5 Superhero Actors You Didn’t Realize Won Oscars

We all know Robert Downey Jr. won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in 2023’s Oppenheimer. Perhaps we even remember Iron Man 3‘s Ben Kingsley winning Best Actor for the title role in Gandhi and former Batman Ben Affleck winning Best Director for Argo. Many of us probably remember or at least know that Gwyneth Paltrow won Best Actress in 1999 for Shakespeare in Love. Though, when it comes to that last film, it’s mostly remembered for stealing Best Picture from what many deem the real best picture of the year, Saving Private Ryan.

But, what about the Marvel or DC stars who won an Oscar and people just seem to have forgotten? Whether they played a superhero or a villain in a comic book movie, these actors won an Oscar, some relatively recently, and their wins seem to be a footnote in their career. At least, compared to their work in superpowered blockbusters.

Brie Larson for Room (2015)

Two years after starring in Short Term 12, for which she wasn’t even nominated, Captain Marvel‘s Brie Larson won for her equally impressive work in Lenny Abrahamson’s Room. Based on the 2010 novel of the same name, Larson stars as Joy “Ma” Newsome who, along with her son Jack (Jacob Tremblay), has been kept in underground captivity for seven years. It’s the type of movie that is made or broken by the caliber of lead performances and the chemistry between them, and both Larson and Tremblay deliver. Larson was confirmed to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe at Marvel Studios’ 2016 San Diego Comic-Con just five months after her win.

Rent or Buy Room on Amazon Prime Video

Nicolas Cage for Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

Ghost Rider and Spider-Man Noir‘s Nicolas Cage has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor twice, first for 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas and second for 2002’s Adaptation. Both are very impressive performances and stand as highpoints of his career, but they’re very different from one another. Cage won for Mike Figgis’ Leaving Las Vegas, the story of an alcoholic with a death wish who moves to Vegas with a single goal: to drink himself to death. It’s a heartbreaking narrative, as is the true story behind it. His win happened some five years prior to making his comic book debut in 2007’s Ghost Rider.

Stream Leaving Las Vegas on Max

Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener (2005)

Based on legendary author John le Carré’s novel, The Constant Gardener was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress for Black Widow‘s Rachel Weisz. Weisz was the only one to take home some gold which was certainly deserved but the word “Supporting” in the award begs the question of just who the lead actress was in the film. Ralph Fiennes plays Justin Quayle, a British diplomat posted in Kenya. Weisz plays his wife, Tessa, an Amnesty International activist who is slain by assassins hired by a pharmaceutical corporation. Sixteen years after her Oscar win, Weisz would take on the role of Melina Vostokoff in Black Widow, a role she’ll reprise in Marvel’s Thunderbolts*.

Rent or Buy The Constant Gardener on Amazon Prime Video

Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009)

Iron Man‘s Jeff Bridges, who recently teased an MCU return, has one of the most storied and impressive careers of any living actor. Unsurprisingly, he has received quite a bit of Oscars love over the years, but predominately in terms of nominations. Out of The Last Picture Show, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, John Carpenter’s Starman, The Contender, Crazy Heart, True Grit, and Hell or High Water, Bridges only won for Crazy Heart. Were one to present all of those choices to the average filmgoer and ask which one he took home the gold for, they would likely say True Grit over the lowkey country singer drama. Unlike every other actor on this list, Bridges won his Oscar after his role in a superhero movie.

Rent or Buy Crazy Heart on Amazon Prime Video

Holly Hunter & Anna Paquin for The Piano (1993)

28 years before she returned to Oscar spotlight with The Power of the Dog (for which she won Best Director), Jane Campion helmed her masterwork (for which she was also nominated for Best Director): The Piano. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and The Incredibles star Holly Hunter portrays Ada McGrath, a mute Scottish woman who travels with her daughter (played by X-Men‘s Anna Paquin in her first major role) to New Zealand for an arranged marriage. With her win, Paquin became the second-youngest actor to win an Oscar after Tatum O’Neal, which is a title she holds to this day. Paquin would go on to play Rogue across four X-Men movies, while Hunter has the two Incredibles films and Snyder’s Batman v Superman under her belt currently.

Rent or Buy The Piano on Apple TV.