Entertainment
Scarlett Johansson's Not Alone — 5 Voice Actors Who Deserved a Golden Globe
Although her role as the alluring voice of a computer operating system in Her has been making huge waves with critics, Scarlett Johansson was disqualified from being nominated for a Golden Globe because her role in the film was voice only.
But Johansson hasn't been the only actor snubbed from receiving awards for a voiceover role. Neither the Oscars nor the Golden Globes have a category for voice acting, and an actor must physically appear in a movie to receive an award from either organization. This has lead to a lot of snubs over the years for actors who play CGI characters, act as a narrator, or do voice acting in animated movies. Here's just a few of those who seriously deserved recognition.
Andy Serkis, 'The Lord of the Rings'
Serkis was the most high-profile award snub for voice acting — you may vaguely recognize him as hobbit-gone-bad Gollum from The Lord of the Rings trilogy (and the ongoing Hobbit trilogy). Although Serkis never physically appeared in the film, the CGI character’s motions and facial features were based on his acting choices. Serkis carried off Gollum’s Jekyll/Hyde moments well, and even created the creepy, coughing “gollum” noise his character makes. So where’s his precious?
Morgan Freeman, 'March of the Penguins'
First of all, Morgan Freeman deserves an award solely because of his comforting, mellifluous voice. It’s like chamomile tea for the soul, ok? But he especially deserves it for his work in March of the Penguins. Not only does Freeman manage to make a documentary with virtually no other human voices dynamic and interesting, he makes us really care about those damn penguins.
James Earl Jones, 'Star Wars'
James Earl Jones received an honorary Oscar in 2011, but that was only after six decades in film. Jones has been in renowned roles in movies like The Great White Hope, Coming to America and Cry, the Beloved Country as well as his voice work as Mufasa in The Lion King, but his work in the Star Wars trilogy was perhaps his most iconic. The moral of the story? Don’t make a voice actor wait six decades to get recognized for their work.
Vin Diesel, 'The Iron Giant'
Probably the only role in his career that Diesel deserves an award for, and it’s also his most surprising. The Iron Giant had very few words to say in the film, which means that each word needed to have a huge emotional impact. And as anyone who’s been a child (or even an adult) and watched The Iron Giant will tell you, it certainly makes an impact.
Douglas Rain, '2001: A Space Odyssey'
For an artificial intelligence system with a monotone voice, HAL sure had a huge rain of emotions. And without the acting of Douglas Rain, HAL’s voice would’ve just been Siri in space. Instead, HAL became an iconic depiction of artificial intelligence that scared the living hell out of all of us.
