10 Best Voice Performances That Deserved Oscar Nominations

For decades, actors have been delivering performances that are sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, and sometimes a little bit of both, using nothing but their voices. Unfortunately, while there’s no written rule against it, no actor has ever been nominated for an Oscar for a voice-only performance, which is truly criminal. From animated favorites to mo-cap masterpieces, here are ten voice-only performances that were worthy of a shot at Oscar gold.

 

1. Scarlett Johansson as Samantha – Her

Johansson attracted serious awards buzz for her performance in Spike Jonze’s 2013 sci-fi romance, and it’s truly a shame that it never came to fruition. In a film packed with awards-worthy performances (in a better world, Joaquin Phoenix would’ve gotten his fourth Oscar nomination that year), Johansson stands out for crafting a wholly believable arc for Samantha as the film reaches its heartbreaking conclusion.

Her achievement is even more impressive when you consider that she wasn’t even the original actress for the part; Samantha Morton, who recorded the role on-set, was replaced during post-production, with Johansson having to match her performance to Phoenix’s. Thankfully she pulled it off, giving us one of the most three-dimensional voice performances ever recorded.

 

2. Zoe Saldana as Neytiri – Avatar

James Cameron’s sci-fi epic has faced many criticisms since its release, everything from its “white-savior” narrative to accusations of plagiarism, but it cannot be denied that Cameron pioneered a new realm of motion-capture technology with this film, and it shows in the actors’ performances.

While Sigourney Weaver and CCH Pounder are great, it’s Zoe Saldana as Neytiri who steals the show. Saldana takes a character that could’ve been just another two-dimensional love interest and fills it with life and believability, not to mention being one of the most badass movie heroines of the last ten years. How anyone could watch this scene, where Neytiri reacts to the news that the protagonist Jake Sully is a spy, and not be blown away by Saldana’s performance is beyond me.

 

3. Eddie Murphy as Donkey – Shrek

The Oscars have a notorious bias against comedic movies and performances, so this probably would’ve been a long shot, but few can deny that Murphy’s performance as Donkey is some of his best work, not to mention his most quotable. Murphy lands every joke and nails every bit of pathos that the role requires, stealing away with the movie in the bargain.

Murphy received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 2002 BAFTAs; he remains the only actor to ever receive a major award nomination for a voice-only performance. While the Oscars may have given Shrek their first ever award for Best Animated Feature and an Adapted Screenplay nomination, apparently they couldn’t make room for Murphy’s iconic performance.

 

4. Andy Serkis as Smeagol/Gollum – Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

It was a tough call between this and Serkis’ work in the recent Planet of the Apes trilogy, but ultimately I had to give the edge to the performance that literally changed how we viewed motion capture technology. Serkis’ performance in this movie is spine-tingling, funny and captivating all at once. The moonlit two-hander where Smeagol seemingly banishes Gollum for good is a masterclass.

His performance in The Two Towers and its sequel led to him becoming Hollywood’s go-to mo-cap guy, leading to roles ranging from the titular ape in Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake to the villainous Snoke in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. It’s fair to say that motion-capture acting wouldn’t be what it is today without Serkis’ contributions to the art form. Give the man an Honorary Oscar already.

 

5. Ellen DeGeneres as Dory – Finding Nemo

Much like Donkey in Shrek, Dory is one of the most quotable animated sidekicks ever, and that is largely in part due to DeGeneres’ hilarious line-readings as the forgetful blue tang. Dory steals the film, and it’s no wonder that she got her own sequel more than a decade later, allowing DeGeneres to reprise her stellar performance. It might be hard to imagine it now given Ellen’s ubiquitous presence on daytime television and YouTube, but before this film’s release, her career was in dire straits.

Her original sitcom Ellen had been cancelled five years earlier, with her follow up show being canceled after only 13 episodes. Her performance in Finding Nemo kicked off a major comeback, culminating in the debut of her daytime talk show four months after the film’s release. An Oscar nom would’ve been the perfect cherry on top of a near-perfect year for DeGeneres.

 

6. James Earl Jones as Darth Vader – Star Wars

Sporting one of the most recognizable (and often imitated) voices in Hollywood, it’s a shame that the man behind one of the greatest movie villains ever couldn’t get some recognition from the Academy. Even though David Prowse portrayed him on set, it was Jones’ iconic vocal delivery that cemented Vader’s place in cinema history.

Just check out this video of Darth Vader’s scenes without Jones’ booming bass; it doesn’t even come close to the same level of menace. Honestly, Jones gave a better performance as Vader screaming “Noooo” at the end of Revenge of the Sith than Hayden Christensen managed in two whole films.

 

7. Alan Tudyk as King Candy/Turbo – Wreck-It Ralph

Alan Tudyk has to be one of the most underrated actors working today. From making us cry in Serenity to making the rooster in Moana the funniest character on-screen, this man deserves all of the awards that we could possibly throw at him. It’s truly a crime that he didn’t receive more accolades for his delirious Mad Hatter-esque portrayal of King Candy/Turbo in 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph, (though he did win an Annie Award, the animation world’s equivalent of an Oscar).

His spot-on Ed Wynn impression should have been enough to secure a nomination on its own. Much like Scarlett Johansson in Her, Tudyk wasn’t even Pixar’s first choice; the original actor was unavailable for the first script reading, so Tudyk’s agent got him in as a temporary replacement. The rest, as they say, is voice-over history.

 

8. Mercedes McCambridge as Pazuzu – The Exorcist

Linda Blair may have received all of the awards attention for her performance as the demon-possessed Regan in this box office hit, but it was McCambridge’s initially uncredited work as the voice of the demon that truly sells the horror.

McCambridge, who director Orson Welles chain-smoked and guzzled whiskey and raw eggs to make her voice sound more frightening and aggressive, even tying her hands behind her back during recording sessions to better mimic the possessed Regan struggling against her restraints. It paid off, with the Oscar-winner’s performance effectively terrifying audiences for decades.

 

9. Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

While the Hobbit movies had a decidedly mixed reception when compared to their more lauded predecessors, many critics agreed about Cumberbatch’s performance as the sinister Smaug in the second film was a strong highlight.

Portraying the character using motion capture technology similar to what Weta Digital had used on Serkis in the Rings trilogy, Cumberbatch imbues the character with a mischievous intelligence that completely evokes how dangerous Smaug can be. It looks like all of those hours studying reptiles at the London Zoo paid off.

 

10. Robin Williams as the Genie – Aladdin

I couldn’t end this list without mentioning one of the most iconic voice performances of all time: Robin Williams as the Genie in 1992’s Aladdin. The directors famously created the part for and around Williams, allowing him to improvise most of his lines and selecting the best of his ad-libs to fit whatever was going on in the scene, sometimes rebuilding the script around whatever he came up with.

Williams’ performance turned the Genie into the iconic Disney sidekick, helping to turn the movie into one of the best films of the Disney Renaissance. Williams was awarded a Special Achievement Award by the Golden Globes for his performance, but unfortunately, the Oscars didn’t follow suit, (they did give him an award five years later for Good Will Hunting, so I suppose they made up for it).

Honorable Mentions: Toby Kebbell as the antagonistic Koba in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Douglas Rain as the enigmatic HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Richard Kind as the lovable Bing Bong in Inside Out, Keith David as the shadowy Doctor Facilier in Princess and the Frog, Eartha Kitt as the manic Yzma in Emperor’s New Groove, and many, many more.

MORE MOVIES:
– The Best Post-Apocalyptic Movies You Should Watch
– The Best Animated Movies You Should Watch
– The Best Supernatural Horror Movies Ever Made