R45 Like Mo'Nique before her, maybe Laurie shouldn't have signed on to a TV series right after the Oscar nomination. Hard to cast someone who's locked into a series for ten months out of the year. Anyway most people just think of her as what she is - a sitcom second banana. It's not like she was ever going to have a movie career as a lead.

Shohreh Aghdashloo, who was nominated for "House of Sand and Fog". Lost to Renee Zellweger, if I'm not mistaken.

I was tempted to name Mercedes Ruehl, who won for "The Fisher King", but she had worked steadily even before that movie.

I know some people here have a blinding hatred for both Jennifer Lawrence and Brie Larson, but if you think they’re obscure, that’s not a reflection on their talent or lack thereof, it’s more an admission that you’re a fucking moron.

Aghdashloo did pretty well for herself. She won an Emmy and has worked pretty consistently since her nomination.

R46, you’re right that going back to a sitcom playing the same second banana role from 25 years ago is not a great way to capitalize on an Oscar nomination. Someone a little savvier would have campaigned for another arthouse film, or a plum role in a Netflix/HBO limited series.

So much of it is branding, and the prestige an actor receives via association with “serious” film/television versus a laugh track sitcom.

Oh well, she’s laughing all the way to the bank with those fat ‘Conners’ paychecks.

I've always felt Laurie preferred the theatre anyway. There seem to be way more roles for her in TV and on the stage compared to film.

"I was shocked to learn Diana Scarwid was a nominee at one point."

Why must everything be a contest?

R46. Laurie Metcalf may be a second banana on TV (with Emmy Awards for the effort), but she is better known as an actress who has been highly praised for her stage work for four decades, including back to back Tony Awards, as well as Jeff Awards for her work with Steppenwolf. If all you do is watch TV, that says more about you than about her.

With Laurie it’s easy money doing the Conners. Like Goodman, they are auto pilot characters for them at this point. I think she prefers to flex her artistic side in the theater which has paid off with the Tony wins.

Daniel Massey

Leonard Frey

Imelda Staunton

None of those people are obscure, R54

Though I wish Imelda was.

Lynn Carlin from Faces, who is apparently still alive, and almost certainly miscredited for a role in some 2020 web series after not having a credit from the past thirty-three years.

R52 - 99% of the country can't afford a ticket to Broadway so for them she'll always just be Jackie on Roseanne. After all, it's the role she's played for half her career. Don't expect people to know she played Annie Wilkes on Broadway with Bruce Willis.

R55 = Patty LaPony

R55 I think the true test is if you ask a random person on the street if they know who they are, much less if they were an Oscar nominee. Staunton has a slight chance of being known but unlikely. They are pretty obscure. If they proved themselves with an Emmy, Tony or Grammy I wouldn’t call them obscure either.

If you show people on the street a picture of Imelda they'll know her as Umbridge from Harry Potter. They probably wouldn't know her name, or that she's been nominated for an Oscar, but they'll know who she is.

R59 Imelda was in the Harry Potter movies. If you're British, you know who she is. She's been around forever. Plus she's going to get a lot of attention with the next two seasons of The Crown. This thread is best suited to those like the dead-eyed bitch from Roma who came out of nowhere to get that role, got nominated for it and has only done three short films since.

But can they name her if you show a picture? Ok Staunton may not be the perfect example. But outside of being a movie fan, very few could name her. R61 plus I think with the actresses from Roma, you have to wait some time to see what happens to their careers. Time will tell if they fall into what one would call obscure. They were just nominated last year.

[quote]Damien Bechir was the husband villain on that big ass show Weeds. People know who he is.

Apparently you are not one of them, since his name is DEMIÁN BICHIR, not Damien Bechir.

Sr. Bichir was also the star of the excellent FX series "The Bridge."

R35 She had a recurring role on Showtime's The Affair.

Bichir is in the new Clooney movie, The Midnight Sky.

Bichir works. He was also in Hateful Eight.

[quote] But outside of being a movie fan, very few could name her.

Well one could say that about most actors. I work in the business so I know just about everyone in its. Certainly actors. However when I talk to people outside of the business, it's shocking how many actors people don't know no matter how big they are in regard to movies or awards. Yet these same people will be a big fan of some character actor from the 80s and get all excited that I worked for him for almost a decade. People lead very narrow lives.

So, yes, the average person on the street may not know who Imelda Staunton is if you showed them her photo but you'd get the same result if you showed them a photo of Gene Hackman or Chris Pratt.

