Academy Honorary Award

The Academy Honorary Award usually goes to one of two recipients: 1) Those who have gotten lots of nominations, but never won any or, 2) those who never got any nominations, and, oops, probably should have.

In the former category we have performers like Barbara Stanwyck (4 nominations without a win) and Peter O’Toole (8 nominations without a win). In the latter we have artists like the directors Roger Corman and Charles Burnett – never getting nominated. The award can go to anyone significantly involved in the film industry, though, not just actors and directors (stunt performers, costumers, musicians, etc.).

That said, it also sometimes is given as a sort of lifetime achievement to folks who have already won competitive Oscars, but I’m ignoring that category (see Laurence Olivier, Sidney Poitier, etc.). Finally, it is often also given to foreign directors and actors, for their contribution to American cinema (Hayao Miyazaki, Jean-Luc Goddard, Liv Ullman, etc.) - so it is not exclusive to Americans.

Bearing that all in mind, here, then, arranged solely by age, are 25 people who I think deserve an Academy Honorary Award. My cutoff for the youngest possible age, based in part on how the Academy seems to do it, is 55.

 

James Hong (94). Notable work: Chinatown, Blade Runner, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Don Bluth (86). Notable work: An American Tale, The Land Before Time, Anastasia.

Claudia Cardinale (85). Notable work: 8 ½, The Pink Panther, Once Upon a Time in the West

Ridley Scott (85) 4 noms. Notable work: Alien, Thelma & Louise, The Martian

Ian McKellan (84) 2 noms. Notable work: Richard III, Gods & Monsters, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Christopher Lloyd (84). Notable work: Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Addams Family

Brian de Palma (83). Notable work: Carrie, Scarface, The Untouchables

Martin Sheen (83). Notable work: Badlands, Apocalypse Now, The Departed

Werner Herzog (81) 1 nom. Notable work: Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Grizzly Man, Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Wallace Shawn (79). Notable work: My Dinner with Andre, The Princess Bride, Toy Story

Wim Wenders (78) 3 noms. Notable work: Paris Texas, Wings of Desire, Pina

Mia Farrow (78). Notable work: Rosemary’s Baby, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters

Claire Denis (77). Notable work: Beau Travail, 35 Shots of Rum, White Material

Glenn Close (76) 8 noms. Notable work: The Big Chill, Fatal Attraction, The Wife

Sigourney Weaver (73) 3 noms. Notable work: The Year of Living Dangerously, Aliens, Gorillas in the Mist

Isabelle Huppert (70) 1 nom. Notable work: La Ceremonie, The Piano Teacher, Elle

Jeff Goldblum (70) 1 nom. Notable work: The Fly, Jurassic Park, Independence Day

Wong Kar-Wai (65). Notable work: Chungking Express, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love

Steve Buscemi (65). Notable work: Reservoir Dogs, Fargo, Con Air

Doug Jones (63). Notable work: Hocus Pocus, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water

Antonio Banderas (63) 1 nom. Notable work: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Philadelphia, Pain and Glory

Ralph Fiennes (60) 2 nom. Notable work: Schindler’s List, The English Patient, Harry Potter

Andy Serkis (59). Notable work: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, King Kong, Black Panther

Gong Li (57). Notable work: Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, Farewell My Concubine

Shah Rukh Khan (56). Notable work: Dil Se…, Devdas, My Name is Khan