Many actors will tell you that being nominated for an Academy Award is as big an honor as winning the statue. For those who’ve been nominated more than once, the gap between nominations can sometimes be years, even decades – and some 37 famed performers have had Oscar nomination comebacks after 20 years or more. (Here are some actors who won an Oscar in their debut role.)
To determine the biggest comebacks in Oscar nomination history, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on acting nominations from the Academy Awards Database of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Actors were ranked based on the gap in years between receiving nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, or Best Supporting Actress. Honorary or special lifetime achievement awards were not considered. All actors with a nominations gap of at least 20 years were included.
Gaining a nomination after so many years is a testament to actors’ longevity and ability to maintain their acting skills over a sustained period. While all the actors on the list went at least 20 years between nominations, nine of them had a gap of more than 30 years. Those actors include Lynn Redgrave, Bruce Dern, Ralph Richardson, Helen Hayes, and Sylvester Stallone.
Click here to see the biggest comebacks in Oscar nomination history
Al Pacino has had nine Oscar nominations, more than anyone else on the list, yet even with that number, he had to wait 27 years after his nomination (and sole Best Actor win) in 1992’s “The Scent of a Woman” to be acknowledged for his role in “The Irishman.” Others with extended nomination gaps are Peter O’Toole and Glenn Close (eight); Robert De Niro (seven); and Ellen Burstyn, Paul Muni, and Anthony Hopkins (six). (These are the most nominated actors who still don’t have an Oscar.)
No one has gone longer between nominations than Judd Hirsch. He was nominated for best supporting actor for his role as Uncle Boris in “The Fabelmans” (2022), 42 years after he was nominated as the psychologist Dr. Berger in “Ordinary People.”
37. John Wayne
> Gap between nominations: 20 years
> Comeback nomination, 1970: Best Actor (won), “True Grit” (1969)
> Previous nomination, 1950: Best Actor, “Sands of Iwo Jima” (1949)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (1 win)
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36. Wendy Hiller
> Gap between nominations: 20 years
> Comeback nomination, 1959: Best Supporting Actress (won), “Separate Tables” (1958)
> Previous nomination, 1939: Best Actress, “Pygmalion” (1938)
> Total career acting nominations: 3 (1 win)
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35. Gloria Swanson
> Gap between nominations: 20 years
> Comeback nomination, 1951: Best Actress, “Sunset Blvd.” (1950)
> Previous nomination, 1931: Best Actress, “The Trespasser” (1930)
> Total career acting nominations: 3 (0 wins)
34. Alec Guinness
> Gap between nominations: 20 years
> Comeback nomination, 1978: Best Supporting Actor, “Star Wars” (1977)
> Previous nomination, 1958: Best Actor (won), “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957)
> Total career acting nominations: 4 (1 win)
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33. Ellen Burstyn
> Gap between nominations: 20 years
> Comeback nomination, 2001: Best Actress, “Requiem for a Dream” (2000)
> Previous nomination, 1981: Best Actress, “Resurrection” (1980)
> Total career acting nominations: 6 (1 win)
32. Richard Farnsworth
> Gap between nominations: 21 years
> Comeback nomination, 2000: Best Actor, “The Straight Story” (1999)
> Previous nomination, 1979: Best Supporting Actor, “Comes a Horseman” (1978)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (0 wins)
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31. Jean Simmons
> Gap between nominations: 21 years
> Comeback nomination, 1970: Best Actress, “The Happy Ending” (1969)
> Previous nomination, 1949: Best Supporting Actress, “Hamlet” (1948)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (0 wins)
30. Gladys Cooper
> Gap between nominations: 21 years
> Comeback nomination, 1965: Best Supporting Actress, “My Fair Lady” (1964)
> Previous nomination, 1944: Best Supporting Actress, “The Song of Bernadette” (1943)
> Total career acting nominations: 3 (0 wins)
29. Robert De Niro
> Gap between nominations: 21 years
> Comeback nomination, 2013: Best Supporting Actor, “Silver Linings Playbook” (2012)
> Previous nomination, 1992: Best Actor, “Cape Fear” (1991)
> Total career acting nominations: 7 (2 wins)
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28. Kenneth Branagh
> Gap between nominations: 22 years
> Comeback nomination, 2012: Best Supporting Actor, “My Week with Marilyn” (2011)
> Previous nomination, 1990: Best Actor, “Henry V” (1989)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (0 wins)
27. Charles Laughton
> Gap between nominations: 22 years
> Comeback nomination, 1958: Best Actor, “Witness for the Prosecution” (1957)
> Previous nomination, 1936: Best Actor, “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1935)
> Total career acting nominations: 3 (1 win)
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26. Anthony Hopkins
> Gap between nominations: 22 years
> Comeback nomination, 2020: Best Supporting Actor, “The Two Popes” (2019)
> Previous nomination, 1998: Best Supporting Actor, “Amistad” (1997)
> Total career acting nominations: 6 (2 wins)
25. Paul Muni
> Gap between nominations: 22 years
> Comeback nomination, 1960: Best Actor, “The Last Angry Man” (1959)
> Previous nomination, 1938: Best Actor, “The Life of Emile Zola” (1937)
> Total career acting nominations: 6 (1 win)
24. Max von Sydow
> Gap between nominations: 23 years
> Comeback nomination, 2012: Best Supporting Actor, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” (2011)
> Previous nomination 1989: Best Actor, “Pelle the Conqueror” (1988)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (0 wins)
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23. Laura Dern
> Gap between nominations: 23 years
> Comeback nomination, 2015: Best Supporting Actress, “Wild” (2014)
> Previous nomination, 1992: Best Actress, “Rambling Rose” (1991)
> Total career acting nominations: 3 (1 win)
