Entertainment
Judi Dench Won't Be at the Oscars, & 6 More Celebrities Who Avoided The Academy Awards
When big name actors and actresses snub the Academy Award ceremonies, this likely means that they don’t think they’re going to win, or they’re pretty much the best, have attended several of “these things” in the past, and don’t feel the need to attend another. The latter is probably the case for actress Judi Dench, who, rather than making her red carpet appearance at tonight’s Oscars though she was nominated for Best Actress in Philomena, will be working in India on The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2. Although Dench had previously mentioned she wanted to attend the Oscars, her absence is only one of many celebrity absences from past ceremonies. In fact, many other celebrities have failed to attend this historical event.
Emil Jannings
As the first person to ever win an Academy Award for Best Actor at the 1927-28 ceremony, Jannings ended up going back home to Germany. However, he was handed the first Academy Award before leaving.
Image: Paramount Pictures
Marlon Brando
Brando, who won his second award for Best Actor in The Godfather, didn’t attend the 1972 ceremony. Instead, he had Liv Ullmann address the audience in full Native American clothing, stating that he would be turning down his Oscar due to the treatment of American Indians. Awkward? Yes.
Image: Paramount Pictures
Woody Allen
Allen has been in the middle of much controversy surrounding the open letter that his daughter, Dylan Farrow, wrote accusing him of sexual abuse. However, Allen, who has been nominated for Best Original Screenplay for his work on Blue Jasmine, has only attended the Academy Awards in 2002, according to the LA Times. If he does show up this year, there could be some backlash from those who have taken Farrow’s side in this ongoing debate.
George C. Scott
Movie producer, Frank McCarthy, was forced to accept the 1971 award on Scott’s behalf for his performance in Patton, after he decided not to attend the ceremony, which he noted as a “two-hour meat parade,” according to the LA Times.
Image: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Katharine Hepburn
Talk about badass chick of the century. Hepburn, who was nominated 12 times, and who won four awards for Best Actress, only attended the ceremony once. In 1974, she made it to the big event just to present her friend and producer, Lawrence Weingarten, with the Irving G. Thalberg Award.
Image: Radio Pictures
Dudley Nichols
The screenwriter, who snubbed the Oscars big time by not only refusing to attend the 1936 award ceremony but also sending his award for The Informer back to the then-president Frank Capra, did so as a pro-union stand.
Image: RKO Radio Pictures
