Wait For It
Patience is a virtue and these actors have had to be very virtuous (often for decades) when it comes to waiting to get another acting nomination at the Academy Awards.
John Wayne: 20 Years
As one of the biggest Hollywood stars of all time, it might surprise many to know that John Wayne was only ever nominated for two Oscars. The first was his 1950 Best Actor nomination for Sands of Iwo Jima, and his second (and his only win) came in 1970 for True Grit.
Wallis-Hazen, True Grit (1969)
Ellen Burstyn: 20 Years
Between 1972 and 1981 Ellen Burstyn was nominated five times (winning once for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore in 1975). Her hot streak cooled down a bit, though, and it wasn't until Requiem for a Dream, in 2001, that she picked up her next nomination.
Gloria Swanson: 20 Years
Gloria Swanson was nominated for Best Actress at the very first Academy Awards in 1929, and at the 1931 ceremony as well. Things went kinda downhill from there until 1951, when she was ready for her close-up once again as she garnered her final Best Actress Oscar nomination for the classic, Sunset Boulevard.
Allan warren, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Robert De Niro: 21 Years
When he picked up his Best Actor nomination for Cape Fear in 1992, it was Robert De Niro's sixth acting nomination. However, his seventh wouldn't come for another 21 years, for his supporting role in Silver Linings Playbook.
The Weinstein Company, Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Alec Guinness: 21 Years
20 years passed between Guinness' win for The Bridge on the River Kwai and his nomination for playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. But that was a year less then he'd have to wait for his next nomination post-Star Wars. That came in the form of a Best Supporting nomination in 1989 for the film, Little Dorrit.
Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
Anthony Hopkins: 22 Years
Anthony Hopkins was already 55 when he finally got his first Oscar nomination (and win) for Silence of the Lambs. But he was just getting started and over the next 10 years or so, he saw three more nominations come his way. However, following his 1998 Best Supporting nomination for Amistad, he would have to wait until 2020 to once again be nominated—this time, it was a Best Actor nom for The Two Popes.
David Livingston, Getty Images
Charles Laughton: 22 Years
Charles Laughton was the fifth man to ever win a Best Actor Oscar when he took home the trophy for The Private Life of Henry VIII, in 1934. Two years later, he was nominated again. But after that, it wouldn't be until 1956 that he would see his next nomination (Witness for the Prosecution).
Edward Small Productions, Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Kenneth Branagh: 22 Years
Kenneth Branagh has been nominated in seven different categories throughout his career, but when it comes to acting, he has two nominations to look back on. The first came in 1990 for Henry V (he was also nominated as director) and then again 22 years later in 2012, for Best Supporting Actor in My Week with Marilyn.
Glenn Close: 22
Glenn Close has four Best Actress nominations and four for Best Supporting Actress. However, there was a 23-year gap there between her nomination for Dangerous Liaisons in 1989 and her 2011 nomination for Albert Nobbs.
Mockingbird Pictures, Albert Nobbs (2011)
Fay Bainter: 23 Years
In 1939, Fay Bainter became the first person ever nominated for two acting awards in the same year: Best Actress for White Banners and Best Supporting Actress for Jezebel (she won this one). Her next—and last—nomination came in 1962, in the Best Supporting Actress category for The Children’s Hour.
Max von Sydow: 23 Years
Not only did Max von Sydow have to wait a long time between nominations, he had to wait a long time to even get his first one. It was a Best Actor nomination and it was for the Danish film Peele the Conqueror. The year was 1989 and von Sydow was 60 years old. Yes, that's right. That means he was 83-years-old when he got his second nomination in 2012: Best Supporting Actor for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.
Mickey Rooney: 23 Years
Mickey Rooney saw recognition from the Academy Awards three times in 17 years between his first nomination in 1940 and his third in 1957. However, after that he had to wait 23 years before his 1980 Supporting Actor nomination for The Black Stallion.
Allan warren, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Laura Dern: 23 Years
1992 saw Laura Dern pick up a Best Actress nomination for Rambling Rose. In 2015, she was nominated in the Supporting category for Wild.
Julio Enriquez, CO, USA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Christopher Walken: 24
Lots of people can do a Christopher Walken impression, but most can't replicate his 24-year gap between acting nominations. Both were in the Best Supporting category, with the first coming in 1979 for The Deer Hunter and the second in 2003 for Catch Me If You Can.
By Tabercil, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Peter O’Toole: 24 Years
One of the greatest film actors of all time, Peter O’Toole was nominated for eight acting Oscars over his illustrious career. However, he never won one. The final two nominations of his career came in 1982 for My Favorite Year and in 2006 for the film Venus.
