5 Days Until Oscar. 5 Timer Men
Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at 10:00AM 
Jimmy Stewart holding the wrong number of fingers up for our exercise!We're so close to the big show. Voting ends TODAY. And then it's all over but the big night (and recapping and contemplating celebratory madness). For today's trivia item with the number 5, a random sampling of men... stepping away from the ladies for a minute. (gasp)
Five time male winners
John Barry (composer, Dances with Wolves, Out of Africa, Born Free, etc)
Johnny Green (composer on lots of musicals)
Fred Hynes (sound on lots of musicals)
Dennis Murren (visual fx: Terminator 2, Innerspace, The Abyss, etc)
Edward Selzer (animated short films: Speedy Gonzalez, Sylvester & Tweety shorts, etc)
Lyle Wheeler (art direction: The King and I, The Robe, The Diary of Anne Frank, etc)
John Williams (composer: Star Wars, Schindler's List, etc)
Francis Ford Coppola (writer/director/producer: The Godfather, etc)
Actoriffic-ness after the jump.
Which five time male acting nominee is your favorite?
Gary Cooper (2 wins, 1901-1961)
Daniel Day-Lewis (3 wins)
Leonardo DiCaprio (1 win)
Albert Finney (He's never won so where is his honorary?)
Morgan Freeman (1 win)
Gene Hackman (2 wins)
Tom Hanks (2 wins)
Arthur Kennedy (1914-1990)
Fredric March (2 wins, 1897-1975)
Paul Muni (1 win, 1895-1967, *some people argue that he has six nods due to a write-in situation in 1935, similar to Bette Davis's situation in 1934 which makes her Oscar record 10 or 11 nominations)
Gregory Peck (1 win, 1 honorary, 1916-2003)
Sean Penn (2 wins)
James Stewart (1 win, 1 honorary, 1908-1997)
Lots of giants here. Of these men I'd argue that Fredric March is the most weirdly undervalued today despite a long career of strong performances. My personal favorites: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and Executive Suite (1954)
Who do you think will join the 5 time acting nominees the soonest?
These still working actors are currently stuck at 4: Ed Harris (last nominated for The Hours, 2002), Anthony Hopkins (last nominated for Amistad, 1997), William Hurt (last nominated for A History of Violence, 2005), Ben Kingsley (last nominated for House of Sand and Fog, 2003), Geoffrey Rush (last nominated for The King's Speech, 2010), Jon Voight (last nominated for Ali, 2001).
Hmmm. Perhaps one of the 3 time in-demand acting nominees like Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, and Christian Bale will receive two more nods sooner?
Reader Comments (32)
Your initial list baffled me. Why? I assumed you meant actors who were nominated five times in the lead category. Hence my confusion on Denzel's exclusion.
Okay.
Ed Harris potential bid in 2017: mother!
Anthony Hopkins potential bid in 2017: Nothing. Last thing that could even be called a "bid" was 2014's Noah.
William Hurt potential bid in 2017: Nothing. No, I'm not counting that Sean McNamara film.
Ben Kingsley potential bid in 2017: War Machine by David Michod.
Geoffrey Rush potential bid in 2017: Final Portrait by Stanley Tucci.
Jon Voight potential bid in 2017: Nothing.
Brad Pitt potential bid in 2017: War Machine
Javier Bardem potential bids in 2017: mother! and Escobar
Matt Damon potential bids in 2017: Downsizing and Suburbicon
Bradley Cooper potential bid in 2017: Nothing. Might not be back in a race until 2021 or 2022. (4 straight Marvel movies.)
Christian Bale potential bid in 2017: Hostiles. I wish Song to Song was possible, but, well, they ignored Brad Pitt in Tree of Life in 2011, so actors still seem dismissive of Malick's style with actors.
/3rtful -- yeah, i wasn't talking about actors with 6 or more nominations (Denzel and the other 14 kings of Oscar) but 5 nominations only.
Favorite - Day-Lewis. Although at times I've quite enjoyed Gary Cooper.
