The Oscar season is finally here, and major players like The Fabelmans and Everything Everywhere All at Once will dominate the race. On the acting side, overdue actors like Michelle Yeoh and Angela Bassett might win their first Oscars, making this one of the most exciting seasons in years.
The acting winners at the Oscars are the ceremony's flashiest and most memorable part. However, some Oscar-winning actors aren't as memorable. Whether because of the roles that gave them the win or their lack of current projects, these talented performers and their Oscar triumphs are more forgettable than some of their more famous peers.
10 Marcia Gay Harden
The 2000 Best Supporting Actress race was the stuff of pundits' dreams. Kate Hudson won the Golden Globe, Judi Dench won SAG, Julie Walters won BAFTA, and Frances McDormand won the Critics Choice. Many expected the winner to be one of these four — certainly not Marcia Gay Harden, who had not been nominated anywhere for her performance in Pollock. Yet, the Academy Award went to her in what many considered an upset.
After her unexpected win, Harden's career received a considerable and much-needed boost, and she received another Oscar nomination for Clint Eastwood's 2003 neo-noir crime drama Mystic River. However, few people might remember she won the Oscar, especially because Pollock has largely faded from everyone's memory.
9 Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton's rise to fame was sudden. After rising to prominence with 1992's One False Move, Thornton starred and wrote 1996's Sling Blade, winning the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and receiving a Best Actor nomination.
It's easy to forget about Sling Blade, especially considering Thornton's career would explode after it, thanks to films like Armageddon and Bad Santa and shows like Goliath and Fargo. Thornton's Oscar is also somewhat forgettable because it wasn't for acting, which is where mainstream audiences usually place Thornton.
8 Dianne Wiest
Modern audiences might know Dianne Wiest as one of cinema's most prolific and recognizable character actresses. Known for her soft voice and kind face, Wiest has played maternal roles in memorable films like Edward Scissorhands and Practical Magic.
However, it might come as a surprise to many to know that Wiest has not only one but two Oscars. She won Best Supporting Actress in 1986 for Hannah and Her Sisters and again in 1994 for Bullets Over Broadway. In between her wins, she received another nomination for her supporting role in 1989's Parenthood.
7 Tommy Lee Jones
Like Wiest, Tommy Lee Jones is well-known to audiences for playing a specific type of character. He became an A-lister playing stoic and tough men in films like Men in Black and The Client. Curiously, Jones has also played memorable roles for both DC and Marvel: Two-Face in 1995's Batman Forever and Chester Phillips in Captain America: The First Avenger.
Jones is an Oscar winner for his supporting role in 1993's The Fugitive, playing the detective in charge of hunting down Harrison Ford. Jones already had a nomination for 1991's JFK and received two more for his roles in In the Valley of Elah and Lincoln.
6 Geena Davis
Geena Davis is one of the most iconic actresses of the late '80s and early '90s. She starred in iconic films like A League of Their Own and Thelma & Louise, receiving an Oscar nomination for the latter. However, Davis was already an Oscar winner when she starred in those films.
The actress won the 1990 Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the 1989 romantic drama The Accidental Tourist. Not many remember her win, mainly because her category included far more memorable performances, including Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl and Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons, both of whom were arguably worthier.
5 James Coburn
One of the great actors best known for his Western roles, James Coburn, starred in many of the genre's most iconic films, including The Magnificent Seven and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Despite his long and prolific career, Coburn never received any Oscar recognition until 1998, when his performance in the neo-noir crime drama Affliction earned him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Coburn's Oscar win was somewhat surprising, mainly because he hadn't won anything before it. The Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and Critics Choice snubbed him, and he lost SAG to Robert Duvall for A Civil Action.
4 Mary Steenburgen
Nowadays, Mary Steenburgen is known for playing mother to many middle-aged men and women, from Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal to Mackenzie Davis in Happiest Season. However, the actress has a long and rich career dating back to the late '70s.
Steenburgen won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her scene-stealing role in Jonathan Demme's comedy-drama Melvin and Howard. The actress received numerous other accolades and nominations throughout her career, but her Oscar-winning role has largely been forgotten. It's a shame because it's vibrant, spirited, and among the most refreshing wins in the category's history.
3 Mira Sorvino
Mira Sorvino, daughter of prolific actor Paul Sorvino, rose to prominence in the early '90s. For her performance in the 1995 comedy Mighty Aphrodite, Sorvino won the 1996 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, along with a Golden Globe.
Unfortunately, Sorvino's career was derailed by infamous and disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein after rejecting his sexual advancements. Still, the actress kept working throughout the '90s and 2000s, although the A-list success hinted at after her Oscar win never materialized, mainly due to Weinstein's pernicious influence.
2 Jeremy Irons
The '80s and '90s were incredible for Jeremy Irons. The actor starred in numerous acclaimed projects on screen and the stage, building a reputation as an intense, reliable, and versatile actor. However, he was prone to playing dark characters, including in his Oscar-winning turn as Claus Von Bülow in the 1990 thriller Reversal of Fortune.
Irons then built a reputation for playing villains, appearing in iconic films like Die Hard with a Vengeance and The Lion King. Nowadays, Irons is among Hollywood's most respected actors. While many might assume he has an Oscar — after all, he is a British thespian — mainstream audiences might not remember the film he won for or the year of his victory.
1 Kim Basinger
Following a brief stint as a model, Kim Basinger began her film career in the '80s, achieving international fame by playing Domino Petachi in the Bond-adjacent film Never Say Never Again. She achieved further success with her performances in the drama The Natural, the erotic thriller 9 1/2 Weeks, and the superhero film Batman.
Basinger's career waned in the early 90s, but she made a high-profile return to the mainstream with her supporting performance in Curtis Hanson's L.A. Confidential. Still, 1997 is best-remembered as the year of Titanic, and as one of the few non-Titanic wins, Basinger's triumph has become lost in the aether.