Katherine Hepburn has the distinct honor of being awarded four Oscars in her lifetime, all for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Hepburn won for Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (1967), The Lion in the Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1982).
You mission, if you choose to accept it, is to award one actor/actress or director with four Oscars for their frame of work thus far.
I’m sure the obvious choice for some will be to give Meryl Streep a whole bunch of awards. I’m trying to think a little more outside the box. For me, Tom Hanks’ early career, especially in the 90′s was one of the best for any actor, living or dead. He won two Oscars for Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994), both incredibly well-deserved. I’d definitely throw him one for Robert Zemeckis’ Cast Away (2000), a performance that’s still as great today as it was then. The fourth would be a Supporting Actor Oscar for his comedic and heartwarming turn as Coach Jimmy Dugan in Penny Marshall’s A League of Their Own (1992), that way he’s only taking it away from Gene Hackman for Unforgiven (1992).
On the director’s side, Steven Spielberg could probably hold Oscars comfortably for Schindler’s List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1999), both deserved, and add Oscars for The Color Purple (1985) and E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982).
Discuss on your own! Comment and discuss!
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Tags: American film directors, Cinema of the United States, Coach, Director, Entertainment/Culture, Film, Forrest Gump, gene hackman, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Human Interest, Jimmy Dugan, Katharine Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Movie Release, On Golden Pond, Oscar, Oscars, Penny Marshall, Philadelphia, Private, Robert Zemeckis, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Space advocacy, Steven Spielberg, Supporting Actor, The Color Purple, tom hanks
46 Comments
I’d go with Tom Hanks
John Rivera(Quote) (Reply)
Russell Crowe!
Dennis Oppong Arthur (@DennisRthr)(Quote) (Reply)
I’d go with Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt, As good as it gets, One flew… and Terms of endearment)
Or…Chinatown/Prizzi’s Honow
Roberto Hevia(Quote) (Reply)
DIRECTOR:
I’d go with Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Departed, Gangs of NY)
Roberto Hevia(Quote) (Reply)
I would select Marlon Brando with 4 wins for Leading performances in:
1) “Streetcar Named Desire (1952).
2) “On the waterfront” (1954).
3) Godfather (1972).
4) “Last Tango in Paris (1973).
Genadijus(Quote) (Reply)
Ditto this, minus Last Tango, add Apocalypse Now (1979)
Mark Johnson(Quote) (Reply)
Yeah, I’d say Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Scorsese and Spielberg are the go-to choices simply because they have absolutely amazing resumes to their credit.
I’m not as up on my meryl streep movies as others are, I’ve seen about 10 of her movies. She was amazing in Doubt and very good in Kramer vs Kramer (even though I don’t love the movie itself). The Iron Lady for sure (sorry, i know I’m commiting a Awardscircuit sin, the movie is nothing great but the performance is). That’s three (but I’m not sure, I’d have to watch all the nominees)… the fourth will probably be something like Sophie’s Choice of A Cry in the Dark (both of which I have yet to see…)
moviewatcher(Quote) (Reply)
Leonardo DiCaprio for me: The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Poor guy can’t even get one
. I would totally be okay with him taking it from Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Tommy Lee Jones and Colin Firth. Would not lose sleep for it whatsoever.
Joseph Braverman(Quote) (Reply)
I would say Tilda Swinton for “The Deep End”, “Michael Clayton”, “Julia” and “We Need to Talk About Kevin”. I could also say Marion Cotillard for “La vie en rose”, “Nine”, Inception”, “Midnight in Paris” and “Rust & Bone”. “James Gray “The Nightingale” is my 2013 most anticipated movie. Their is also John Goodman who is too much in the shadow! He is a monster of Amrican Cinema. What about Catherine Deneuve? Nobody can ever forgot her work on “Indochine”,”Belle de jour”, “8 womans” or more recently “Potiche”. In another register, Gary Oldman was great in “Prick Up Your Ears”, the over the-top corrupt police officer in “The professional” (My favorite), “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead” and he was great in “Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy”.
Amanda(Quote) (Reply)
Love the Tilda choice, but if anything you have to mention her best performane (IMO), I Am Love.
