3) Marisa Tomei
Won For: My Cousin Vinny
Should Have Won For: The Wrestler
Marisa Tomei’s Best Supporting Actress win for My Cousin Vinny in 1993 came as such a shock that a long-circulating urban legend went that the wrong name had accidentally been read out. It’s not that Tomei’s particularly bad in the film – she’s just not particularly Oscar-worthy, either.
In the time since she won her Academy Award, Tomei hasn’t rested on her laurels: she’s actually only gotten better as an actress. Ideally, her Oscar would’ve come in her peak later period, for her turn as an ageing stripper in The Wrestler. Anyone who holds their own against a Mickey Rourke in his prime and still wows at least deserves something for the trouble.