As awards season has entered full swing, many are looking ahead to the Oscars to figure out who will win the top prizes of the film industry. The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards were just revealed a short while ago, and as with every year, there are a number of snubs and surprises found within the nominations.
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The Academy does not always get the nominations right, let alone the winners from time to time. Over the course of its long history, the Academy has snubbed plenty of actor performances that baffles viewers. It causes even more of a controversy if the snubbed performance is an actor's best of their career.
10 Amy Adams' Snub Left The Entire Industry Shocked
Arrival

Arrival follows a linguist (Amy Adams) who is hired by the military to communicate with aliens after a number of alien spacecraft come to Earth. The film stars Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner and was nominated for eight Academy Awards in 2017 including Best Picture.
One of the biggest snubs in history, Adams was left off the nominations despite picking up nominations for other major awards during the season. It is arguably Adams' best performance to date, and it left many in the industry shocked. The Oscars website even mistakenly listed Adams as a nominee the morning of the nominations, but quickly changed it and apologized.
9 Andrew Garfield Was A Scene-Stealer
The Social Network

The Social Network tells the story of Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and his founding of Facebook while attending Harvard. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards and is frequently cited as one of the best films of the 2010s.
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Up-and-coming actor Andrew Garfield plays Eduardo Saverin, a co-founder of Facebook who was eventually squeezed out of the company. Garfield has a number of memorable scenes in the film and often steals the scene from Eisenberg, who was nominated for Best Actor. He also utters the most iconic line from the film: "You better lawyer up asshole."
8 Charlize Theron Played A Dominant, Demanding Role As Furiosa
Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road was released in 2015 and brought back original Mad Max director George Miller. Max Rockatansky teams up with Imperator Furiosa to take on Immortan Joe and his army. The pair must protect Immortan Joe's five wives, one of who is pregnant, after Furiosa helps them escape his clutches.
The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won six, which was the most of the Oscars that year. Shockingly, Theron was not nominated for an acting award, despite being heavily praised for her performance. She called the movie the most demanding of her career and made quite a transformation, and normally the Academy rewards that.
7 Toni Colette Gave A Commanding Performance In A Modern Horror Classic
Hereditary

Hereditary was a surprise hit when it was released in 2018, following the Graham family as they are haunted by strange circumstances while they grieve the recent loss of their grandmother. Unfortunately, the film did not receive any Oscar nominations.
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One thing everyone could agree on was Toni Colette's performance as Annie, the matriarch of the Graham family. Many cite the dining table scene as where Colette's performance comes out in full force. It is difficult for horror films to get Oscar nominations, but many thought the Academy made a mistake not nominating Colette.
6 Jennifer Lopez's Career-Best Work Picked Up Major Awards Nominations Except An Oscar
Hustlers

Hustlers follows a group of strippers from New York City who begin to steal money from their clients after the financial crisis of 2008 hits. The film stars Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Keke Palmer and Julia Stiles. While it did not get any Oscar nominations, many were surprised Lopez missed out on an acting nomination.
Lopez's performance in the film was widely praised, with many saying it was her career-best work. She picked up nominations for other major awards in 2020, such as a Golden Globe and SAG Award for supporting actress, which many thought was a precursor to an Oscar nomination.
5 Jake Gyllenhaal Immersed Himself Into The Character Of Lou Bloom
Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, a con man who becomes a stringer (freelance journalist) in Los Angeles. As he does more and more work, mostly of violent crimes, he begins to tamper with crime scenes in order to get the best kind of footage. It received one Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
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Gyllenhaal's performance got widespread acclaim, with many saying his character was a "charming sociopath." His role as Lou was compared to Robert DeNiro's in Taxi Driver, as he had a creepy element within the character. The Academy just did not seem to agree and Gyllenhaal was left out on nomination day.
4 Lupita Nyong'o Had A Dual Role In Jordan Peele's Sophomore Directorial Outing
Us

Us was director Jordan Peele's follow-up to Get Out, which was nominated for 4 Academy Awards in 2018. The Wilson family's beach house vacation is upended when they cross paths with the Tethered, their evil doppelgängers, who begin to terrorize them. Star Lupita Nyong'o has a dual role in the film, as Adelaide and her Tethered doppelgänger Red.
Nyong'o anchored the film from the side of the hero as well as the villain. Her two distinct performances were praised, especially given the film's twist ending. Once again, a horror film had trouble getting attention from the Academy, despite her performance being praised by the New York Film Critics Circle Awards as the best of the year.
3 Lady Gaga Was Headed For A Sure-Fire Nomination Until It Came To A Screeching Halt
House Of Gucci
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House of Gucci tells the story of Patrizia Reggiani, who meets Maurizio Gucci and their marriage significantly changes the fight for control of the Gucci business. Directed by Ridley Scott, the film stars Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, and Al Pacino.
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Lady Gaga picked up a nomination for every major award during the awards season of 2022 but shockingly did not get an Oscar nomination. It was well-documented how much work she put into the role, and went full-on method acting for the film as she never broke character. The film itself surprisingly only had one Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup & Hairstyling.
2 Michael Fassbender Could Have Gotten A Nomination If Not For The Controversial Subject Material
Shame

Shame follows Brandon Sullivan, a sex addict living in New York City, whose life begins to slowly fall apart after he gets an unwelcomed visit from his troubled sister, Sissy. The film stars Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan as Brandon and Sissy, respectively. The film's depiction of sex addiction and mature themes earned it an NC-17 rating in the United States.
This NC-17 ultimately hurt the film's success, as the studio did not make any cuts to get it down to an R-rating. Fassbender gave the best performance of his career, picking up a Golden Globe and BAFTA nomination, but could not garner an Oscar nod — possibly due to the subject matter of the film and the fact that it likely did not reach a wide audience due to its rating.
1 Sean Astin's Samwise Gamgee Was The Emotional Backbone Of An Entire Trilogy
The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the best ever made and was an Oscars darling, garnering thirty nominations and seventeen wins. The films tell the story of the Fellowship of the Ring, and how Frodo Baggins is tasked with destroying the One Ring to defeat Sauron and his dark forces of Middle-Earth.
Frodo is aided by his friend Samwise Gamgee, played by Sean Astin. Sam is the emotional backbone of the entire trilogy and has several moments to shine in all three films. Astin was unable to get a nomination from the Academy, as Ian McKellen was the only actor in the cast to get an Oscar nomination for their performance in the series.
NEXT: 10 Oscar-Winning Films That Aged Poorly