Mark Johnson(Quote) (Reply)
I’ll go with Speilberg. I’ll give it to him for Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler’s List, and Catch Me if You Can. To be honest, it’s only because those are my favorite films from those respective years. In terms of my actual choices for best director, he would have lost in 1975 to Kubrick and 2002 to Polanski.
koook160 (Robert MacFarlane)(Quote) (Reply)
Robert Duvall for:
1) Apocalypse Now (1979)
2) Tender Mercies (1983)
3) The Apostle (1997)
4) Get Low (2010)
Massimo(Quote) (Reply)
Totally agree on Robert Duvall. Each role is like a well polished jewel. I would toss Apocalypse Now in favor The Godfather and throw in Second Hand Lions just because I love the film.
jessied44(Quote) (Reply)
Scorcese for Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and The Departed, not to mention a screenplay win for Goodfellas.
However, if we’re talking screenplays as well, I’d add Lynch, PT Anderson, Tarantino, and Kubrick.
Evan(Quote) (Reply)
Streep is obvious, I like Hanks and Nicholson too, but I would chose Kate Winslet.
1) Revolutionary Road -2009- (beating herself essentially, but getting the lead for this and supporting for the Reader)
2) Sense and Sensibility -1995- (beating out Mira Sorvino)
3) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind -2005- (beating Swank)
4) Reader -2009
although personally I would swap out the Reader with Little Children, but I think it would have been hard for her to beat Mirren in the Queen that year.
Gerold(Quote) (Reply)
I’m hesitant to give anyone four Oscars all to themselves, but I’ll bite.
Meryl would obviously keep her win for Sophie’s Choice in 82 and Kramer vs. Kramer in 79, but she’d also have wins for The French Lieutenant’s Woman in 81 and Doubt in 08.
Hoffman’s another good choice. Keeping his 79 and 88 wins, he could also get the award in 67 for The Graduate and 74 for Lenny (though Pacino or Nicholson are probably more deserving of that title, for these purposes we’ll just compare Hoffman and Carney).
UBourgeois(Quote) (Reply)
Hmm…I’m trying to think out of the box but I keep coming up with the obvious ones, like Hanks, Brando, and Nicholson. How about Ingrid Bergman? I could stand giving her one for Notorious, and I know a lot of other people would go with Casablanca. If one of those wouldn’t work out, she’s got Oscar worthy roles to spare. I bet I could also find another supporting role award for Walter Brennan.
Ultimately, however, I think I’ll chose to give four Oscars to my personal artistic hero, Orson Welles. You know what, I’ll go crazy and give him FIVE awards, each in a different category and each from a different film. He can keep his 1941 original screenplay award for Citizen Kane, and pick up one for adapted screenplay in 1965 for adapting a combination of Shakespeare’s plays in Chimes at Midnight (over Dr. Zhivago, a tough call for sure). I could throw him one for best director from Touch of Evil in 1958, he definitely gets a supporting actor award for The Third Man in 1949 (I would go with Touch of Evil here, but I like Burl Ives’ part in The Big Country form 1958 and don’t care at all about Dean Jagger in 1949), and finally, I could give him one for best documentary from 1973 for “F is for Fake.” How’s that for outside the box.
Steve Glansberg(Quote) (Reply)
Paul Newman for:
1. The Hustler
2. Hud
3. The Sting (supporting actor)
4. The Verdict
Tom Hanks for:
1. Big
2. A League of Their Own (supporting actor)
3. Philadelphia
4. Forrest Gump
I almost gave him oscars for Saving Private Ryan and Cast Away as well but Edward Norton and Christian Bale were the only reasons I didn’t.
I wanted to say Ellen Burstyn but I couldn’t take away Sissy Spacek’s oscar for Coal Miner’s Daughter so I leave Burstyn at three.
Jeremy DC(Quote) (Reply)
Out of the box? I agree with:
Tom Hanks
Brando
Paul Newman
Tilda Swinton
Nicholson
Spielberg
John Goodman (Thinks for meminding us)
Leonardo D.
Martin Scorsese
Polanski
Maryl Streep
Colin Firth
Catherine Deneuve
I would like to submit:
Helena Bonham-Carter
Vincent Cassel
Whoopy Goldberg
Jessica Lange
Gerard Depardieu
Michael Douglas
Robert De Niro
Al Pacino
Maybe next year:
Marion Cotillard () I think “La vie en rose”, “Nine” and “Rust & Bone” are oscar worthy but “Inception”, “Midnight in Paris” not really, so honestly everything depends on “The Nightingale” and “Blood Ties”. But it’s true that she choose very well her projects. I say Yes and no
Tom(Quote) (Reply)
So many fantastic choices mentioned. One I didn’t see – and forgive me if I missed it – was Hitchcock, surprisingly.
