40 Famous Actors Who Actually Won Oscars, Despite Barely Being In The Movie

In 95 years of Oscars history, 40 people have won Oscars for appearing in less than 20 minutes on screen. One guy did it twice, two took home the award in leading categories, and twice as many women won than men. Here they all are, in order from most screentime to least.

41.Olympia Dukakis won Best Supporting Actress for 1987's Moonstruck. She was on screen for just 19 minutes and 54 seconds.

Olympia at the kitchen table in "Moonstruck"

Here's every actor nominated in that category, including who won*:

*Olympia Dukakis — Moonstruck

Norma Aleandro — Gaby: A True Story

Anne Archer — Fatal Attraction

Anne Ramsey — Throw Momma from the Train

Ann Sothern — The Whales of August

MGM

40.Joel Grey won Best Supporting Actor for 1972's Cabaret. He was on screen for 19 minutes and 38 seconds, which was less than 16% of the entire movie.

Person in stage makeup with a bow tie, performing

*Joel Grey — Cabaret

Eddie Albert — The Heartbreak Kid

James Caan — The Godfather

Robert Duvall — The Godfather

Al Pacino — The Godfather

Allied Artists

39.John Gielgud won Best Supporting Actor for 1981's Arthur. He was on screen for 18 minutes and 44 seconds, and he's also the only EGOT winner on this list.

Elderly man in bed holding a book, looking pensive, from a film scene

*John Gielgud — Arthur

James Coco — Only When I Laugh

Ian Holm — Chariots of Fire

Jack Nicholson — Reds

Howard E. Rollins Jr. — Ragtime

Warner Bros.

38.Laura Dern won Best Supporting Actress for 2019's Marriage Story. She was on screen for 18 minutes and 36 seconds.

Woman and boy in a close conversation indoors, emotional expressions on their faces

*Laura Dern — Marriage Story

Kathy Bates — Richard Jewell

Scarlett Johansson — Jojo Rabbit

Florence Pugh — Little Women

Margot Robbie — Bombshell

Netflix

Both of her parents, Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, had also been nominated for Oscars in the past.

Three individuals posing together, the center person in a red sleeveless dress, flanked by two others in formal attire

37.Lee Grant won Best Supporting Actress for 1975's Shampoo. She was on screen for one second less than Laura Dern, coming in at 18 minutes and 35 seconds.

Lee Grant in a leopard print top and pearls, looking up, with potted plants in the background

*Lee Grant — Shampoo

Ronee Blakley — Nashville

Sylvia Miles — Farewell, My Lovely

Lily Tomlin — Nashville

Brenda Vaccaro — Once Is Not Enough

Columbia Pictures

36.Tilda Swinton won Best Supporting Actress for 2007's Michael Clayton. She was on screen for one second less again, this time for 18 minutes and 34 seconds.

Woman with pearl necklace looks concerned. Character from a film scene

*Tilda Swinton — Michael Clayton

Cate Blanchett — I'm Not There

Ruby Dee — American Gangster

Saoirse Ronan — Atonement

Amy Ryan — Gone Baby Gone

Warner Bros. Pictures

35.Donna Reed won Best Supporting Actress for 1953's From Here to Eternity. She was on screen for 18 minutes and 25 seconds.

Woman in vintage attire facing a man, both looking at each other, scene from an old movie

*Donna Reed — From Here to Eternity

Grace Kelly — Mogambo

Geraldine Page — Hondo

Marjorie Rambeau — Torch Song

Thelma Ritter — Pickup on South Street

Columbia Pictures

34.Anjelica Huston won Best Supporting Actress for 1985's Prizzi's Honor. She was on screen for 17 minutes and 56 seconds.

Woman with shoulder-length hair and a concerned expression, indoors

*Anjelica Huston — Prizzi's Honor

Margaret Avery — The Color Purple

Amy Madigan — Twice in a Lifetime

Meg Tilly — Agnes of God

Oprah Winfrey — The Color Purple

20th Century Fox

Anjelica's win helped her family become the first to contain three generations of Oscar winners. Walter Huston, her grandfather, won Best Supporting Actor for 1948's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and John Huston, her father, won Screenplay and Director for the same film.

Two men in tuxedos holding award statues, smiling, with a curtain backdrop
Hulton Archive / Getty Images

33.Vanessa Redgrave won Best Supporting Actress for 1977's Julia. She was on screen for 17 minutes and 45 seconds.

Close-up of Nicole Kidman as character, wearing a tweed jacket, looking concerned

*Vanessa Redgrave — Julia

Leslie Browne — The Turning Point

Quinn Cummings — The Goodbye Girl

Melinda Dillon — Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Tuesday Weld — Looking for Mr. Goodbar

20th Century Fox

32.James Coburn won Best Supporting Actor for 1997's Affliction. He was on screen for 17 minutes and 20 seconds.