22. William Holden
> Gap between nominations: 23 years
> Comeback nomination, 1977: Best Actor, “Network” (1976)
> Previous nomination, 1954: Best Actor (won), “Stalag 17” (1953)
> Total career acting nominations: 3 (1 win)
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21. Mickey Rooney
> Gap between nominations: 23 years
> Comeback nomination, 1980: Best Supporting Actor, “The Black Stallion” (1979)
> Previous nomination, 1957: Best Supporting Actor, “The Bold and the Brave” (1956)
> Total career acting nominations: 4 (0 wins)
20. Glenn Close
> Gap between nominations: 23 years
> Comeback nomination, 2012: Best Actress, “Albert Nobbs” (2011)
> Previous nomination, 1989: Best Actress, “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988)
> Total career acting nominations: 8 (0 wins)
19. Christopher Walken
> Gap between nominations: 24 years
> Comeback nomination, 2003: Best Supporting Actor, “Catch Me If You Can” (2002)
> Previous nomination, 1979: Best Supporting Actor (won), “The Deer Hunter” (1978)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (1 win)
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18. Peter O’Toole
> Gap between nominations: 24 years
> Comeback nomination, 2007: Best Actor, “Venus” (2006)
> Previous nomination, 1983: Best Actor, “My Favorite Year” (1982)
> Total career acting nominations: 8 (0 wins)
17. James Whitmore
> Gap between nominations: 26 years
> Comeback nomination, 1976: Best Actor, “Give ’em Hell, Harry!” (1975)
> Previous nomination, 1950: Best Supporting Actor, “Battleground” (1949)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (0 wins)
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16. Julie Christie
> Gap between nominations: 26 years
> Comeback nomination, 1998: Best Actress, “Afterglow” (1997)
> Previous nomination, 1972: Best Actress, “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” (1971)
> Total career acting nominations: 4 (1 win)
15. Richard Harris
> Gap between nominations: 27 years
> Comeback nomination, 1991: Best Actor, “The Field” (1990)
> Previous nomination, 1964: Best Actor, “This Sporting Life” (1963)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (0 wins)
14. Al Pacino
> Gap between nominations: 27 years
> Comeback nomination, 2020: Best Supporting Actor, “The Irishman” (2019)
> Previous nomination, 1993: Best Actor (won), “Scent of a Woman” (1992)
> Total career acting nominations: 9 (1 win)
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13. Paul Scofield
> Gap between nominations: 28 years
> Comeback nomination, 1995: Best Supporting Actor, “Quiz Show” (1994)
> Previous nomination, 1967: Best Actor (won), “A Man for All Seasons” (1966)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (1 win)
12. Sally Field
> Gap between nominations: 28 years
> Comeback nomination, 2013: Best Supporting Actress, “Lincoln” (2012)
> Previous nomination, 1985: Best Actress (won), “Places in the Heart” (1984)
> Total career acting nominations: 3 (2 wins)
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11. Angela Bassett
> Gap between nominations: 29 years
> Comeback nomination, 2023: Best Supporting Actress, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022)
> Previous nomination, 1994: Best Actress, “What’s Love Got to Do with It” (1993)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (0 wins)
10. Joe Pesci
> Gap between nominations: 29 years
> Comeback nomination, 2020: Best Supporting Actor, “The Irishman” (2019)
> Previous nomination, 1991: Best Supporting Actor (won), “Goodfellas” (1990)
> Total career acting nominations: 3 (1 win)
9. Lynn Redgrave
> Gap between nominations: 32 years
> Comeback nomination, 1999: Best Supporting Actress, “Gods and Monsters” (1998)
> Previous nomination, 1967: Best Actress, “Georgy Girl” (1966)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (0 wins)
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8. Bruce Dern
> Gap between nominations: 35 years
> Comeback nomination, 2014: Best Actor, “Nebraska” (2013)
> Previous nomination, 1979: Best Supporting Actor, “Coming Home” (1978)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (0 wins)
7. Ralph Richardson
> Gap between nominations: 35 years
> Comeback nomination, 1985: Best Supporting Actor, “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes” (1984)
> Previous nomination, 1950: Best Supporting Actor, “The Heiress” (1949)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (0 wins)
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6. Helen Hayes
> Gap between nominations: 38 years
> Comeback nomination, 1971: Best Supporting Actress (won), “Airport” (1970)
> Previous nomination, 1932: Best Actress (won), “The Sin of Madelon Claudet” (1931)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (2 wins)
5. Jack Palance
> Gap between nominations: 38 years
> Comeback nomination, 1992: Best Supporting Actor (won), “City Slickers” (1991)
> Previous nomination, 1954: Best Supporting Actor, “Shane” (1953)
> Total career acting nominations: 3 (1 win)
4. Alan Arkin
> Gap between nominations: 38 years
> Comeback nomination, 2007: Best Supporting Actor (won), “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006)
> Previous nomination, 1969: Best Actor, “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” (1968)
> Total career acting nominations: 4 (1 win)
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3. Sylvester Stallone
> Gap between nominations: 39 years
> Comeback nomination, 2016: Best Supporting Actor, “Creed” (2015)
> Previous nomination, 1977: Best Actor, “Rocky” (1976)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (0 wins)
2. Henry Fonda
> Gap between nominations: 41 years
> Comeback nomination, 1982: Best Actor (won), “On Golden Pond” (1981)
> Previous nomination, 1941: Best Actor, “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (1 win)
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1. Judd Hirsch
> Gap between nominations: 42 years
> Comeback nomination, 2023: Best Supporting Actor, “The Fabelmans” (2022)
> Previous nomination, 1981: Best Supporting Actor, “Ordinary People” (1980)
> Total career acting nominations: 2 (0 wins)
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