Psycho
Vertigo
Rear Window
North By Northwest
And then like 4 or 5 more Oscars for films like The Birds, Stranges on a Train, Shadow of a Doubt, Rebecca, Dial M for Murder, etc. etc. etc.
Mark Johnson(Quote) (Reply)
Brad Pitt is well deserving.
1. Terry Gilliam’s “12 Monkeys” was nominated.
2. David Fincher’s “Fight Club” sould have at least given him a nomination.
3. David Fincher’s “The Curipus Case of Benjamin Button”. Was a great challenge, both for him and the tchnicals.
4. “Moneyball” was very good. Nothing against “The Artist”. But it was very good and perhaps worthy in other circumstances.
Other Possibilities:
Legends of the Fall
Bable
Burn After Reading
Inglorious Bastards
The Tree Of Life
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Diego(Quote) (Reply)
I’ll go with Sissy Spacek for
Carrie
Coal Miner’s Daughter
Crimes of the Hearts
In the Bedroom
Bryan(Quote) (Reply)
Dustin Hoffman! How has no one mentioned him!?
1. The Graduate
2. Papillion (Supporting Actor)
3. Kramer vs. Kramer
4. Tootsie
Joe Gouveia(Quote) (Reply)
I mentioned him, I just used a different crop of films.
UBourgeois(Quote) (Reply)
Cross off Papillion, add Rain Man and it’s a good list.
Henry Z.(Quote) (Reply)
Keep them both! He’s incredible in Papillon.
Mark Johnson(Quote) (Reply)
I’ll say Guy Ritchie:
1998:
- Best Director (Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels)
- Best Original Screenplay (ditto)
2000:
- Best Director (Snatch)
- Best Original Screenplay (ditto)
JamDenTel(Quote) (Reply)
Hey, what about Peter O’Toole, poor guy.
He can get 1962 for Lawrence, 1964 for Becket, 1968 for The Lion in Winter (the most egregious of his snubs, I think), and 2006 for Venus.
UBourgeois(Quote) (Reply)
Amen. How he lost for Lion is a terrible shame
Joe Gouveia(Quote) (Reply)
So many potential answers…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Aaron Sorkin for Social Network, A Few Good Men, Moneyball, and Charlie Wilson’s War.
Chris(Quote) (Reply)
Daniel Day-Lewis: My Left Foot, Gangs of New York, There Will Be Blood, and Lincoln.
Hm, well let’s hope Lincoln is good as it looks.
Henry Z.(Quote) (Reply)
Norman Jewison: director
1) The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming
2) In The Heat Of the Night
3) A Soldier’s Story
4) Moonstruck
Emma Thompson: actress
1) Sense and Sensibility
2) The Remains of the Day
3) Howard’s End
4) Love Actually
Viggo Mortensen: actor
1) LOTR: The Return of the King
2) A History of Violence
3) Eastern Promises
4) The Road
Caddie(Quote) (Reply)
I think Kate Winslet for Eternal Sunshine, Sense and Sensibility, Little Children and The Reader.
Meryl for The Devil wears Prada, Julie and Julia, Sophie’s Choice, The bridges of Madison County, The Deer Hunter, The Iron Lady, Kramer vs Kramer
and VIGGO MORTENSEN! he completely deserves it! also Leonardo Dicaprio.
But my favorite es RYAN GOSLING for Blue Valentine, Drive, Half Nelson and The Believer.
AND STILL I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY JIM CARREY WAS NOT NOMINATED FOR THE TRUMAN SHOW AND ETERNAL SUNSHINE… !!!!!!
paula gajardo(Quote) (Reply)
Julianne Moore:
Boogie Night (1997)
Magnolia (1999)
Hours (2002)
Far from Heaven (2002)
She should win both in 2002. I still can’t understand how they picked CZJ over her.
