On our message board, the UAADB (Unofficial Academy Award Discussion Board), we have an annual tradition where we look at the year’s Oscar nominees in certain categories and try to decide if the individual will make a return to the Oscars at some point in the near future. There’s also a bonus round for predicting what non-nominated talent who was a major competitor during the given year will soon become an Oscar nominee.

I’m turning that concept into a 7-week feature for Cinema Sight. In addition to the acting and directing categories that our posters typically cite, I’m going to throw in Animated Feature brining the category count to six plus an additional week for the bonus round.

For our final article, it’s the bonus round: major contenders that just missed out that might finally get recognized in the near future. While I had intended on limiting myself to five selections, the end result is ten, four women and six men. I present them in the order I think they have a chance at eventual Oscar recognition. The primary images for each actor is for their most recent performance. The rest of the images in the gallery below are my personal favorites of their performances.

Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt had her screen debut in 2003 in the little-seen drama Warrior Queen at the age of 20. A smattering of TV appearances followed, but it was her supporting turn in The Devil Wears Prada in 2006 that truly put her on the map. Her acclaimed performance could have been an Oscar contender were it not for co-star Meryl Streep hogging the limelight.

Blunt followed that up with a number of high profile and low profile films with a smattering of talk emerging around a few of them, including Dan in Real Life and Sunshine Cleaning; however, her next brush with Oscar attention would arrive in 2009 in the titular role of Young Victoria. She was among handful of contenders that year, but barely missed out. More early buzz that faded followed her work in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and Your Sister’s Sister, but her big burst of creativity came in 2014 and 2015 where three films became Oscar contenders of varying stripes, each fading for various reasons. Edge of Tomorrow was too action/sci-fi for Oscar voters, Into the Woods already had Streep going for it, and Sicario was thought to be a sure thing for her, but she once again fell short.

This past year, her performance in the otherwise forgotten The Girl on the Train seemed to haunt the Best Actress race, even managing to steal away a Best Actress nomination at the British Academy Awards. Yet, Oscar voters had too many options and she was, at best, an eighth-place finisher. With so many close brushes with Oscar, most prognosticators are wondering when the Academy will finally give her her due. Of the five projects in the works for her, three are voice-over performances.

That leaves the role that won Julie Andrews an Oscar: Mary Poppins in the film Mary Poppins Returns and the John Krasinski film A Quiet Place. Neither seems like a particularly strong Oscar vehicle on paper, but Mary Poppins could prove to be much bigger than anticipated, which might just secure her a first nomination. Beyond that, there will undoubtedly be many opportunities and one day she will not only get nominated, but one day she will win.

Ben Foster

Since he turned 16, Ben Foster has been an ever-present face on the big screen appearing in countless surprising places taking on roles of varying degrees of capability. In spite of his early talk, the first time Foster entered any serious Oscar conversation was in 2006 in a supporting performance in Nick Cassavetes Alpha Dog. The talk quickly dissipated.

He next made waves in 3:10 to Yuma opposite Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. While that film was well received, the Academy didn’t even bother giving it much of a look. Another strong performance arrived opposite Woody Harrelson in The Messenger, a film for which Harrelson earned his second nomination. Foster’s next few performances, however, piqued little attention.

In 2013, he had a banner year appearing in three major productions, all of which with smatterings of critical support: Kill Your Darlings, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, and Lone Survivor. None of them made many waves at the Academy Awards, especially the top tier categories. Foster hasn’t rested on his laurels. In 2016, after numerous nominations among precursor awards for his supporting turn in Hell or High Water, Foster came his closest yet to a nomination, picking up a nod from the Broadcast Film Critics Association before fading into the background opposite eventual nominee Jeff Bridges.

Next up, Foster has four projects. One is in pre-production (Outlaw King), one is filming (My Abandonment), and two are in post-production (Hostiles and Galveston). Looking over the plot details and directors of these films, Scott Cooper’s Hostiles, David Mackenzie’s Hell or High Water follow up Outlaw King, and Melanie Laurent’s Galveston all have interesting premises that could turn into Oscar consideration. Ultimately, I think Foster will eventually end up with a nomination, but how soon I cannot guess.

