Tom Cruise (3 Oscar Nominations)

As Tom Cruise continues to take audiences along for the wildest of mid-life crisis rides, it’s important to remember that his talents go way beyond doing his own death-defying stunts. During the ‘90s Tom Cruise was one of, if not, the biggest stars in Hollywood and collected three Oscar nominations along the way. From his impressive transformation in Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July, his charismatic energy in Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire, and one of his more restrained performances in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia, Cruise was doing it all. However, he still couldn’t overcome veteran performers like Daniel Day-Lewis, Geoffrey Rush, and Michael Caine, who won for My Left Foot, Shine, and The Cider House Rules respectively.