We talk a lot about which performers and directors have been snubbed at Oscar time.

For movie lovers, that’s an important subject.  We all know that great actors like Peter O’Toole, Cary Grant, Albert Finney, and far too many others all went to their grave with several nominations but not a single competitive Oscar to their name.  Just two years ago, Kirk Douglas died at the age of 103 without having ever won a competitive Oscar.  And certainly, over the past two years, we have been made far more aware of the fact that everyone is going to die someday.  We always talk about how certain actors are overdue for their first Oscar but sometimes we forget that being overdue doesn’t always translate into an eventual win.  Sometimes, it translates into people watching a movie on TCM and saying, “How did that person never win an Oscar?”

With that in mind, here are 6 performers who I sincerely hope will have won their first Oscar by the time that 2032 rolls around:

1. Bradley Cooper

Seriously, if you look up overdue in the dictionary, there’s a chance that Bradley Cooper would be used as the example.  He’s been nominated so many times and he has yet to win, though I do get the feeling that he may have come close a few times.  He deserved a nomination this year for Nightmare Alley and, if his role had been bigger, you could probably argue that he deserved one for Licorice Pizza as well.  One gets the feeling that Cooper is taken for granted, in the way that many effortlessly good performers are.  Maybe his upcoming biopic of Leonard Bernstein will finally do the trick.

2. Rachel Sennott

Rachel Sennott’s performance in Shiva Baby was one of the best of 2021 and it’s one for which she deserved to be nominated.  It’s impossible to imagine that film working without her performance.  Hopefully, it’ll lead to more worthy roles for her.

3. Chaske Spencer

Chaske Spenser gave one of the best performances of 2021 in Wild Indian.  Though the film may not have been widely seen, Spenser’s performance was powerful and unforgettable and, much as in the case of Sennott, I hope it leads to more worthy roles for him.

4. Ann Dowd

It’s hard to believe that Ann Dowd hasn’t even received an Oscar nomination yet.  Her performance in Mass was one of the best of 2021.  In a role that others probably would have used as an excuse to overact and show-off, Dowd gave a quietly devastating and emotionally honest performance.  Perhaps because Dowd disappears so effortlessly into her role, the Academy took her work for granted.  Perhaps the film’s subject matter was simply too grim for the voters.  Regardless of why the Academy didn’t respond to Mass, Dowd deserves an Oscar.

5. Adam Driver

It’ll happen soon.  And I bet this former Marine will give the best acceptance speech of the night.

6. Scarlett Johansson

Much as with Driver, it’ll happen soon.  Picking up both a lead and supporting nomination in 2020 was definitely a good start.

I can’t wait to see all six of these performers win their first Oscar!  Don’t disappoint me, Academy!