Clint Eastwood in a scene, wearing a coat, by a wooden structure

*James Coburn — Affliction

Robert Duvall — A Civil Action

Ed Harris — The Truman Show

Geoffrey Rush — Shakespeare in Love

Billy Bob Thornton — A Simple Plan

Largo Entertainment

31.The most recent winner to appear on this list is Jamie Lee Curtis, who won Best Supporting Actress for 2022's Everything Everywhere All at Once. She was on screen for 17 minutes and 15 seconds.

Woman applying makeup while looking in a mirror

*Jamie Lee Curtis — Everything Everywhere All at Once

Angela Bassett — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Hong Chau — The Whale

Kerry Condon — The Banshees of Inisherin

Stephanie Hsu — Everything Everywhere All at Once

A24

Both of her parents, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, had also been nominated for Oscars.

Three individuals posing together, two men flanking a woman; each wears formal attire

Tony Curtis was nominated for Best Actor in The Defiant Ones (1958), while Janet Leigh was nominated for Supporting Actress in Psycho (1960).

Ron Galella, Ltd. / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

30.Claire Trevor won Best Supporting Actress for 1948's Key Largo. She was on screen for 17 minutes and 12 seconds.

Close-up of a vintage movie character, a woman with an elegant hairstyle and pearl necklace

*Claire Trevor — Key Largo

Barbara Bel Geddes — I Remember Mama

Ellen Corby Agnes — I Remember Mama

Agnes Moorehead — Johnny Belinda

Jean Simmons — Hamlet

Warner Bros.

29.Hugh Griffith won Best Supporting Actor for 1959's Ben-Hur. He was on screen for 16 minutes and 51 seconds of the nearly 3.5-hour movie, which means he actually has the shortest percentage of screentime for any male winner.

Man in historical costume with headdress, posing with a smirk

*Hugh Griffith — Ben-Hur

Arthur O'Connell — Anatomy of a Murder

George C. Scott — Anatomy of a Murder

Robert Vaughn — The Young Philadelphians

Ed Wynn — The Diary of Anne Frank

MGM

28.Cloris Leachman won Best Supporting Actress for 1971's The Last Picture Show. She was on screen for 16 minutes and 46 seconds.

Woman smiling, resting head on hand, holding an award, in a black and white film still

27.John Houseman won Best Supporting Actor for 1973's The Paper Chase. He was on screen for 16 minutes and 26 seconds.

Close-up of an actor portraying a character with a bow tie and formal attire, expressing concern

*John Houseman – The Paper Chase

Vincent Gardenia – Bang the Drum Slowly

Jack Gilford – Save the Tiger

Jason Miller – The Exorcist

Randy Quaid – The Last Detail

20th Century Fox

26.Miyoshi Umeki won Best Supporting Actress for 1957's Sayonara. She was on screen for 16 minutes and 2 seconds.

Woman in a lace dress singing into a microphone, band in background

*Miyoshi Umeki — Sayonara

Carolyn Jones — The Bachelor Party

Elsa Lanchester — Witness for the Prosecution

Hope Lange — Peyton Place

Diane Varsi — Peyton Place

Warner Bros. Pictures

25.Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor for 1991's The Silence of the Lambs. He was on screen for 16 minutes, making him one of only two Best Actor winners to appear on this list.

Man gazing intently, indoors, facing a person whose back is to the camera

*Anthony Hopkins — The Silence of the Lambs

Warren Beatty — Bugsy

Robert De Niro — Cape Fear

Nick Nolte — The Prince of Tides

Robin Williams — The Fisher King

Orion Pictures

This helped the movie become one of only three films in Oscars history to win "The Big 5" – that's Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Actress, which Jodie Foster won.

Three individuals at an awards ceremony holding trophies. Two in tuxedos, one in a blazer and dress
Ron Galella, Ltd. / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

24.Ruth Gordon won Best Supporting Actress 1968's Rosemary's Baby. She was on screen for 15 minutes and 52 seconds.

Woman with a headscarf and striped dress looking upwards with concern

*Ruth Gordon — Rosemary's Baby

Lynn Carlin — Faces

Sondra Locke —The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

Kay Medford — Funny Girl

Estelle Parsons — Rachel, Rachel

Paramount Pictures

23.David Niven won Best Actor for 1958's Separate Tables. He was on screen for 15 minutes and 38 seconds and he holds the record for having the shortest performance to win Best Actor.

Man in a classic tuxedo with a bow tie, smiling, looking into the distance

*David Niven — Separate Tables

Tony Curtis — The Defiant Ones

Paul Newman — Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Sidney Poitier — The Defiant Ones

Spencer Tracy — The Old Man and the Sea

United Artists

22.Allison Janney won Best Supporting Actress for 2017's I, Tonya. She was on screen for 15 minutes and 37 seconds.

