Reddit Users Name 5 People Who Won Oscars That You Didn't Know About

You thought only the chosen few get the statuette? What if I told you it's been won by a rapper who buried his living mother in a music video; by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and even... Nicolas Cage!

In one discussion thread on Reddit, users suddenly decided to remind everyone that the award has sometimes ended up in the most unexpected hands.

Here are five names from the list of celebrities you've definitely heard of—you just didn't know they already had an Oscar.
Actor Nicolas Cage in a gray t-shirt, rapper Eminem in a blue cap, TV host Oprah Winfrey in a beige sweater
Nicolas Cage, Eminem, and Oprah Winfrey
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Eminem

I mentioned a rapper and his bizarre music video at the start. Well, it really exists, and that video belongs to Eminem (Marshall Mathers).

In the music video for "Cleanin' Out My Closet," he's shoveling dirt onto a grave, hinting that he's burying his mom, with whom he had a strained relationship. Despite all the provocative and sometimes brutal nature of Eminem's tracks, I was hooked on his songs in the late 2000s and beyond.

In 2017, I suddenly learned that back in 2003, the artist starred in the film "8 Mile". The plot follows the story of an aspiring rapper competing in rap battles.

Eminem didn't just star in the movie—he also wrote the song "Lose Yourself" for it. The track later won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

Marshall himself, by the way, didn't show up to the ceremony—he figured the song had no chance of winning. So musician Luis Resto, who worked on the track, accepted the award on his behalf.

Nicolas Cage

Cage has always been a meme hero and star of "weird but okay" movies. I didn't always love his acting, which sometimes bordered on exaggerated grimacing.

And his choice of roles left much to be desired (he'd swing from cool mystical dramas like "Knowing" to forgettable nonsense like "Prisoners of the Ghostland").

But if you dig deeper into his filmography, he's got more than just absurd roles—there are some genuinely serious ones too.

In 1996, Cage won an Oscar for Best Actor in "Leaving Las Vegas", where (in short) he played an actor struggling with alcoholism.

One of Nicolas's best dramatic performances. If you're tired of his absurd movies—I recommend it.

Peter Capaldi

For most viewers, he'll forever be the Twelfth Doctor from "Doctor Who".

But long before that, in 1995, Capaldi won an Oscar—as the writer and director of the animated film "Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life".
Actor Peter Capaldi in a clip from the series "Doctor Who"
The film tells the story of a writer agonizingly trying to create the iconic work "The Metamorphosis". It turned out to be an absurd and witty short.

So Capaldi isn't just the Doctor—he's also a golden statuette holder for directing.

Oprah Winfrey

Everyone knows Oprah is the queen of television and one of the most influential women on the planet. But not everyone remembers (or knows) that she has her own Oscar.

In 2011, she received the honorary Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her charitable work—specifically for her foundation and girls' academy in Africa.

The award isn't presented at the main ceremony but at a separate Governors Awards event, which is why many people simply haven't heard about it.

Walton Goggins

Today, he's best known for series like "Justified," "Fallout," "The White Lotus," or his roles in Tarantino films ("Django Unchained," "The Hateful Eight").
Walton Goggins as a ghoul in the "Fallout" series trailer
But long before all that, in 2001, Goggins became an Oscar winner—for the short film "The Accountant."

It was a simple "farming comedy" where he didn't just act but also served as producer.

The story follows two brothers who hire a strange man to solve their problems. And earlier on zoomboola.com, we shared Reddit users' picks for the 4 best films about artificial intelligence.