Alden Ehrenreich

Making his first silver screen appearance in 2009 at the age of 20, Alden Ehrenreich had Francis Ford Coppola as a big screen mentor with Tetro. Coppola brought the young thespian on again in 2011 with Twixt, but his big break came in the lead role of the adaptation of the young adult bestseller Beautiful Creatures. Although the film bombed, Ehrenreich’s career seemed to be heading in a solid direction.

Late in 2013, he appeared in two more prominent films, Stoker and Blue Jasmine. However, it was 2016 that gave Ehrenreich his biggest successes. In Hail, Caesar!, Ehrenreich showed off his comedic talents for the Coen Brothers with a scene opposite Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes that was frequently cited as one of the funniest (and best) of the year. He then followed that up with Warren Beatty’s Howard Hughes-era Hollywood dramedy Rules Don’t Apply. While the latter ultimately cratered in terms of Oscar potential, there was some chatter about a nomination for Ehrenreich for Hail, Caesar! That didn’t ultimately go anywhere, but Ehrenreich was so much on the map that he was awarded the role of a young Han Solo in one of Walt Disney’s Star Wars stand alone films.

Apart from this, Ehrenreich only has one film on his docket, war novel adaptation The Yellow Birds. With a screenplay co-written by Ain’t Them Bodies Saints director David Lowery has some promise, but director Alexandre Moors is helming the project and his prior film Blue Caprice, while well received by critics, wasn’t particularly well known. Ehrenreich may just follow the original Han Solo’s Oscar trajectory and end up Oscar nominated, but it may be a few years and require a major cinematic effort to achieve. His Rules Don’t Apply co-star Lily Collins also has a lot of future Oscar potential, but she came nowhere close to being considered an Oscar contender this year.

Greta Gerwig

In her 20-year acting career, Greta Gerwig has been an indie darling. From her 2007 film Hannah Takes the Stairs on, she has been celebrate far-and-wide, but has never had a film approach the Academy Awards with more opportunity than 20th Century Women. Films like Nights and Weekends, Greenberg, No Strings Attached, Frances Ha, and Mistress America, Gerwig has carved out a nice niche.

For 20th Century Women, Gerwig received numerous citations, picking up 14 different precursor nominations, more than both Oscar nominees Nicole Kidman and Octavia Spencer. It was though that Gerwig would finally earn the Oscar recognition she deserved after an under rewarded career. Unfortunately, fame played a bigger role in her ouster than a lack of support from critics.

Gerwig is the type of actress that will likely never make an appearance in a major Hollywood film. She seems to prefer the indie circuit, but an Oscar nomination for acting might not be in the cards. Most actors who spend the majority of their time in the specialty filmmaking business struggle with Academy acceptance.

Gerwig also has another problem. She has no other performances on the radar. Her next film takes her behind the camera. Lady Bird, which she also wrote and has nothing to do with former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, looks to be the kind of film that critics take notice of, but the Academy doesn’t. That said, if her screenplay is cited enough, Gerwig’s first Oscar nod might come in screenwriting rather than acting, thanks to that branch’s willingness to accept smaller, more esoteric projects for consideration.

Joel Edgerton

The 43-year-old Joel Edgerton has been on the screen since the age of 23, but his work in Australian cinema did little to boost his career. While he made a brief appearance in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, it wasn’t until his 2010 performance in Animal Kingdom that his Oscar favors began to turn. That isn’t to say that his prior work wasn’t impressive, he certain appeared in some noteworthy pictures, but Animal Kingdom put him front and center in an Oscar-nominated film for all to see.

From there, he landed the co-lead role in Warrior, a film that earned considerable Oscar buzz, including for Edgerton’s performance, but he would not make the Oscar list, nor did his screen brother Tom Hardy. Veteran actor Nick Nolte picked up the film’s sole nomination in Best Supporting Actor. Prominent roles in Zero Dark Thirty, The Great Gatsby, and the box office and critical bomb Exodus: Gods and Kings followed.

This past year, it was his work on Loving, a film that at first looked like it would be a major Oscar player, that earned him his best recognition yet. Edgerton was the fourth-most nominated actor of the year, scoring 13 nominations across all precursors, but the film’s failure to ignite with Oscar voters allowed less frequently precursor-nominated (by 1 each) actors, Viggo Mortensen and Andrew Garfield, eclipse him.

Edgerton currently has eight projects on the horizon. Three have been announced, but have absolutely no details available. One is still filming (Red Sparrow), one has been completed (It Comes at Night), one is in pre-production (Stingray), and two are in post-production (Bright and Untitled Nash Edgerton Project). Of these, Red Sparrow opposite Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence and Bright directed by David Ayer and written by Max Landis both look promising. Whether he’s nominated or even in the running for one of these, you don’t earn that much acclaim and not become a future Oscar contender.

Hugh Grant

Hugh Grant made his big screen debut in 1982 at the age of 22 in the film Privileged. While few likely remember the film, it was his third feature that put him on the cinematic radar. In Maurice, James Ivory’s cult favorite E.M. Forster adaptation, saw Grant play a gay lover of the lead’s repressed Edwardian lead. It was a stark role to lead on, but it would also prove to be a fleeting glimpse of success. It was six years before Grant burst onto the box office charts with his small role in Oscar nominee The Remains of the Day, and his lead role in the smash hit Four Weddings and a Funeral the year after that really got the British thespian rolling.

Starring in a string of romantic comedies through the 1990s, Grant never earned much attention from the Academy. It would be 2002 before he entered the Oscar conversation in earnest for his performance in About a Boy, the eventual Oscar nominee from Chris Weitz. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much of a success and Grant would stumble into a career of missteps and flops.

After a return to the box office charts in the sci-fi ensemble drama Cloud Atlas, his prospects improved. Unfortunately, his next role was hardly seen (Rewrite) and the performance after that was in a box office flop (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.). Thus, it became a bit of a surprise when Florence Foster Jenkins entered serious Oscar conversations. The film was specifically being highlighted for Meryl Streep’s lead performance as well as the costumes, but Grant quietly began accumulating an impressive number of accolades. While he only managed four precursor nominations, they included two very impressive ones: Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy Awards.

Many thought he would ultimately make the list after being ignored during his 1990s hey day, but the Academy did register enough votes to recognize him. Considering his stature, it seems odd that he’s never been nominated and it could be that he may never get the opportunity. However, I like to look at the renewed interest in his performance this past year as sign of things to come. The problem is that he has nothing on his plate at the moment except for the Oscar-anathema sequel Paddington 2.

Logan Lerman

Logan Lerman made his screen debut at the age of 8 in 2000’s The Patriot. This was followed by a string of youth performances in less than prominent films. In 2007, he got a solid opportunity to take his career in a new direction with the acclaimed 3:10 to Yuma. Three years later, he landed the lead in the first of a series of films based on the Percy Jackson novels (it was aborted after the second film in the series).

A performance in The Three Musketeers followed, but it was his 2012 lead in The Perks of Being a Wallflower that would dictate the trajectory of his acting career. The indie drama showcased the young thespians talents, which later tried to hone in the quirky Noah and the exceptional Fury. That performance should have led to his his first foray to the Oscars, but alas the film never managed to catch on with voters.

Last year, his performance in Indignation was incredibly well received and some minor buzz followed the actor through the latter part of the year, but ultimately the film just wasn’t big enough for the Academy to pay attention to and he was passed over.

This year, he has Shawn Christensen’s Sidney Hall on his plate. The film has been incredibly well received and being the lead in the film might bolster his chances at the Oscars. The film doesn’t have a release date yet, though, so it could struggle to find footing in the already-crowded Oscar race. A24 picked up theatrical distribution, so if they give it the level of support Room had, it could be his ticket to the Academy Awards.

Beyond that, he has voice-over work on the schedule, but after that, his next live-action film is Angus Wall’s Rothchild, but that film’s premise seems a bit out of vogue for Academy considerations. That leaves The Tracking of a Russian Spy, a film that is so unknown that the IMDb page is entirely blank. From the title alone, it won’t be his opportunity either. If Sidney Hall doesn’t do it, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lerman land an Oscar nomination one day, I’m just not sure when.

Rebecca Hall

With her small, ten-year filmography, one might not expect Rebecca Hall to be an Oscar magnet, but as her performance in this year’s indie hit Christine proved, appearances can be deceiving.

