Since the very first Oscars in 1929, it’s been no secret that The Academy Awards is by far the most prestigious and acclaimed honor anyone working in the film industry can receive. Every year, movie lovers from around the world tune in to this event to see which of their favorite films take home the most Oscars. There are currently 24 different categories at the Oscars, but the four most anticipated are without a doubt Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress. It’s every actors’ dream to get nominated for an Academy Award and even the top-working actors in the industry will go their entire career without ever winning the award. From Judy Garland, one of the most beloved actresses of all time, starring in timeless classics like The Wizard of Oz and the 1954 version of A Star is Born, to Glenn Close, who has been nominated for an Oscar eight times, these are extraordinarily gifted and successful actresses who have never won an Oscar despite being deserving.
The 2000s was an incredible decade for film in terms of the great performances given, which made the already extremely competitive acting categories at the Oscars even more difficult. One of the most exciting parts about some of the winners from the 2000s finally receiving their Oscars is that they are beloved fan-favorite performers whom the public had been rooting for, for years. This emotional investment in an actor makes the win even more monumental. Just a few of these actors include Kate Winslet, Morgan Freeman, and Sean Penn. Here are ten of the most deserved Oscar-winning performances from the 2000s, ranked.
10 Marion Cotillard — La Vie En Rose
Légende Films
French actress Marion Cotillard has been gracing screens since the 1990s and is one of the most engaging and diverse actresses working today. With every role and movie Cotillard takes on, there is a newfound excitement and light that she brings to the character. In 2008, she took home the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in Olivier Dahan’s musical/drama La Vie En Rose. The film tells the story of the iconic singer’s life, from being raised in poverty in a brothel to achieving enormous fame and critical acclaim as a singer while battling drug addiction and managing personal relationships. In 2015, Cotillard was nominated for Best Actress again for her role in the film Two Days, One Night.
9 Cate Blanchett — The Aviator
Miramax Films
Cate Blanchett is undeniably an incredibly powerful actress with such a strong yet calm presence that she is able to bring to her roles. In 2004, she starred in legendary director Martin Scorsese’s drama The Aviator as Katherine Hepburn alongside Leonardo DiCaprio who starred as Howard Hughes. The film as a whole was a huge hit with audiences, critics, and the Academy, earning 11 Oscar nominations in 2005 and winning five. In addition to the film’s win in the category of Best Supporting Actress for Blanchett’s brilliant portrayal, The Aviator also took home Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Film Editing. In 2014, Blanchett won her second Academy Award for Best Actress for her work on the film Blue Jasmine.
8 Nicole Kidman — The Hours
Out of all the incredible roles Nicole Kidman has played, from Satine in Moulin Rouge! to Alice in Eye’s Wide Shut and most recently Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos, it’s safe to say that her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours was her most memorable and acclaimed. Her physical transformation and overall performance were incredible in the film as she held her own next to legends like Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. In 2003, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress and, in addition to her win, the actress has a total of four other Oscar nominations for acting.
7 Heath Ledger — The Dark Knight
Warner Bros.
The late and beloved Heath Ledger was the highlight of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and is, to this day, one of the publics’ favorite actors to have ever played the Joker. So many actors have taken on the challenge of portraying the iconic villain including Jack Nicholson, Joaquin Phoenix, Jared Leto, and Mark Hamill, but something about Ledger’s performance is so special and sticks out amongst the rest. In 2009, he took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, accepted posthumously by his family, and was the only actor in the entire Dark Knight Trilogy to take home an Oscar for their work on the film.
6 Sean Penn — Milk
Axon Films
Sean Penn is no stranger to the Academy Awards, having won an Oscar twice for Best Actor, once in 2009 for Milk and in 2004 for Mystic River, in addition to being nominated a total of five times. The actor is continuously putting out incredible work, but his portrayal of Harvey Milk is arguably his greatest performance to date. The film Milk follows the true story of American politician Harvey Milk who, per the New Yorker, was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. Milk’s story is remarkable and Penn did an outstanding job capturing the essence of what the senator stood for.
5 Daniel Day-Lewis — There Will Be Blood
Paramount Vantage
Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 drama/historical film There Will Be Blood was an enormous success that is still talked about today. In addition to the cinematography and screenplay, one of the film’s strongest aspects is the acting. Everybody knows that Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the greats after seeing him in films such as Gangs of New York, Phantom Thread, and Lincoln, but his portrayal of Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood is unmatched. This was the actor’s first Oscar after being nominated several times since 1990, which is part of what makes the win so exciting. He won the Oscar for Best Actor again in 2013 for his role in the film Lincoln.
4 Adrien Brody — The Pianist
BAC Films
Adrien Brody is a truly talented actor and his performance in The Pianist is so raw and heartbreaking that his Oscar win in 2003 was undeniably deserved. Even though the actor’s portrayal of Wladyslaw Szpilman, the Polish Jewish radio station pianist in Roman Polanski’s war/drama, is his most iconic and acclaimed role Brody has done other impressive work since, especially with director Wes Anderson. The Pianist is a brilliant film and based on the true story of one man’s survival in Warsaw during World War II.
3 Hilary Swank — Million Dollar Baby
Lakeshore Entertainment
In 2004, Hilary Swank partnered up with the legendary Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman to star in the drama/sport Million Dollar Baby. This film about a passionate and determined woman boxer’s relationship with her stubborn trainer quickly became the most celebrated film of the year. Not only was it Swank’s best performance, but the movie as a whole was so special and touched audiences in a way not many films can. Swank played the fearless Maggie Fitzgerald, a role that would win the actress her second Oscar for Best Actress, after winning in 2000 for Boys Don’t Cry.
2 Kate Winslet — The Reader
Mirage Enterprises
Kate Winslet is one of the most talented and naturally gifted actresses working today. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Rose DeWitt Bukater in James Cameron’s epic 1997 Titanic, but since then has continued to star in films ranging across all genres and with varying budgets, yet has still managed to make each performance stronger than the next. She has been nominated for an Academy Award a total of seven times for her work on films such as Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Sense and Sensibility, and finally took home the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2009 for her portrayal of Hanna Schmitz in The Reader. All the iconic work Winslet has done over the years and her immense contribution to cinema history are what makes her win so deserved.
1 Morgan Freeman — Million Dollar Baby
Coming in at number one on the list for best Oscar-winning performances of the 2000s is perhaps the most iconic actor working today, the great Morgan Freeman. The impact Freeman has had on cinema history and the amount of people he has touched with his work are indescribable. In 2005, the actor finally took home his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Eddie in Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby. Before this victory, Freeman was nominated for his work in the films Driving Miss Daisy, Street Smart, and The Shawshank Redemption, which were all just as remarkable as his Oscar-winning performance. Freeman will go down in cinema history and continues to be one of the most beloved actors in Hollywood.