James Whitmore: 26 Years
In 1976, Whitmore took on the role of President Harry Truman in the one-man show Give ’em Hell, Harry! and earned a Best Actor nomination. It was a nomination that came 26 years after his first one—a Best Supporting Actor nomination in 1950, for the war film Battleground.
Julie Christie: 26 Years
Christie has four Best Actress nominations with the biggest gap between them coming between 1972 and 1998: McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Afterglow, respectively.
David Foster Productions, McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
Richard Harris: 27 Years
No, he wasn't nominated for his role as Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films. But he was nominated in 1964 for his work in the film, This Sporting Life—and he picked up his second and final nomination in 1991, for the Irish movie, The Field.
Warner Bros. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Al Pacino: 27 Years
Between 1973 and 1993, Al Pacino was nominated nine times—finally getting a win in 1993 for Scent of a Woman. But following that win, the great Pacino would have to wait 27 years for even another nomination (The Irishman).
Universal, Scent of a Woman (1992)
Sally Field: 28 Years
Yes, people and Academy voters really liked Sally Field back in 1980 and 1985 (she took home the Best Actress trophy both times). However, the likes wouldn't come again until 2013 and her portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln in Lincoln, for which she earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination.
Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Paul Scofield: 28 Years
The great stage actor Paul Scofield also left his mark on the screen with an Oscar win in 1967 for A Man for All Seasons. 28 years later, in 1995, he picked up a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Quiz Show.
Highland Films, A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Angela Bassett: 29 Years
In 2023, Angela Bassett became the first actor nominated for a role in a Marvel movie with her Best Supporting Actress nod for her portrayal of Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. That nomination came 29 years after she earned her first well-deserved Best Actress nomination playing Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do with It.
Kristina Bumphrey, Getty Images
Joe Pesci: 29 Years
Joe Pesci has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor three times and each time it was in a Martin Scorsese film with Robert DeNiro: Raging Bull in 1981, Goodfellas in 1991, and The Irishman in 2020.
yausser, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lynn Redgrave: 32 Years
Redgrave picked up her first nomination in 1967, when she scored a Best Actress nod for Georgy Girl. Cut to 1999, and Redgrave grabbed another nomination, this time in the Best Supporting category, for her work in the movie Gods and Monsters.
Ralph Richardson: 35 Years
British actor Ralph Richardson earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his first Hollywood movie, The Heiress. 35 years later, he was posthumously nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes.
Bruce Dern: 35 Years
Laura Dern's 23 years between nominations is a long time, but not the longest in the family. Her father, Bruce Dern, spent 35 years waiting between his 1979 nomination for Coming Home and his 2014 nomination for Nebraska.
Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Alan Arkin: 38 Years
Arkin started off hot, earning a Best Actor nomination for his very first film, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming—and he picked up another one two years later, in 1969, for The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. However, after that he would have to wait until 2007 to get his next nomination—this time, in the Best Supporting Actor category for Little Miss Sunshine (which he won).
Searchlight Pictures, Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Jack Palance: 38 Years
38 years before he was doing one-armed push-ups following his 1992 Best Supporting Actor win for City Slickers, Jack Palance was being nominated for his second Best Supporting Actor award for the film, Shane.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
Helen Hayes: 39 Years
Helen Hayes may have had to wait 39 years between her Oscar nominations, but she won them both. First was a Best Actress win in 1932 for the film The Sin of Madelon Claudet. Second was a Best Supporting victory in 1971 for the film, Airport.
Lisafie, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Sylvester Stallone: 39 Years
Few roles have defined an actor more than Rocky Balboa and Sylvester Stallone. It is also the only role that's gotten him recognition from the Academy Awards. Stallone earned both an acting and a writing nomination in 1977 for the first Rocky film and then picked up a Best Supporting nod in 2016, playing the same character in Creed.
Chartoff-Winkler Productions, Rocky (1976)
Henry Fonda: 41 Years
Henry Fonda was amazingly only nominated for two competitive acting Oscars over the course of his career. The first came in 1941, for his work in Grapes of Wrath. Then, 41 years later, he got his second nomination—and his only win—for On Golden Pond.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
Judd Hirsch: 42 Years
Judd Hirsch was already a TV star when he got his first movie role playing psychiatrist Tyrone C Berger in Ordinary People—for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1981. 42 years later, he was again nominated in the Best Supporting category, this time in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans.
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