20th Century Fox via Everett Collection
It may be hard to believe, but Michael Fassbender was actually in a movie other than 12 Years a Slave this year. The Oscar race has the tendency to eclipse everything else an actor has done that year, and many of the Academy Award-nominated actors have appeared in other film projects that haven’t been pelted with awards this season. Some are more obscure than others. Some drew big crowds at the box-office, and others had us struggling to remember their titles. We’re gonna take you on a tour through each actor’s 2013 filmography, and pay special attention to the more obscure films they appeared in.
CHRISTIAN BALE, NOMINATED FOR AMERICAN HUSTLE, WAS ALSO IN…
Out of the Furnace, alongside Bat-brother-in-law Casey Affleck.
BRUCE DERN, NOMINATED FOR NEBRASKA, WAS ALSO IN…
Coffin Baby: The oddly titled Coffin Baby is actually a shortened version of the even odder title: Coffin Baby – The Toolbox Killer Is Back. The film is a low budget horror movie that follows a prolific serial killer, and features Bruce Dern in the role of Vance Henrickson.
Fighting for Freedom: Fighting for Freedom tells the story of two families struggling to prevent the deportation of a three year old Mexican girl in the face of fierce legal opposition.
Northern Borders: Northern Borders is a coming-of-age story that features the actor playing the grandfather of a young boy who is sent to live on his grandparents’ farm.
Pete’s Christmas: Dern played grandpa again in a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, which is about as far away from something like Nebraska as an actor can conceivably get. The film centered around a teen who is doomed to repeat his family’s awful Christmas over and over a la Groundhog Day.
Unicorn Plan-It: This is an ongoing web series that featured the Oscar nominated actor in an episode of its second season.
LEONARDO DICAPRIO, NOMINATED FOR THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, WAS ALSO IN…
The Great Gatsby, but you already knew that.
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, NOMINATED FOR 12 YEARS A SLAVE, WAS ALSO IN…
Half of a Yellow Sun: This drama about the life of a Nigerian revolutionary premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and was well recieved by critics, but fell off of most radars.
Savannah: Surprisingly, Ejiofor was involved in another film centering around cotton plantations in the Deep South. In Savannah, Ejiofor plays a free plantation worker named Ward Allen who struggles to break free of his plantation heritage.
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, NOMINATED FOR DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, WAS ALSO IN…
Mud: Before Dallas Buyers Club was even released, awards talk was already being whispered around McConaughey and his work in Mud, a coming-of-age story that features the actor playing a drifter who is trying to outrun his past in this Goonies-esque adventure.
The Wolf of Wall Street, as the mentally askew business mogul who shapes young Jordan Belfort’s future.
“Synthesizers”: Alright alright alright! McConaughey dresses up in familiar duds in a video for the band Butch Walker and the Black Widow’s song “Synthesizers,” which is an ode to letting your freak flag fly and not being a slave to newest passing trend. The actor wearing his signature outfit from the Linklater classic Dazed and Confused, the film that originally put the actor on the map.
AMY ADAMS, NOMINATED FOR AMERICAN HUSTLE , WAS ALSO IN…
Her, as a human.
Man of Steel, as a journalist.
CATE BLANCHETT, NOMINATED FOR BLUE JASMINE, WAS ALSO IN…
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, but not the barrel-rolling scene, so we kind of forgot about her.
The Turning: The actress took part in The Turning, a film made up of a collection of short films based on the stories by Tim Winton, with directors as diverse as Mia Wasikowska and Jonathan auf der Heide. Blanchett originally planned to direct a short herself, but switched to solely an acting role.
SANDRA BULLOCK, NOMINATED FOR GRAVITY, WAS ALSO IN…
The Heat, which, for our money, was really her best performance of the year.
JUDI DENCH, NOMINATED FOR PHILOMENA, WAS ALSO IN…
A National Theatre Live episode, as Cleopatra!
BRADLEY COOPER, NOMINATED FOR AMERICAN HUSTLE, WAS ALSO IN…
The Hangover Part III, sorry to remind you.
MICHAEL FASSBENDER, NOMINATED FOR 12 YEARS A SLAVE, WAS ALSO IN…
The Counselor, which was about… uh… wait, we know this one…
JONAH HILL, NOMINATED FOR THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, WAS ALSO IN…
This Is the End, in which he kind of plays the same role, if you think about it.
SALLY HAWKINS, NOMINATED FOR BLUE JASMINE, WAS ALSO IN…
The Double, that Sundance flick about Jesse Eisenberg’s big coat.
JENNIFER LAWRENCE, NOMINATED FOR BLUE JASMINE, WAS ALSO IN…
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, duh.
The Devil You Know: This soapy thriller from all the way back in 2007 was stuck in distibution limbo for years, but after Lawrence catapulted to stardom and Oscar glory, the film was released on VOD this past July. Just to show how much times have changed, Lawrence was barely in the film’s original trailer, something that would never happen today, given her new found success.
JUNE SQUIBB, NOMINATED FOR NEBRASKA, WAS ALSO IN…
Getting On: Squibb appeared in an episode of HBO’s very funny hospital dramedy Getting On, which is a remake of a BBC show of the same name. The actress appears in the second episode of the series titled “If You’re Going to San Francisco.”
The Millers, but you don’t have to watch that.
