15 Black Performances Overlooked By The Oscars

Angela Bassett, Malcolm X

Right before her astonishing work in What’s Love Got to Do with It, Angela Bassett played another famous, real-life woman — Betty Shabazz. Although, Denzel Washington led this amazing biopic, Bassett deserved a Best Supporting Actress nod as well. Tell me you weren’t moved by the final scene where Betty is holding her dying husband? But she was passed over until the following for playing Tina Turner, which she lost to Holly Hunter’s silent performance in The Piano.

Forest Whitaker, Bird

The Academy Awards would later make it up to Whitaker by not only nominating, but choosing him as the winner for the Best Actor Oscar in 2007 for The Last King of Scotland. But the Academy always do that! They snub actors then they try to make it up to them later — there’s a lot of awarding the actor as a career achievement instead of quality of the best performance. But Whitaker’s performance in Bird should’ve been all the right formulas for the Oscars: biopic, real-life musician and drug addiction. But the Oscars passed.

Pam Grier, Jackie Brown

Grier broke down many barriers in Hollywood. She helped turn roles for black women from the help to kick-ass action heroines. She payed homage to her blaxplotation roles in films like Coffy and Foxy Brown with this film. A critically-acclaimed success – Robert Forster garnered an Oscar and Golden Globe nod for Best Supporting Actor, but Grier only received a Golden Globe nod for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy. Such a shame, it was the perfect time to honor a great actress making a comeback in a great performance.

Derek Luke, Antwone Fisher

This was a major breakthrough performance! If you didn’t know who Derek Luke was before this film (like me) you knew after you’d seen it. That’s how touching Luke’s performance is in this film. But being such a young (black) actor the Academy once again passed. I will say this, male performers have a harder time earlier in their careers to win Oscars — let alone get nominated. Actors have to pay their dues first, but younger actresses fair better with the Academy. What a double standard-like, sexist system of voting for the winners let alone the nominees.

Denzel Washington, American Gangster

He did it again! Well, almost. He played bad so good. But this time, he didn’t make the Best Actor Oscar shortlist. Sigh. But he would later make an Oscar-y return with Flight (2012), which he lost to Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln earlier this year.

Marlon Wayans, Requiem for a Dream

Wayans is actually part of an elite group (at least to me) who have mastered many comedic parts, but surprised us all with an amazing dramatic turn. This is his dramatic turn. You would think with Ellen Burstyn leading such an amazing cast of up-and-coming actors she would be able to bring them along for the ride. But with Jennifer Connelly and Jared Leto, he didn’t make the supporting cut.

Notable mention: His sister, Kim Wayans, would later do a dramatic turn in Pariah, but she was also passed over with film as a whole.

Samuel L. Jackson, Jungle Fever, A Time to Kill, Django Unchained

One of Hollywood’s leading men, he’s had some really great supporting performances as well. All of which garnered him much praise: a cracked out brother and son to model black family, a vengeful father on trial after racists raped his daughter and an “Uncle Tom-Like” overseer. He hasn’t been nominated since Pulp Fiction in 1995 when he was placed in the Best Supporting Actor category. Such a shame.

Sidney Poitier, A Raisin in the Sun, A Patch of Blue, In the Heat of the Night

Poitier starred in many films — most of them Oscar-worthy and box office hits. But since, his win Oscar for Lilies of the Field in 1964 and a previous nomination for The Defiant Ones in 1959, he was never nominated again. WHAT??!!! He would later win an honorary Oscar in 2002 with Halle Berry and Denzel Washington winning in the lead categories. Mmm hmm… By the way, an honorary Oscar is usually a consolation prize for, “we (the academy) screwed you in the past. Take this instead.” Regardless, he definitely deserved it.

Claudia McNeil, A Raisin in the Sun

Is it just me or isn’t she underrated? Before Phylicia Rashad stepped foot into the role, McNeil played Lena Younger. And helped bring forth one of the greatest mother-son duo performances to screen. OK, the best. With Poitier, she carried this film. The Golden Globes realized that, why couldn’t the Oscars?

Terrence Howard, Crash

His performance stood out in this ensemble drama as a black man tired of being a model minority yet profiled by police and dealing with racial stereotypes at his job. After much Oscar buzz, they decided to go only with Matt Dillon and nominated Howard solely for Hustle and Flow (2005).

Kimberly Elise, Woman Thou Art Loosed

She’s always compelling, but this little film shouldn’t have created more buzz for itself. The 2004-2005 Oscar season could’ve used another strong Best Actress Oscar contender. In the Oscars’ defense, I don’t the Academy knew this movie existed. But Elise was amazing as a young woman abused as a child by her mother’s boyfriend.

KeKe Palmer, Akeelah and the Bee

Before Quvenzhané Wallis, there was Palmer with acting abilities that melted our hearts. She was fantastic as Akeelah and gave young, black Hollywood a much needed positive role model with this performance, but the critically-acclaimed film might have been too much in the family and inspirational genres. There are certain formulas they abide by, you know, that they rarely switch up.

Queen Latifah, Set It Off

Queen Latifah sealed the deal as a serious dramatic actress with this role — while starring in the sitcom, Living Single. You would think this performance would translate into some Oscar praise, but no. Her lesbian, bank robber turn was ignored — except within black film circles. She would be later nominated for Chicago in 2003.

Halle Berry,  Frankie & Alice

Berry hasn’t found her way back to the Oscars (except for presenting) since her win in 2002 for Monster’s Ball. But she garnered a Golden Globes nomination for this small film about a black woman with multiple personality disorder. But she was ignored by the Academy. The film is coming out for mainstream release on April 4, 2014 — after limited release in 2010. I don’t think Berry can be eligible to campaign next year though.