Next to 5 - Tough one. I'll guess Rush or Bale.
And Kenneth Branagh has been nominated in five different categories: Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay and Live-Action Short Film.
As for my favourites of the people nominated 5, and only 5, times?
Frederic March, Morgan Freeman and ESPECIALLY James Stewart (the only one of these men who I'd say is DEFINITELY under-nominated).
Least Favourite: Gregory Peck. Very one note actor to have gotten to that many citations.
Nathaniel -- I'm thinking of five nods in the Best Actor category. De Niro and Washington both have five nods in the category and seven nods overall for acting.
Gene Hackman, Tom Hanks, Sean Penn
Hopefully, Ed Harris.
How great was William Hurt's nom for A History of Violence.
Day-Lewis or Stewart, though I agree-March is undervalued.
I can't tell if Cooper was a Russell Crowe situation and he never makes it back again, or if he has more in him to become a pet. Admittedly Crowe won and Cooper didn't (and Cooper seems more personally affable, which also counts for something), but it feels like they are similar in a way.
I'm going to guess a three-time nominee you didn't list gets there next: Mark Ruffalo. He feels like the sort of actor who continually nabs citations and seems very much still in the "AMPAS-friendly zone."
Of these, Finney is my favorite. My favorite actor ever, actually. He needs to get his honorary soon. He should have two--for Murder On the Orient Express and Erin Brockovich. I also have always had a hard time shaking that he should have won for Under the Volcano, despite Abraham's terrific tour-de-force.
I also must stand for Peck. I know he doesn't have a great reputation among historians, but he's just so damn good. And nobody plays Peck better than Peck. JMO.
Favourite: Leo
Least favourite: Sean Penn #ByeFelicia
Although, if we're talking *best*, then I would go with DDL. DiCaprio actually namedropped DDL (and Tom Courtenay and Gary Oldman) in his BAFTA acceptance speech, which I thought was a classy touch.
btw, I don't know the right place to post this, but Trafalgar Square in central London is screening Asghar Farhadi THE SALESMAN on Sunday for free, if anyone's interested. I'm definitely going along; I really want to watch it but didn't want to pay (independent cinemas in London charge an arm and a leg), so this is perfect timing!
For a while it seems as if Hanks easily would amass at least 7-8 nominations, but if the Academy didn't bite with his last couple of years of work in baity movies, then I won't be surprised if he stays at 4.
Most of the "old guard" actors currently at 4 either don't work or aren't visible enough to increase their totals, so I assume that the likes of Cooper and Bale will make it there first. And although he's only at 2 now, I wouldn't count out someone unexpected like Jonah Hill to creep up there. Clearly, the voters fancy him.
I can't name a favorite among those five-timers (but definitely Penn and Day-Lewis from the contemporary gents), so let's go with my least favorites: DiCaprio (diminishing returns), Kennedy (least familiar), Muni (dated acting style + least familiar).
I think Bale could make it to five soonest, considering how quickly he got to three after the snub drought.
I meant *5* for hanks, not 4.
Hanks not getting nominations for Sully, Bridge of Spies, Saving Mr. Banks, and especially Captain Phillips is a travesty. Missing out on a nomination for Captain Phillips should be considered a CRIME.
Gotta be Gene and Daniel,soft spot for Leo,our last gr8 Movie Star.
Slightly OT but related to actors: The Hollywood Reporter's Actors Roundtable is sort of delightful this year: Jeff Bridges telling stories from his lifetime of roles while 5 younger actors (Ali, Patel, Affleck, Garfield and Gordon-Levitt) just soak it in. It's particularly adorable watching Dev P with his super expressive face react to the veteran actor's advice and anecdotes.
Yes, Hanks should be at 7-8 now.
Nathaniel, how do you feel about actors who have won competitive statues that eventually win an Honorary? James Stewart is a classic star, but he won, so why even give him an Honorary? There are loads of women and other people who could have received that in 1985 (hell, Arthur Kennedy for example).
