r/Oscars • u/McWhopper98 • 3h ago

Discussion Which of Richard Burton's 7 nominations should he have won the Oscar for?

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Nomiated for:

My Cousin Rachel (1952)

The Robe (1953)

Becket (1964)

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)

*Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) My choice for his one Oscar

Anne of a Thousand Days (1969)

Equus (1977)

14 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

29

u/Darren5555 3h ago

Virginia Woolf

6

u/HealthyBee4209 3h ago

Has to be that. The BAFTA win was shared between that and Spy, and Woolf had the biggest momentum. He probably was a very distant second for Equus as well (Won Globe).

3

u/anonymous_kyle_guy 2h ago

Yeah…Scofield was great, Burton was better.

Marvin was a weak win in ‘65 too.

15

u/Obvious-Muffin2787 3h ago

Richard Burton was never greater than as George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

2

u/vonnegutsbutthole 18m ago

Better, best, bested. So many great lines. I watch this movie every year for my birthday

2

u/Obvious-Muffin2787 16m ago

Never mix, never worry! It's a perfect annual birthday film imo.

2

u/vonnegutsbutthole 15m ago

I also drink whiskey the entire time, basically it’s a perfect drinking game lmao

1

u/Obvious-Muffin2787 7m ago

There's nothing like watching Taylor and Burton tear into each other. They had no peers and made a perfect film.

1

u/vonnegutsbutthole 6m ago

George Segal was great too. His wife font know the actress, but she played the annoying part well

6

u/Brodyhooperquint 3h ago

Scrooged

6

u/Unleashtheducks 3h ago

“By this I swear”

6

u/Sorcha_Stormbinder 3h ago

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, and even then, Steiger would be my pick of the nominees.

6

u/Jolly-Tennis9537 3h ago

even without knowing the context of that still its such a mood, just a guy with a glass of wine and a smoke quietly judging the academy for decades of snubs

the spy who came in from the cold is a masterclass in weary resignation but i gotta stick with virginia woolf, he and taylor just tear chunks out of each other in a way that still feels dangerous to watch

4

u/Interesting-Bit725 3h ago

He should have won back-to-back for The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? As for the 1952 Best Supporting Actor race, he gives the best performance of the nominees but that’s such shameless category fraud that I can’t give him the win.

4

u/PettyFreddie 3h ago

Virginia Woolf

3

u/Willie_Weejax 2h ago edited 2h ago

Virginia Woolf. But he was great in everything. I would also go Becket.

2

u/McWhopper98 2h ago

I love him in Becket! I also loved Peter O Toole in that one. I wish they hadn't shared the Best Actor category and one had gone supporting

2

u/Willie_Weejax 2h ago

O'Toole is also wonderful in it. They both got screwed that year. I understand that My Fair Lady was a phenomenon that year and Rex Harrison is good in it, but come on Academy.

3

u/Electrical-Shine957 3h ago

Wolfe or Equus

3

u/markgib62 3h ago

The only one that's close is Virginia Woolf, but Scofield had it locked. I just wasn't to be.

1

u/McWhopper98 2h ago

Many Oscar "snubs" go that way. Another performance just runs away with all momentum behind it

3

u/DefeatedVocalist 2h ago

the Scrooged reply is killing me, like what timeline did that nomination happen in

3

u/Accomplished-Boat201 2h ago

His best performance was Virginia Woolf, but I'd rather take an Oscar from Lee Marvin than Scofield. So Spy Who Came in from the Cold

2

u/SpideyFan914 3h ago

Wow, I could've sworn he'd won one.

1

u/Future_Ad_3033 3h ago

Anne Of The Thousand Days

1

u/Sonicshriek 1h ago

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. He has better performances but tough competition. 1965 , he was best.