Woman in red blouse with glasses pointing, surprised expression

*Allison Janney — I, Tonya

Mary J. Blige — Mudbound

Lesley Manville — Phantom Thread

Laurie Metcalf — Lady Bird

Octavia Spencer — The Shape of Water

Neon

21.Jo Van Fleet won Best Supporting Actress for 1955's East of Eden. She was on screen for 15 minutes and 31 seconds.

Woman seated at desk with a small figurine, looking off to the side

*Jo Van Fleet — East of Eden

Betsy Blair — Marty

Peggy Lee — Pete Kelly's Blues

Marisa Pavan — The Rose Tattoo

Natalie Wood — Rebel Without a Cause

Warner Bros. Pictures

20.Shelley Winters won Best Supporting Actress for 1965's A Patch of Blue. She was on screen for 15 minutes and 6 seconds.

Woman sitting on bed in a vintage scene, displaying an anxious expression

*Shelley Winters — A Patch of Blue

Ruth Gordon — Inside Daisy Clover

Joyce Redman — Othello

Maggie Smith — Othello

Peggy Wood — The Sound of Music

MGM

19.Joseph Schildkraut won Best Supporting Actor for 1937's The Life of Emile Zola. He was on screen for 15 minutes and 2 seconds.

Man in vintage uniform with cap and mustache looking serious

*Joseph Schildkraut — The Life of Emile Zola

Ralph Bellamy — The Awful Truth

Thomas Mitchell — The Hurricane

H. B. Warner — Lost Horizon

Roland Young — TopperTopper

Warner Bros. Pictures

The next three performers all have a total screentime of exactly 15 minutes:

18.Anne Hathaway won Best Supporting Actress for 2012's Les Misérables.

Close-up of an emotional Anne Hathaway as Fantine in "Les Misérables."

*Anne Hathaway — Les Misérables

Amy Adams — The Master

Sally Field — Lincoln

Helen Hunt — The Sessions

Jacki Weaver — Silver Linings Playbook

Universal Pictures

17.Celeste Holm won Best Supporting Actress for 1947's Gentleman's Agreement.

Vintage black and white photo of an elegant woman smiling

*Celeste Holm — Gentleman's Agreement

Ethel Barrymore — The Paradine Case

Gloria Grahame — Crossfire

Marjorie Main — The Egg and I

Anne Revere – Gentleman's Agreement

20th Century Fox

16.And Kim Basinger won Best Supporting Actress for 1997's L.A. Confidential.

Kim Novak portrayed by a character in a buttoned blouse, with a vintage hairstyle and makeup, in a scene from a classic film

*Kim Basinger — L.A. Confidential

Joan Cusack — In & Out

Minnie Driver — Good Will Hunting

Julianne Moore — Boogie Nights

Gloria Stuart — Titanic

Warner Bros.

15.Penélope Cruz won Best Supporting Actress for 2008's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She was on screen for 14 minutes and 29 seconds.

Woman holding a cigarette with a thoughtful expression at a dinner table

*Penélope Cruz — Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Amy Adams — Doubt

Viola Davis — Doubt

Taraji P. Henson — The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Marisa Tomei — The Wrestler

Warner Bros. Pictures

14.Alan Arkin won Best Supporting Actor for 2006's Little Miss Sunshine. He was on screen for 14 minutes and 20 seconds.

Man with a surprised expression, bald head, wearing a plain T-shirt, indoors

*Alan Arkin — Little Miss Sunshine

Jackie Earle Haley — Little Children

Djimon Hounsou — Blood Diamond

Eddie Murphy — Dreamgirls

Mark Wahlberg — The Departed

Fox Searchlight Pictures

13.Ingrid Bergman won Best Supporting Actress for 1974's Murder on the Orient Express. She was on screen for 14 minutes and 18 seconds.

Woman looks concerned during a conversation with a man in an indoor setting

*Ingrid Bergman — Murder on the Orient Express

Valentina Cortese — Day for Night

Madeline Kahn — Blazing Saddles

Diane Ladd — Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Talia Shire — The Godfather Part II

EMI Films

12.Shirley Jones won Best Supporting Actress for 1960's Elmer Gantry. She was on screen for 14 minutes and 9 seconds.

Woman smiling at a man in a hat, in a vintage indoor setting

*Shirley Jones — Elmer Gantry

Glynis Johns — The Sundowners

Shirley Knight — The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

Janet Leigh — Psycho

Mary Ure — Sons and Lovers

United Artists

11.Gale Sondergaard won Best Supporting Actress for 1936's Anthony Adverse. She was on screen for just 13 minutes and 34 seconds. She was the first Best Supporting Actress winner ever.