San FranCinema -- For some reason, Jeff Bridges never gets the credits he deserves.
Jimmy Stweart! Forgive me but that man is just so sexy! Best male lips ever!
SanFran, I am watching this now. It's so terrific. Dev is adorable. Jeff is a national treasure. I am so glad he got nominated this year. Some say he's doing that Jeff Bridge thing. But he does it better than anyone.
It's weird to see Leo on this kind of list because I always forget he was only 19 when he nominated for What's Eating Gilbert.
What's Eating Gilbert Grape*
@ Miguel, darlin'? wtf?
You're upset Hanks received no nods for Bridge of Spies and Sully?
We might as well nominate every star out there giving a decent performance in a decent movie to avoid hurting people's feelings LOL
Such a shift towards the mainstream would of course kill gems like Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker = not a star at the time, not a platitudinous fest of a movie.
What else should Oscar do just to please you?
Paul Muni!
I'd read about Paul Muni in film history books, and thought "huh".
I'd read about his intense and lengthy preparation, his incredible stage technique, his make-up skills, his total commitment, and thought "well, okay".
The I actually saw some Paul Muni movies and whoa! He makes you see new things and think new ideas that shake you up.
Marlon Brando acted with him on the NY stage, and said that Paul Muni was the greatest actor he'd ever known. Al Pacino said he was blown away watching Muni in the original "Scarface".
Some later film critics thought his style was overacting, but part of the fun is this overflowing, generous, exuberant creation. As Gloria Swanson says in "Sunset Boulevard", "It's the pictures that got small".
I'm with Peggy Sue. Let's see Ed Harris nominated next year for that Aronofsky movie!
First off I'm in complete agreement about Fredric March being undervalued. It's so odd since he was so venerated in his day, I think it might be his lack of tics. He was suave but not to the degree of Cary Grant, he didn't have that aw shucks edge that Jimmy Stewart carried through life nor was he folksy like Spencer Tracy. He was just a handsome (in his youth) everyman with enormous talent. So many great performances, he was equally at home in drama and comedy, but I'd say for drama A Star is Born & Inherit the Wind are my favs and in comedy I Married a Witch & Design for Living.
Favorite 5 time nominee-Contemporary-Daniel Day-Lewis...Classic-Arthur Kennedy! He's another terribly under-appreciated actor who was consistently excellent. That list though is full to the brim with outstanding actors.
I'd like to think that Ed Harris would be the next one to 5 but I my gut says it will be Geoffrey Rush.
"I can't name a favorite among those five-timers (but definitely Penn and Day-Lewis from the contemporary gents), so let's go with my least favorites: DiCaprio (diminishing returns), Kennedy (least familiar), Muni (dated acting style + least familiar'
@Paul Outlaw....It seems strange to cite Dicaprio for diminishing returns, but hail Penn. Penn literally hasn't had a major performance since he won his oscar for Milk 10 years ago. That's a long ass drought. He's actively sucked in several roles as well in that time (Gangster Squad, The Gunman). Penn feels less like a major actor now, and more like a guy you see occasionally see making headlines for doing something stupid (like interviewing El Chap or dating Vincent D'nofrio's daughter).
I was never a big Dicaprio booster, and often find him overwraught, miscast and try-hard. But something has clicked with this guy in the last few years. He's grown into his looks and has become a beluevable performer. Django Unchanined and The Wolf Of Wall Street was a great one-two punch. I have to rate the guy now. He's getting better, not worse.
Favourite is for sure DDL.
For 4-timers, no mention of TLJ?
@ Robbie
Personally, I adored DiCaprio at the beginning of his career, but was meh on Penn at the beginning of his. Things shifted, obviously. You're right about recent Penn work, but his greatest hits continue to resonate with me more than the DiCaprio filmography. And yes, I would have Oscared Leo for Wolf of Wall Street (not Revenant).
You don't have to post twice about misreading an article /3rtful, ha.