1) Al Pacino
Won For: Scent of a Woman
Should Have Won For: The Godfather Part II
In Scent of a Woman, Al Pacino is everything he tragically came to be in the 90s and beyond: a shouty, scenery-chewing shell of his former self. He’s big where he used to be subtle, crazed and apparently trying to out-act everyone in his vicinity. It was for this he won his first and only Best Actor Oscar.
In The Godfather Part II, Al Pacino is quite simply one of the two greatest actors that ever lived (the other one being De Niro, of course). The tiniest flickers on his face tell a haunting, terrifying story. He should have been crowned Best Actor for this, nay for any performance he gave in his 70s period, but unfortunately that’s just how rarely justice is served at the Oscars.