On Sunday the biggest names in Hollywood will grace the red carpet for the 84th Academy Awards as another year of cinema is celebrated.
And in the actor categories it seems like there are going to be few surprises as Best Actor will be won by either George Clooney or Jean Dujardin and Best Supporting Actor by Christopher Plummer.
But with the awards just around the corner we take a look at some of the actors who were shockingly overlooked by the Academy Awards.
- Orson Welles
Orson Welles brought to the big screen one of the most iconic and praised movie of all time, of course I am talking about Citizen Kane back in 1941.
Despite this movie being held in such high regard the movie missed out on scooping Best Picture to the somewhat mediocre How Green Was My Valley.
And while Welles was nominated for both Best Actor and Best Director he was overlooked.
And despite works such as The Magnificent Ambersons and The Lady From Shanghai the Best Actor nod for Citizen Kane was to be the only one he received throughout his career.
- Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is one of the most celebrated and respected actors of his generation and yet he never won an Oscar for his work.
He received an Honorary Award back in 1996 for his fifty years of service but he was overlooked for Best Actor throughout his career.
Douglas was nominated for Best Actor three times during his career for Champion, Bad & the Beautiful and Lust for Life but missed out on all three occasions.
- Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole is another actor with a fine body of work behind him but who was over looked time and time again when it came to handing out the major awards.
He was nominated for Best Actor eight times for Lawrence of Arabia, Becket, The Lion in Winter, Goodbye, Mr Chips, The Ruling Class, The Stunt Man, My Favourite Year and Venus - losing out to the likes of Gregory Peck, Rex Harrison and Robert De Niro over the years.
However O'Toole's lack of an Oscar win did not go unnoticed by the Academy who presented him with an Honorary Award in 2003 in recognition of his work.
- Peter Sellers
British actor Peter Sellers is one of the most versatile actors to have ever graced the big screen as he tackled more the one character in many of his movies.
He picked up two Oscar nominations during his career; one in 1979 for Chance and the other for Dr Strangelove in 1963.
Dr Strangelove is recognised as his most famous movie, along with Inspector Jacques Clouseau in The Pink Panther films, but he lost out to Rex Harrison for My Fair Lady.
- Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood has enjoyed huge Oscar success behind the camera but for his long and very distinguished acting career he has received only two Best Actor nominations.
He was overlooked on both occasions, nomination for Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, but both of these nods have come to the back end of his career.
Eastwood may be an acting icon but the Academy has only seen fit to award him for his directorial work as he picked up Best Picture and Best Director for both Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby.
He was totally overlooked for his stunning performance in Gran Torino in 2008 - which didn't even bag nods for his directorial work.
- Gary Oldman
It's 2012 and Gary Oldman has enjoyed a career that has spanned over thirty years and yet Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has brought him his first Oscar nod.
Yes his role as George Smiley has finally seen him recognised by the Academy and he finds himself up against Clooney, Dujardin, Brad Pitt and Demian Bichir.
Oldman has enjoyed roles in Sid & Nancy, JFK, Leon and The Contender but he has struggled to gain award recognition for his work.
And while we are on the topic of overlooked actors many would argue that the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Sidney Poitier should have received more than their solitary win.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw