Some of the nominees choose not to go to the ceremony, while others decline the award in protest.
Winning the Golden Statuettes from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is an honor for many in the film industry. The night of the Oscars, most of the nominees go to the gala and expect to hear their name as the best in their category.
However, some of the most famous actors in history have not attended the Oscars ceremonies, not even when they were nominated. A couple even went so far as to reject the award altogether, surprising the other winners.
Dudley Nichols
The screenwriter, writer, and film director was nominated for an Oscar in 1936 for his screenplay for The Informer, but he was the first person to decline the award as part of a boycott for recognition by the Screen Writers Guild. Nichols accepted the award two years later.
Alice Brady
In 1937, Alice Brady won the best supporting actress plaque for her role in In Old Chicago, but she did not attend the ceremony to receive it. In her place, an unknown man from the audience took the stage and accepted her on her behalf, before disappearing completely. Brady was given a new license plate.
Katharine Hepburn
The actress with the most nominations at the Oscars, surpassed only by Meryl Streep, only went to one of the galas. It was in 1973 when she presented the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, given to her friend Lawrence Weingarten.
John Ford
The film director, despite being one of the greatest representatives in the history of the seventh art, never went to receive an Academy Award, but he has seven statuettes to his name.
Elizabeth Taylor
Although she was nominated for her second Oscar in 1966 for her role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Elizabeth Taylor did not attend the gala that year. The media reported that it was her tortuous relationship with Richard Burton that led her to decline the invitation.
Marlon Brando
For his role as Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Marlon Brando was nominated for Best Actor in 1973. However, the actor did not show up and instead, it was American Indian civil rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather who delivered a speech protesting the treatment of Native Americans in movies.
Paul Newman
Seven nominations and an honorary award later, Paul Newman finally won the coveted statuette for The Color of Money in 1973, but the actor was not present to receive it, as he had had enough of going to the gala without success.
