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Latinos Who Should Have Won an Oscar – But Didn’t
The Oscars stir up excitement, controversy, and plenty of debate every year. For Latinos in Hollywood, the narrative often revolves around being overlooked, despite delivering groundbreaking performances and creating films that make an impact. Over the years, there have been countless Latin American and Latino filmmakers, actors, and movies that truly deserved to take home the golden statue, but didn’t. Let’s take a look at some of the most significant Oscar snubs in Latino history.
Biggest Best Picture Snubs
Latinos have made a mark in Hollywood, but when it comes to Best Picture, they’ve taken home the award just two times: Alejandro González Iñarritu’s Birdman (2015) and Benicio Del Toro’s The Shape of Water (2018).
In 2006, Iñárritu’s “Babel” had all the elements of an Oscar winner: a powerful global story, an emotional soundtrack, and a talented cast. But the Academy chose “Crash” instead. Then, in 2013 and in 2018, Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” and “Roma”, lost to “Argo” and “Green Book”, respectively.
Moreover, after winning in 2015, Alejandro González Iñárritu was nominated in this category for his movie “The Revenant” in 2016, but lost to “Spotlight.” Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” (2022) was another snub. The movie was a technical and artistic masterpiece, but the Academy gave Best Picture to “CODA.”
Another major miss? Shaka King, a producer of “Judas and the Black Messiah” (2021). This was a historic moment: King became the first American producer of Hispanic descent nominated for Best Picture, but the win went to “Nomadland.”
Best Director Snubs
Sure, we’ve had some wins here: Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Guillermo del Toro have all taken home Best Director awards. But others have been unfairly overlooked.
Back in 1986, Héctor Babenco (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”) was nominated, but the Oscar went to Sydney Pollack for “Out of Africa.” Fernando Meirelles (“City of God,”) gave us one of the most visually striking films of all time, yet he lost to Peter Jackson for “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”
In 2007, Alejandro González Iñárritu (“Babel”) should have won, but Martin Scorsese finally received his much-deserved Oscar for “The Departed.”
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Best Actor & Actress Snubs
Latino actors in lead roles have been largely overlooked by the Academy. Edward James Olmos (“Stand and Deliver”) gave a career-defining performance as real-life educator Jaime Escalante, but lost to Dustin Hoffman for “Rain Man.”
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Demián Bichir (“A Better Life”) was phenomenal as an immigrant father fighting for a better future, but Jean Dujardin took the Oscar for “The Artist,” a silent film performance that felt more like an Academy gimmick than a true acting showcase.
More recently, in 2024, Colman Domingo (“Rustin”) became the first Afro-Latino nominated for Best Actor, but the win went to Cillian Murphy for “Oppenheimer”, who had already been considered a frontrunner all season.
In 1999 Brazilian Fernanda Montenegro was nominated for Best Actress for her role in Central Station, but sadly lost to Gwyneth Paltrow who starred in “Shakespeare in Love.” Salma Hayek was nominated for Best Actress for her passionate portrayal of Frida Kahlo in “Frida”, but ultimately, Nicole Kidman won for her role in “The Hours.”
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In 2019, Yalitza Aparicio became the first Indigenous Mexican woman to be nominated for Best Actress, thanks to her performance in “Roma,” but Olivia Colman took home the award for “The Favourite.” Ana de Armas made history as the first Cuban actress nominated for her role in “Blonde” in 2023. Despite her exceptional transformation into Marilyn Monroe, Michelle Yeoh won the award for “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”
Best Supporting Actor & Actress Snubs
Benicio del Toro (“21 Grams”) had already won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor (“Traffic”, 2000), but his loss for 21 Grams still felt undeserved, especially since he outshined most of the main cast. Meanwhile, Rosie Perez (“Fearless”) was electric, yet she lost to Anna Paquin for “The Piano”.
Adriana Barraza (“Babel”) gave a gut-wrenching performance as a nanny caught in an impossible situation, but the Academy ignored her in favor of Jennifer Hudson for “Dreamgirls”. Marina de Tavira (“Roma”) was another major snub, her quiet, powerful performance as the matriarch of the film deserved more recognition, but she lost to Regina King for “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
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And in 2024, America Ferrera (“Barbie”) gave the most talked-about monologue of the year, but the Oscar went to Da’Vine Joy Randolph for “The Holdovers” instead.
Best International Feature Film Snubs
Many incredible Latin American films have been nominated, but only a few have won. Some of the snubs include:
- Macario (Mexico, 1960)
- The Important Man (Mexico, 1961)
- Keeper of Promises (Brazil, 1962)
- The Pearl of Tlayucan (Mexico, 1962)
- The Truce (Argentina, 1974)
- Letters from Marusia (Chile, 1975)
- Alsino and the Condor (Nicaragua, 1982)
- Camila (Argentina, 1984) – First Latin American film directed by a woman to be nominated.
- What Happened to Santiago (Puerto Rico, 1989)
- A Place in the World (Uruguay, 1992) – Was disqualified after the nomination.
- Strawberry and Chocolate (Cuba, 1994) – First and only Cuban film nominated.
- O Quatrilho (Brazil, 1995)
- Four Days in September (Brazil, 1997)
- Central Station (Brazil, 1998) – Also nominated for Best Actress (Fernanda Montenegro).
- Tango (Argentina, 1998)
- Amores Perros (Mexico, 2000) – The film that put Iñárritu on the map.
- Son of the Bride (Argentina, 2001)
- The Crime of Father Amaro (Mexico, 2002)
- Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico, 2006) – Won 3 Oscars but lost this category.
- The Milk of Sorrow (Peru, 2009) – The only Peruvian film ever nominated.
- Biutiful (Mexico, 2010) – Also nominated for Best Actor (Javier Bardem).
- No (Chile, 2012) – First Chilean film nominated.
- Wild Tales (Argentina, 2014)
- Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia, 2015) – First Colombian nominee.
- Argentina, 1985 (Argentina, 2022)
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Hollywood still has a long way to go in recognizing Latino talent. While we’ve seen some wins in recent years, so many incredible performances and films have been ignored. The question is: When will the Academy finally give Latinos the recognition they deserve?
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