Why Paul Newman Didn’t Win an Oscar Until 1986

There are few Hollywood icons on par with Paul Newman. Starting with his career breakthrough in 1956’s Somebody Up There Likes Me, Newman’s name quickly became synonymous with thoughtful, serious acting, and an Oscar win seemed inevitable. He was first nominated for Best Actor in 1959 for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof but lost … and then lost … and then lost some more.

Newman was nominated seven times before winning on the eighth, picking up a Best Actor trophy for The Color of Money in 1987. The prior year, he has been given an honorary Academy Award, which is usually given to actors at the end of their careers. Considering that his early career peer Marlon Brando won his first Best Actor Oscar in 1955, why did it take Newman more than three decades to take home a little gold man of his own?