TOP 50 GREATEST OSCAR SNUBED ACTING PERFORMANCES: 2000-2016

Well, the Oscar race 2018 has just begun and guess what? I decided to list the best 50 acting performances that ended up snubed by the AMPAS.

Sometimes delivering a great performance isn't enough for Oscar voters... You need a good "Oscary" movie, an Oscar campaign and a lot of support from precursor awards so you can have enough visibility... And there are times an Oscar nomination doesn't happen and you just don't know why! (Well, there are more competitive years than others, for sure, but let's not forget those overrated performances!).
These acting performances are true acting gems that didn't win a spot between the Oscar nominees shortlists neither in my top 50, so let's call them my 7 honorable mentions:

• Gene Hackman - The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
• Carmen Maura - Volver (2006)
• Tom Hardy - Bronson (2008)
• Abbie Cornish - Bright Star (2009)
• Adepero Oduye - Pariah (2011)
• Nicole Kidman - The Paperboy (2012)
• Annette Bening - 20th Century Women (2016)

Please note that Andy Serkis' performance in the LOTR trilogy (2001-2003) and Scarlett Johansson's turn in Her (2013) were not eligible and the same applies to other motion capture performances and voice-only performances in film.
Here I present you my top 50 best performances ordered by year:

Björk - Dancer in the Dark (2000)

Gary Oldman - The Contender (2000)

Mark Ruffalo - You Can Count On Me (2000)

Audrey Tautou - Amélie (2001)

Naomi Watts - Mulholland Drive (2001)

Michelle Pfeiffer - White Oleander (2002)

Scarlett Johansson - Lost in Translation (2003)

Gael García Bernal - Bad Education (2004)

Nicole Kidman - Birth (2004)

Paul Giamatti - Sideways (2004)

Russell Crowe - Cinderella Man (2005)

Scarlett Johansson - Match Point (2005)

Shirley MacLaine - In Her Shoes (2005)

Viggo Mortensen - A History of Violence (2005)

Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Jack Nicholson - The Departed (2006)

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed (2006)

Ulrich Mühe - The Lives of the Others (2006)

Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart (2007)

Emile Hirsch - Into the Wild (2007)

Paul Dano - There Will Be Blood (2007)

Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino (2008)

Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

Tilda Swinton - Julia (2008)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - (500) Days of Summer (2009)

Julianne Moore - A Single Man (2009)

Tahar Rahim - A Prophet (2009)

Andrew Garfield - The Social Network (2010)

Ryan Gosling - Blue Valentine (2010)

Elizabeth Olsen - Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - 50/50 (2011)

Kirsten Dunst - Melancholia (2011)

Michael Fassbender - Shame (2011)

Vanessa Redgrave - Coriolanus (2011)

Marion Cotillard - Rust and Bone (2012)

Michael B. Jordan - Fruitvale Station (2013)

Adèle Exarchopoulos - Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)

Greta Gerwig - Frances Ha (2013)

Oscar Isaac - Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips (2013)

David Oyelowo - Selma (2014)

Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler (2014)

Jessica Chastain - A Most Violent Year (2014)

Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Scarlett Johansson - Under the Skin (2014)

Idris Elba - Beasts of No Nation (2015)

Jane Fonda - Youth (2015)

Adam Driver - Paterson (2016)

Greta Gerwig - 20th Century Women (2016)

Hayley Squires - I, Daniel Blake (2016)