5 best Oscar nominees who didn’t win (and we’re still not over)

LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 29: Actor Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger speak onstage during the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on January 29, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The Academy Awards may come and go, but these snubs will never cease to amaze us (nor will we be over them anytime soon).

Gone are the months of living above our means with near constant trips to the cinema, pretending we’re Academy voters and championing our favorite actors and films.

As another awards season ends, we can celebrate who won and who lost. Or better yet, we can debate about who should have won and lost.

We’ll never be truly over Casey Affleck winning Best Actor over Denzel Washington last year. We’re still coming to terms with Gary Oldman winning at all over Daniel Kaluuya and Timothée Chalamet this year. Then again, is that just the Academy making amends for Oldman not winning for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy?

Such is life and such are awards shows — there are incredible wins as much as shocking snubs. However, we can take heart in this. Despite the snubs we lament over (who even remembers The Artist?), we’ll always remember those nominees that we held dearest to us. Sometimes that can be the biggest award of all, to have a dedicated following versus an award on a shelf.

Here’s to the five best Oscar nominees who should have won — you’re winners in our hearts.