R67 depends on age too. I’m 53 and worked a year ago with some twenty somethings. I threw out the name Bing Crosby because we were listening to White Christmas and they didn’t know who he was. Made me feel 103. I think if you’re 75 you could name Hackman and 25 Pratt.

I love Shoreh- she's a class act. Demian has a great sense of humor, but he does have an eye for the ladies. However he can get a little mushed mouth at times and needs to ADR a lot of his dialogue. They're both working actors, and have nothing to prove anymore.

Didn’t Demian Bichir drive his wife to suicide, allegedly?Aren’t there rumors he abused her emotionally?

Yes and yes.

Barkhad Abdi for "Captain Phillips".

Yalitza. I met her through Grindr once.

Darren Criss. I know he’s an Emmy winner and not an Oscar winner but his win really shows you that he’s nada without Ryan Murphy.

Darren should show his ass in more Murphy productions. If he does that, he will work for the rest of his life.

Actually, you could do a successful version of this thread with the Emmys. Jaime Pressley, for instance, has an Emmy.

R30 a crimp and an end to one's career and guaranteed obscurity.

Nick Adams Twilight of Honor (1963)

June Squibb Nebraska (2013)

June Squibb is possibly one of the 10 worst actors to ever receive a nomination.

That being said, she's worked constantly since Nebraska.

Virginia Madsen

Virginia Madsen is hardly obscure. She worked for nearly 25 years prior to her nomination and she's been working ever since.

R37 is one of the Republicans who pick on Brie Larson because they see her as an "SJW"

Her career is just fine.

You people are just naming stars you don't like. Just because you don't like Jonah Hill doesn't mean he's obscure

Bichir just released a statement about his wife's death- said she was on anti-depressants and sleep medications:

If I had to constantly lie to my husband and tell him he was a good actor, I'd be on every drug known to man.

Gladys George, Valiant is the Word For Carrie

I think even a lot of film buffs probably wouldn't know this one

Colette Marchand, Moulin Rouge

Joan Lorring, The Corn is Green

Jack Wild - Oliver

Peter Firth - Equus

[QUOTE] Gladys George, Valiant is the Word For Carrie

I actually just saw this movie for the first time recently. For years, I had misread her name as “Gladys Cooper.”

Fernanda Montenegro - Central Station 1998 Best Actress

Ann Sothern - The Whales of August & Norma Aleandro - Gaby: A True Story 1987 Best Supporting Actress

Diane Ladd being nominated two consecutive years for Best Supporting Actress in 1990 & 1991 for Wild At Heart and Rambling Rose, respectively.

Mare Winningham - Georgia 1995 Best Supporting Actress

Marianne Jean-Baptiste - Secrets & Lies 1996 Best Supporting Actress

Hey dipshits! I won and I'm a Datalounge LEGEND! Who stole my ciggies?

Jaye Davidson

Stuart Erwin for Pigskin Parade

Mare Winningham and Diane Ladd are not obscure Oscar nominees.

And Ladd was also nominated in 1974. I love her because she acts pissed off every time she loses and doesn’t do the whole smile and clap shtick.

June Squibb is who the supporting category used to be for. Solid working/character actors. Also she works quite regularly.

Some of the others are odd

Rosemary Harris was in the early aughts blockbuster Spider-Man movies, not exactly obscure.

Ann Sothern was a well known TV actress and had some form of celebrity for nearly 50 years before her nomination

Nick Adams was well known in the 50s and 60s and was in some pretty big movies before his Oscar nod.

Marianne Jean Baptiste was one of the stars of a popular tv series in America for years.

Though not well known here, Norma aleandro is an icon in South America.

BICHIR is single now. All the Bichir brothers are rumored Bisexuals.

[quote] r14 There are quite a few in the supporting acting category... Catherine Burns "Last Summer" (1969)

R96 She also appeared in Me, Natalie (1969) with Patty Duke. Thanks for the info.

[R37] Brie Larsen was brilliant in that movie. Get some taste.

So what’s the point of this OP? This has become mostly about artists of colour from countries other than America. The Academy occasionally recognizes those who don’t have the Hollywood hype machine behind them. So? Are we supposed to feel sorry for them and their careers built on talent and hard work?

r98/r99 is so unpleasant that I enjoyed blocking her. I bet she douches with pickle juice.

R89, no one in your list is the least bit obscure.

Would Sally Kirkland be considered obscure? I know she is a DL legend but outside of the small circle of gay men who recognize her, do most people even know who she was?