When you think of Hollywood legends, chances are you think of Paul Newman. An iconic filmmaker across six decades, Paul Newman helped make some of the best movies ever, and although he enjoyed plenty of fame, you’d be surprised how few awards he won.
In the Oscars specifically, he would be nominated in Best Actor four times, before finally getting the statue for The Color of Money, one of the best drama movies ever made. His wife, Joanne Woodward, score the Best Actress nod in 1958, and decided to make her hubby feel involved in the perfect way with a custom Oscar.
It wasn’t quite the prize he had in mind, since this ‘Noscar’ didn’t paint him all too favorably. “The Schnee-Wise Noscar award to Paul Newman for best portraying a terrible no-good, for turning him into a charming and lovable sprite,” reads the description, “and for thereby doing what Lincoln said should never be done, i.e. fooling all of the people all of the time.”
This references Newman’s turn in Somebody Up There Likes Me, one of the best sports movies ever, about a juvenile criminal who becomes a championship boxer.
Newman’s character, Rocky Ganziano, isn’t the most likeable sort, but the redemption arc, and the esteemed actor’s performance, truly endear us to his struggle. A proto-Rocky this might be, Somebody Up There Likes Me has a little less romance to it, highlighting the difficulties in coming from an abusive home in the lower class.
Famously, we have the image above, where Newman enjoys his ‘Noscar’ over Woodward’s more official one. He’d see a considerable amount of nominations before getting to make his speech, and we’re sure his Best Actor trophy now stands right beside the ‘Noscar’, so everyone knows the legacy of his talent.
In all seriousness, Newman is in some of the best Tom Cruise movies, best romance movies, and best thriller movies ever, and it’s nice to know he had a sense of humor about being in Hollywood. Check out our new movies guide to see what stars of tomorrow are coming – you’ll find lots of them are in Avatar 3.