Image Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage
Even before Meryl Streep was awarded her third Oscar last night, there was no denying that she is among the most honored movie actors of our (or any) time. Since co-starring in The Deer Hunter 34 years ago, she has been nominated for 17 Oscars, a Ruthian record that appears unbreakable. She’s five nominations ahead of Jack Nicholson, who’s tied with Katharine Hepburn for second place of all time, and 36-year-old Kate Winslet is only one-third of the way to eclipsing Streep, who, by the way, is far from finished (See: the upcoming Great Hope Springs, with Tommy Lee Jones; and August: Osage County, opposite Julia Roberts). Twenty Oscar nominations is certainly within her reach.
You could argue that she should be there already. Though it seems like Streep has been nominated for every role she’s ever played, there have been times where she’s actually been overlooked. I’m not talking about Mamma Mia! or The River Wild, though they were two of her most popular movies. I’m talking about numerous carefully calibrated turns that if you don’t have her IMDb page open in front you, you’d swear she was nominated for. When you’ve been nominated as many times as Streep, it’s difficult to recall which ones were recognized by Oscar and which ones were merely excellent films, sans nomination. A little test, to prove my point: I’ll list five of her movies, three of which earned her nominations.
Without Googling, pick the two that didn’t make the cut:
-The Hours
-Ironweed
-Marvin’s Room
-Music of the Heart
-One True Thing
Click below for the answers and for three of my favorite non-nominated Meryl Streep performances.
