If any film actor worth their salt put together a true, never-leaked-to-the-press bucket list, on that list would be an Oscar. And as we find out every year, a few of them get to have that wish, but as there are only four acting Oscars, some of them, whether out of artistic curiosity or being tired of losing (cough Glenn Close cough) try their luck at other categories. We’re used to the likes of Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, and Brad Pitt scoring their Oscars in directing or producing fields, but I was looking the other day, and there are other categories that have nominated movie stars that you might not know about. I’ve detailed eleven instances of people whom you may not have known got Oscar nominations that in-fact did:
1959
Nominee: Peter Sellers
Film: The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film
Category: Live Action Short Film
Plot: The film, from what I can tell (for the record, I’m basing these pieces on Wikipedia and IMDB pages, as I’ve only seen one of these films) is just a series of gags and comic bits starring the incomparable Sellers. The film was also directed by Richard Lester, who would famously go on to direct the Beatles in the madcap A Hard Day’s Night.
The Rest of the Oscar Story: Sellers would go on to get two more nominations after losing this award to Jacques Cousteau. In 1964, for playing the title character in Dr. Strangelove (he lost to Rex Harrison) and for his work as Chance in Being There (losing to Dustin Hoffman). Sellers would never win an Oscar.
1968
Nominee: John Astin
Film: Prelude
Category: Live Action Short Film
Plot: Some saint someday will decide to put all of the Oscar-nominated ahort films into a giant box set and I shall spend weeks indulging and writing OVP articles, but in the meantime, I have no idea what Prelude, which also stars Astin, is about (the comments are right there for our film aficionados).
The Rest of the Oscar Story: Astin would be known almost exclusively as a television actor in the years since, best remembered as Gomez Addams on The Addams Family. Astin lost this category to legendary documentary filmmaker Charles Guggenheim (who would score nine nominations and three wins throughout his career).
1975Nominee: Shirley MacLaine
Film: The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir
Category: Documentary Feature Film
Plot: A documentary on mainland China, MacLaine made her debut as a director for this film, which she also narrated, wrote, and produced. Oddly, despite its success at getting an AMPAS nomination, MacLaine would wait 28 years before she would direct another movie.
The Rest of the Oscar Story: At this point, MacLaine was already a three-time Best Actress nominee for Some Came Running, The Apartment, and Irma la Douce. She would go on to be nominated again for The Turning Point and finally win for Terms of Endearment. You can find out more about MacLaine’s legendary career with Oscar here and here.
1976
Nominee: Dyan Cannon
Film: Number One
Category: Live Action Short
Plot: IMDB (if it’s to be believed) has a pretty detailed look into this film, about a group of teenagers who discover the birds-and-the-bees in a boys’ bathroom, and then have to discuss the incident with their parents, who take different approaches to the subject. It sounds a bit after-school-special, and also unlike anything that would be nominated today when this category usually heads for heavier subject matter.
The Rest of the Oscar Story: Cannon was already an Oscar-nominated actress at the time, having been nominated for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (losing to Goldie Hawn…a year after losing Cary Grant). She lost this particular Oscar to Peter Werner, who gained most of his fame as a TV movie director. Cannon would go on to get very close to an Oscar win in 1978 for her nominated performance in Heaven Can Wait(she would win the Golden Globe), but ultimately lose to Maggie Smith in California Suite.
1992
Nominee: Kenneth Branagh
Film: Swan Song
Category: Live Action Short
Plot: Like almost all of Branagh’s work, this film has its origins in the stage. The film is a one-act play based on the work by Anton Chekov.
The Rest of the Oscar Story: Branagh is one of the oddest stories in Academy history, having lost the Oscar in five different categories (he’s the only person who has done this and never won for any of them). Aside from this category (which he lost to the French comedy Omnibus), he also was nominated for starring in and directing Henry V (losing to Daniel Day-Lewis and Oliver Stone, respectively), writing Hamlet (he lost to Billy Bob Thornton), and playing his hero, Laurence Olivier, in My Week with Marilyn (losing to Christopher Plummer).
1994
Nominee: Sean Astin
Film: Kangaroo Court
Category: Live Action Short
Plot: I can find little about this film, though I do know that he directed the movie with his wife, and they lost the award in one of the only ties in Academy history, and was nominated alongside another actor (the mid-90’s were a gold mine of actors winning nominations in non-acting categories).
The Rest of the Oscar Story: Astin would go on seven years later to have the role of his career in the multi-nominated Lord of the Rings, playing Samwise Gamgee (Astin would win awards for the role, but not an Oscar nomination). Since then he’s worked in a number of smaller projects in film and television, but Oscar has not called. It’s worth noting that his mother is an Oscar-winner (Patty Duke), as is his stepfather John Astin.
1994
Nominee: JoBeth Williams
Film: On Hope
Category: Live Action Short
Plot: Based on a short story by Lynn Mamet (sister of David Mamet), I can find no information about the film except for its impressive list of actors who star in it, including Annette O’Toole, Mercedes Ruehl, Jill Eikenberry, and Veronica Cartwright.
The Rest of the Oscar Story: A major film star in the early 1980’s in movie such as Poltergeist and The Big Chill, this was Williams’ only Oscar nomination, though she’s enjoyed nominations at the Emmys and Golden Globes. She’s currently president of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.
1995
Nominee: Christine Lahti
Film: Lieberman in Love
Category: Live Action Short
Plot: Based on a short story by W.P. Kinsella, I cannot find a plot, but I do recall that the author had no idea the film had been made, and got an apology afterwards. Lahti’s film starred herself, as well as Danny Aiello, Beth Grant, and Nancy Travis.
The Rest of the Oscar Story: Lahti had lost eleven years earlier for her work in Swing Shift (losing to Peggy Ashcroft). She managed the win here, taking her only Oscar to date; since then she’s been a mainstay on shows like Chicago Hope, and won an Emmy and (quite famously while she was in the bathroom) a Golden Globe.
1995
Nominee: Jeff Goldblum
Film: Little Surprises
Category: Live Action Short
Plot: Again, I can tell it was about a wedding (that box set, AMPAS, would pay for itself), and know it has a relatively famous cast with Julie Harris, Kelly Preston, and Rod Steiger amongst the cast.
The Rest of the Oscar Story: Goldblum has starred in some of the biggest motion pictures of all-time (including Jurassic Park, Independence Day, and The Lost World), but he’s never competed for an Oscar in the years since, though he was cited for a Golden Globe for his guest work on Will and Grace.
2009
Nominee: Fisher Stevens
Film: The Cove
Category: Documentary Feature
Plot: I’ve actually seen this one, as have many of you, I’m guessing! The film is about the abhorrent practices of killing dolphins in Japan. The film was a major player at Sundance that year, and made over $1 million at the box office (a coup for a documentary).
The Rest of the Oscar Story: The one-time star of Early Edition and Short Circuit, Stevens principally works behind the camera these days-this is his only Oscar nomination (and, in this case, win) to date.
Those are eleven that I found-can you think of others? And which person on this list most surprised you with their citation?
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