2025’s Best Unnominated Performances: A Closer Look

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Every year, the Oscar nominations roll out and we all pretend we don’t care… and then immediately start arguing about who got left out. So here’s my contribution to awards-season chaos: a thoughtful, scene-focused breakdown of a few of the most talked-about 2025 Oscar snubs, the actors whose work deserved real Academy Awards attention, even if they didn’t land an acting nomination.

In this video...

Bugonia - Aidan Delbis: Aidan Delbis gives a quietly devastating, deeply authentic performance that grounds the film’s chaos with real human vulnerability.

Hamnet - Paul Mescal: Paul Mescal is singled out as a major awards-season omission for a performance that reportedly brings surprising intimacy and emotional weight to Shakespeare.

Train Dreams - Joel Edgerton and William H. Macy: Joel Edgerton’s restrained melancholy and William H. Macy’s warm, lived-in presence make Train Dreams a two-hander of overlooked, beautifully textured acting.

The Smashing Machine - Dwayne Johnson: Dwayne Johnson delivers a raw, unexpectedly serious turn that shows real dramatic depth beneath the physicality and persona.

HEADS UP: Minor spoilers, plenty of opinions, and a whole lot of admiration for actors doing incredible work.

0:00 - SNUBBED!!!
2:06 - Aiden Delbis (and Jesse Plommons) - Bugonia
8:38 - Paul Mescal - Hamnet Paul Mescal
11:03 - Joel Edgerton - Train Dreams
13:38 - William H. Macy - Train Dreams
16:49 - Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson - The Smashing Machine