Low-Profile Titles Made Just Before Winning an Oscar
Sometimes an actor can make a great film that just flies under the radar of the national conscientiousness. Here are some of those films made by recent Oscar winners shortly before winning. Which movie deserves more attention?
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32 titles
- DirectorRebecca MillerStarsDaniel Day-LewisCatherine KeenerCamilla BelleA father and daughter isolated on an island off the East Coast and living on a once-thriving commune grapple with the limits of family and sexuality.Daniel Day-Lewis - Best Actor for There Will Be Blood
- DirectorJulian SchnabelStarsJeffrey WrightMichael WincottBenicio Del ToroThe brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.Benicio Del Toro - Best Supporting Actor for Traffic
- DirectorKen LoachStarsPilar PadillaAdrien BrodyElpidia CarrilloTwo Latina sisters work as cleaners in a downtown office building, and fight for the right to unionize.Adrien Brody - Best Actor for The Pianist
- DirectorJulian SchnabelStarsJavier BardemJohnny DeppOlatz López GarmendiaThe life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas.Sean Penn - Best Actor for Mystic River
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsBill MurrayJessica LangeSharon StoneAs the extremely withdrawn Don Johnston is dumped by his latest woman, he receives an anonymous letter from a former lover informing him that he has a son who may be looking for him. A freelance sleuth neighbor moves Don to embark on a cross-country search for his old flames in search of answers.Tilda Swinton - Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJodie FosterKate WinsletChristoph WaltzTwo pairs of parents hold a cordial meeting after their sons are involved in a fight, though as their time together progresses, increasingly childish behavior throws the discussion into chaos.Christoph Waltz - Best Supporting Actor for Django Unchained
Also Best Supporting Actor for Inglourious Basterds - DirectorJim JarmuschStarsBill MurrayTom WaitsRoberto BenigniA series of vignettes that all have coffee and cigarettes in common.Cate Blanchett - Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator
- DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsSam RockwellDrew BarrymoreGeorge ClooneyAn adaptation of the cult memoir of game show impresario Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell), in which he purports to have been a C.I.A. hitman.George Clooney - Best Supporting Actor for Syriana
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsGeorge ClooneyMeryl StreepBill MurrayAn urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers' retaliation.Meryl Streep - Best Actress for The Iron Lady
- DirectorCourtney HuntStarsMelissa LeoMisty UphamCharlie McDermottA mom looks for another source of income, when her husband leaves with the money meant for the new mobile home. A nearby Indian territory stretches across the border to Canada with a drivable frozen river between. Smuggling?Melissa Leo - Best Supporting Actress for The Fighter
- DirectorJoel HershmanStarsClive OwenHelen MirrenDavid KellyA prison inmate with a green thumb goes on to compete in a national gardening competition. Based on a true story.Helen Mirren - Best Actress for The Queen
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDenzel WashingtonMilla JovovichRay AllenA basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter sentence.Denzel Washington - Best Actor for Training Day
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsJohn CusackIben HjejleTodd LouisoRob, a record store owner and compulsive list maker, recounts his top five breakups, including the one in progress.Tim Robbins - Best Supporting Actor for Mystic River
Catherine Zeta-Jones - Best Supporting Actress for Mystic River - DirectorMartha CoolidgeStarsHalle BerryBrent SpinerKlaus Maria BrandauerDorothy Dandridge's way to fame and fortune as a dancer, singer and actress.Halle Berry - Best Actress for Monster's Ball
- DirectorKatja von GarnierStarsHilary SwankMargo MartindaleAnjelica HustonA little known, yet integral piece of American history: based on the lives of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, two young radical women who were instrumental in getting women the right to vote in America.Hilary Swank - Best Actress for Million Dollar Baby
- DirectorMark HermanStarsBrenda BlethynJane HorrocksMichael CaineA shy reclusive lady is convinced by an invisible entity to sing. Subsequently, she finds herself noticed by a sleazy talent agent and her talent being showcased on-stage. She also meets a kind but nervous man who becomes her best friend.Jim Broadbent - Best Supporting Actor for Iris
- DirectorCatherine HardwickeStarsHeath LedgerEmile HirschVictor RasukThe film follows the surf and skateboarding trends that originated in Venice, California during the 1970s.Heath Ledger - Best Supporting Actor for The Dark Knight
- DirectorJay RoachStarsRussell CroweBurt ReynoldsHank AzariaThe residents of a small town get over-excited when their hockey team gets chosen to host a televised event.Russell Crowe - Best Actor for Gladiator
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsColin FarrellQ'orianka KilcherChristopher PlummerThe story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.Christian Bale - Best Supporting Actor for The Fighter
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsJake GyllenhaalChris CooperLaura DernThe true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.Chris Cooper - Best Supporting Actor for Adaptation.
- DirectorJustin ChadwickStarsNatalie PortmanScarlett JohanssonEric BanaTwo sisters contend for the affection of King Henry VIII.Natalie Portman - Best Actress for Black Swan
- DirectorVincent ParonnaudMarjane SatrapiStarsChiara MastroianniCatherine DeneuveGena RowlandsA precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution.Sean Penn - Best Actor for Milk
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsCate BlanchettMatt DamonLiam NeesonA five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.Cate Blanchett - Best Actress for Blue Jasmine
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsAdam SandlerEmily WatsonPhilip Seymour HoffmanSocially frustrated Barry Egan calls a phone-sex line to curb his loneliness. Little does he know it will land him in deep trouble and will jeopardize his burgeoning romance with the mysterious Lena.Philip Seymour Hoffman - Best Actor for Capote
- DirectorNeil LaButeStarsPaul RuddRachel WeiszGretchen MolA quiet, unassuming man begins to change in a major way as a result of meeting a new, art-student girlfriend, and his friends are unsettled by the transformation.Rachel Weisz - Best Supporting Actress for The Constant Gardener
- DirectorDestin Daniel CrettonStarsBrie LarsonFrantz TurnerJohn Gallagher Jr.A 20-something supervising staff member of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.Brie Larson - Best Actress for Room
- DirectorTom FordStarsColin FirthJulianne MooreMatthew GoodeAn English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles.Colin Firth - Best Actor for The King's Speech
- DirectorJames KentStarsAlicia VikanderKit HaringtonTaron EgertonA British woman recalls coming of age during World War I - a story of young love, the futility of war, and how to make sense of the darkest times.Alicia Vikander - Best Supporting Actress for The Danish Girl
- DirectorJill SprecherStarsAlan ArkinJohn TurturroMatthew McConaugheyIn New York City, the lives of a lawyer, an actuary, a house-cleaner, a professor and the people around them intersect as they ponder order and happiness in the face of life's cold unpredictability.Alan Arkin - Best Supporting Actor for Little Miss Sunshine
- DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsAudrey TautouGaspard UllielJodie FosterTells the story of a young woman's relentless search for her fiancé, who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.Marion Cotillard - Best Actress for Ma Vie en Rose
- DirectorScott McGeheeDavid SiegelStarsJulianne MooreAlexander SkarsgårdSteve CooganIn New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle.Julianne Moore - Best Actress for Still Alice
- DirectorPeter KosminskyStarsMichelle PfeifferRenée ZellwegerRobin WrightA teenager journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother goes to prison for committing a crime of passion.Renée Zellweger - Best Supporting Actress for Cold Mountain