Actress Gale Sondergaard in a vintage film still, wearing a bonnet and looking to the side

*Gale Sondergaard — Anthony Adverse

Beulah Bondi — The Gorgeous Hussy

Alice Brady — My Man Godfrey

Bonita Granville — These Three

Maria Ouspenskaya — Dodsworth

Warner Bros. Pictures

10.Margaret Rutherford won Best Supporting Actress for 1963's The V.I.P.s. She was on screen for 13 minutes and 6 seconds.

Character Marv, disguised as an older woman, holds a purse at an airport in "Home Alone 2"

*Margaret Rutherford — The V.I.P.s

Diane Cilento — Tom Jones

Edith Evans — Tom Jones

Joyce Redman — Tom Jones

Lilia Skala — Lilies of the Field

MGM

9.Jason Robards won Best Supporting Actor for 1976's All the President's Men. He was on screen for 12 minutes and 58 seconds.

Jason Robards sitting on a desk in the newsroom

*Jason Robards — All the President's Men

Ned Beatty — Network

Burgess Meredith — Rocky

Laurence Olivier — Marathon Man

Burt Young — Rocky

Warner Bros.

8.Jack Palance won Best Supporting Actor for 1991's City Slickers. He was on screen for only 12 minutes and 24 seconds.

Man in cowboy attire with hat and neckerchief smiles on a clear day

*Jack Palance — City Slickers

Tommy Lee Jones — JFK

Harvey Keitel — Bugsy

Ben Kingsley — Bugsy

Michael Lerner — Barton Fink

Columbia Pictures

7.Maureen Stapleton won Best Supporting Actress for 1981's Reds. She was on screen for 11 minutes and 35 seconds.

Maureen in "Reds" while sitting at a table, wearing glasses

*Maureen Stapleton — Reds

Melinda Dillon — Absence of Malice

Jane Fonda — On Golden Pond

Joan Hackett — Only When I Laugh

Elizabeth McGovern — Ragtime

Paramount Pictures

6.Jason Robards won Best Supporting Actor again, this time for 1977's Julia. He was on screen for 10 minutes and 49 seconds.

Jason Robards in "Julia" sitting at the beach with a fire going

*Jason Robards — Julia

Mikhail Baryshnikov — The Turning Point

Peter Firth — Equus

Alec Guinness — Star Wars

Maximilian Schell — Julia

20th Century Fox

5.Martin Balsam won Best Supporting Actor for 1965's A Thousand Clowns. He was on screen for an even 10 minutes.

Man in a fedora and suit, looking to the side, with a concerned expression in a black-and-white film scene

*Martin Balsam — A Thousand Clowns

Ian Bannen — The Flight of the Phoenix

Tom Courtenay — Doctor Zhivago

Michael Dunn — Ship of Fools

Frank Finlay — Othello

United Artists

4.Ben Johnson won Best Supporting Actor for 1971's The Last Picture Show. He was on screen for 9 minutes and 54 seconds, making him the man with the shortest amount of screentime to ever win an Oscar.

Three people outdoors with a vintage look; a man in a cowboy hat is center focus

*Ben Johnson — The Last Picture Show

Jeff Bridges — The Last Picture Show

Leonard Frey — Fiddler on the Roof

Richard Jaeckel — Sometimes a Great Notion

Roy Scheider — The French Connection

Columbia Pictures

3.Gloria Grahame won Best Supporting Actress for 1952's The Bad and the Beautiful. She was on screen for 9 minutes and 32 seconds.

Woman in vintage attire with a pillbox hat looking through a window

*Gloria Grahame — The Bad and the Beautiful

Jean Hagen — Singin' in the Rain

Colette Marchand — Moulin Rouge

Terry Moore — Come Back, Little Sheba

Thelma Ritter — With a Song in My Heart

MGM

2.Judi Dench won Best Supporting Actress for 1998's Shakespeare in Love. She was on screen for an even eight minutes.

Queen Elizabeth I in ornate costume with ruff and jeweled headpiece

*Judi Dench – Shakespeare in Love

Kathy Bates — Primary Colors

Brenda Blethyn — Little Voice

Rachel Griffiths — Hilary and Jackie

Lynn Redgrave — Gods and Monsters

Miramax Films

1.And the actor with the least amount of screentime to ever win an Oscar is Beatrice Straight, who won Best Supporting Actress for 1976's Network. She was on screen for only 5 minutes and 2 seconds.

Woman with an expressive look, wearing a blazer with checkered details

*Beatrice Straight — Network

Jane Alexander — All the President's Men

Jodie Foster — Taxi Driver

Lee Grant — Voyage of the Damned

Piper Laurie — Carrie

United Artists