Maciek(Quote) (Reply)
5 for Brando – A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris, Apocalypse Now (Supporting Actor)
Hitchcock – Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho
Herrmann – Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Psycho, Taxi Driver
Scorsese – Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Departed, Hugo
Allen (Original Screenplay) – Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, Midnight in Paris
Arjecc(Quote) (Reply)
Robert De Niro (I’ll go ahead and give him 5)
Best Supporting Actor in 1973 for either Mean Streets or Bang the Drum Slowly
Best Supporting Actor in 1974 for The Godfather Part II
Best Actor in 1976 for Taxi Driver
Best Actor in 1978 for The Deer Hunter
Best Actor in 1980 for Raging Bull
Paul Newman
Best Actor (Cool Hand Luke)
Best Actor (The Hustler)
Best Actor (HUD)
Best Actor (Nobody’s Fool)
Marlon Brando
Best Actor (A Streetcar Named Desire)
Best Actor (On the Waterfront)
Best Actor (The Godfather)
Best Supporting Actor (Apocalypse Now)
Wael Khairy(Quote) (Reply)
1) Meryl Streep : Kramer x Kramer, Sophie´s choice, A cry in the dark, The bridges of Madison County, The Iron Lady
2 ) Daniel Day-Lewis : My left foot, In the name of the Father, Gangs of New York, There will be blood
3 ) Vanessa Redgrave : Isadora, Julia, Howards End, Coriolanus
4 ) Maggie Smith : Othello, The prime of Miss Jean Brodie, California Suite, A room with a view
Eric Loggia(Quote) (Reply)
Jessica Lange for five all in a leading role for “Frances”, “Country”, “Sweet Dreams”, “Music Box” and of course “Blue Sky” and a supporting one for “Tootsie”. I think she should enjoy the same popularity than Maryl Streep. I really like Marion Cotillard too even if she is very young compare to the usual suspects (Streep, Brando..) I would say two in a leading role and two for supporting ; “La vie en rose” and “Rust & Bone” / “A very long engagement” and (Yeah) “Inception”. And I admit she was great in “Public Enemies”, “Nine” and “Midnight in Paris”. Like someone said “The Nightingale” is her first leading role in English so if she really is like James Gray said at Telluride she might be legitimately on this list
Jug(Quote) (Reply)
I think it’s a bit insulting to state that saying Meryl deserves more than three Oscars is not ‘thinking out of the box’, because in the end it’s about passion. People aren’t told to worship Meryl. Simply I feel a connection there. And that’s what great acting is. Maybe you don’t get her, which doesn’t mean you gotta bash. And to me Meryl deserves more than three (I would have given her an Oscar for A Cry in the Dark and Adaptation in addition to the three she’s won). And actually I do believe that she’ll have four some day.
Other than Meryl, Marlon Brando is my other choice. He deserved to win for A Streetcar Named Desire and in 1973 for Last Tango in Paris.
Sissy Spacek is another good choice: Coal Minor’s Daughter, Crimes of the Heart, In the Bedroom (how she lost is beyond me!) and maybe even Carrie, but that year was tricky.
Of course, Liv Ullman – she should have won at least one and if you look at her body of work, four seems possible – The Emigrants, Face to Face.
Max von Sydow was nominated for all the wrong parts.
I don’t find Jessica Lange really that deserving. And in 1994 Winona Ryder deserved that Oscar and her Oscar for Tootsie is somehow irritating. She’s a very good actor but not really somebody whose acting surprises me.
Zooey(Quote) (Reply)
You are not wrong about Jessica Lange but somehow she always manage to stole a scene. I think she is underestimated. When we look at the names proposed, there is one thing i think we could agree on: Their commitment to work and their amazing career choices. From Brando to Cotillard, that’s their real quality.
Jug(Quote) (Reply)
Kate Winslet
Sense and Sensibility, Jude, Quills, Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind,
rosanna mejias(Quote) (Reply)
Hahaha this is amazing.
I mean, how can you not immediately jump to Meryl. She’s brilliant. I would keep Kramer Vs. Kramer & Sophie’s Choice, but I don’t think her third Oscar should’ve been for the trainwreck that was Iron Lady. I would’ve given her two more oscars for A Cry in the Dark, and Adaptation. I also have a feeling that her performance in August Osage will garner some huge buzz.
I have to make a statement that Gary Oldman should be MUCH more awarded than his simple nomination for TTSS. I’m not sure he’s in the four-award-range yet, but he should be much more noticed and loved… that man is a genius.
McGregor(Quote) (Reply)
Mr. Davis: You spelled Katharine Hepburn’s first name incorrectly. I know it’s not terribly important, but Kate is my all time favorite…so I had to point out your obvious mistake.
Kirk Reid(Quote) (Reply)
I would have awarded Liv Ullmann and Bette Davis with 4 wins for Leading performances.
Liv Ullmann:
1) Utvandrarna (1971).
2) Scenes from a marriage (1973).
3) Face to Face (1976).
4) Autumn sonata(1978).
Bette Davis:
1) Dark Victory (1939)
2) The Little Foxes (1941)
3) All About Eve
4) What Ever Happened to baby jane (1962)
John(Quote) (Reply)
Robert Duvall and Ellen Burstyn – Just pick your four favorite movies for each.
Jamie(Quote) (Reply)