Play QTA's Reindeer Games!

Queering the Apparatus is always one of my favorite blogs—because it treats some of my own favorite topics *and* makes me think about things I otherwise wouldn't, always filtered through one of the Web's most compassionate, optimistic, and articulate voices. If there's ever an award for Most Rhetorically Powerful Blog Entry, I might have to tap QTA's post on World AIDS Day, which I still think about on a weekly basis, more than four months after he wrote it.

Now, on a much lighter note (range doesn't get broader than this, folks!), QTA is taking a poll about favorite acting performances from 1980 through 2005 that weren't even nominated for the Oscars. And he wants our opinions! Y'all know that I love few things as much as an open-ended invite to list-make about the Academy, and, even better, about how superior my own taste is to the Academy's. So, in the continued spirit of doing whatever the f*** I want this weekend, I've just spent the last 15 minutes cobbling up the following list.

As ever, I only show you mine because I want you to show me yours. Rock the Comments section, and don't forget to fire your picks off to QTA. And, when you send your list of performances that inspire you, include a short word (or a long one!) about why QTA also inspires you. His is an example we could all follow; let's tell him that we know so!

Nick's Favorite Un-Nominated Performances
Using Oscar's timetables for American release dates
1980. Lily Tomlin (Supporting Actress, 9 to 5)
1981. Jessica Harper (Supporting Actress, Pennies from Heaven)
1982. Albert Finney (Actor, Shoot the Moon)
1983. Michael Keaton (Actor, Mr. Mom)
1984. Carmen Maura (Actress, What Have I Done To Deserve This?)
1985. Mia Farrow (Actress, The Purple Rose of Cairo)
1986. Marie Rivière (Actress, The Green Ray)
1987. R. Lee Ermey (Supporting Actor, Full Metal Jacket)
1988. Jeremy Irons (Actor, Dead Ringers)
1989. Meg Ryan (Actress, When Harry Met Sally...)
1990. Jennifer Jason Leigh (Supporting Actress, Miami Blues)
1991. Ice Cube (Supporting Actor, Boyz N the Hood)
1992. Gary Oldman (Actor, Bram Stoker's Dracula)
1993. Leslie Cheung (Actor, Farewell, My Concubine)
1994. Julianne Moore (Actress, Vanya on 42nd Street)
1995. Julianne Moore (Actress, Safe)
1996. Tony Shalhoub (Supporting Actor, Big Night)
1997. Debbi Morgan (Supporting Actress, Eve's Bayou)
1998. Lisa Kudrow (Supporting Actress, The Opposite of Sex)
1999. John Malkovich (Supporting Actor, Being John Malkovich)
2000. Forest Whitaker (Actor, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai)
2001. Maggie Cheung (Actress, In the Mood for Love)
2002. Isabelle Huppert (Actress, The Piano Teacher)
2003. Jack Black (Actor, School of Rock)
2004. David Carradine (Supporting Actor, Kill Bill, Vol. 2)
2005. Daniel Day-Lewis (Actor, The Ballad of Jack and Rose)