Starting out in 2006, Hall had two films of diametrically opposed success: the little seen Starter for 10 and the widely watched Oscar nominee The Prestige. Her next big role was two years later for Woody Allen in a small role in Oscar-nominated Vicky Cristina Barcelona. This, she followed with other films of dubious merits, but often found solid roles in prominent features including Oscar nominees The Town and Iron Man 3.

Yet, looking over the roles that aren’t prominent, you see a pattern of poor choices that may have contributed to the belief that Hall doesn’t have much of a shot at Oscar glory. Christine definitely changed all that, so we no look to her future filmography for an opportunity to find the right vehicle.

She has two films set for release (one this coming weekend) this year: Oren Moverman’s The Dinner and Brian Crano’s Permission. Neither sound like the kinds of movies the Academy takes seriously, and even if they did love The Dinner, there are other actors in that film they are likely to pick ahead of her. The next film on the list i Professor Marston & the Wonder Women, a film about the psychologist who invented the lie detector and his polyamorous relationship. It’s not quite Oscar bait. Beyond that is the comedy Holmes and Watson, but the Academy shies away from comedies and with Will Farrell in the cast, I would expect them to ignore it completely.

It’s possible that Hall never has the success she had with Christine, but it’s also possible that the film launches her onto a new platform from which she can choose worthier projects that might get her closer to the Oscars.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson

When Aaron Taylor-Johnson won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor this year for Nocturnal Animals, many thought that his eventual Oscar nomination was a sure thing. It wasn’t. This is an actor whose career looks like something that will lead to speculation that he’s a one-and-done competitor, but among the rubbish is enough to suggest that it would be a hasty decision to totally rule him out.

At twelve, Aaron Johnson made his screen debut in the little seen Tom & Thomas. He followed that up with a handful of films, but it was 2006’s The Illusionist that saw him get his first appearance in an Oscar-nominated film. It took a further three years before he made another splash, this time in Nowhere Boy, which led to his appearance in the box office success Kick-Ass. It’s not exactly the kind of film Oscar voters look at, but it put him into a visible position that led to more opportunities.

Those opportunities included Oscar-nominated Albert Nobbs, Oscar-nominated Savages, and Oscar-winning Anna Karenina, the first time any measure of awards chatter sparked about one of his performances. Although he chose next to pursue blockbusters with Godzilla in 2014 and Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, it is Nocturnal Animals that may ultimately direct where the young actor goes next.

All he has on his docket is this year’s The Wall, a Doug Liman film about a tense stand off with a sniper in the Iraqi desert. The movie looks intense, but doesn’t sound like a movie that will win over the Academy, at least not in terms of performance. Beyond that, he has nothing, which could be a problem. Of course, if he chooses to stick to the serious-actor role, he could find great success and an eventual Oscar nomination, but if he sticks with the blockbusters, he’s not likely to ever make it beyond them.

Janelle Monae

Seldom has a career so effortlessly burst onto the scene than that of Janelle Monae. A musician first and foremost, Monae took steps to enter the film arena in 2016, landing roles in two pivotal Oscar nominees. In a clearly supporting role in Best Picture winner Moonlight, Monae showed a great capacity for acting, creating a potent, memorable character opposite the film’s Oscar-winning Best Supporting Actor, Mahershala Ali. In Hidden Figures, she was one of the three prominent figures featured in the film. Her spirited, take-no-guff performance was a sensation.

There isn’t much else to say about Monae. With two dazzling performances to start her career, she would seem like the perfect person to make a play for serious acclaim in the future. She was always an ethereal presence in this year’s Oscar contest for Best Supporting Actress, but with the right career selections, she could be a longtime Oscar player. So far, though, she has nothing on her filmography pending release and no projects lined up at present. While she could have a brilliant film career, disappearing so early in the game could be hazardous to her eventual chance.

Of course, landing roles in these two prominent films may have benefited her performances better than other projects will. Thus, among this year’s potential Oscar nominees with future opportunities, Monae has probably the weakest potential thanks to a myriad of factors not necessarily within her control. She will require the most targeted care to become a future Oscar nominee over any of these others.