While it has been rare, and the case studies are few and far between, there have been a few instances where actors and filmmakers have declined their Oscars in protest of various issues.
Although there have been a few instances when some winners were unable to receive their award at the ceremony due to scheduling conflicts or other such genuine issues, there have been three people who outright refused their Oscar.
However, Marlon Brando, George C. Scott, Dudley Nichols flat out refused the award. Out of more than 2000 Academy Awards winners, there have been three nominees who declined the award — though one winner accepted it some years later.
From last year's infamous slapgate that led to a 10-year ban for Will Smith to Richard Gere's 20-year ban for his onstage remarks on China, these are celebrities who have courted controversy and how! Will Smith has been banned from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years.
What happens if you reject an Academy Award? Well, it turns out…not very much. Numerous actors, writers and directors have rejected their awards over the year – and they're still listed as winners in all official records. Stars are free to send back the award statuettes, however.
Marlon Brando's Best Actor Oscar win for "The Godfather" | Sacheen Littlefeather
Can you get an Oscar taken away?
Young Americans is, therefore, the only film in Oscar history to have had an award revoked. The film follows a young Los Angeles-based musical choir known as The Young Americans as its teenage members prepare for their autumn tour of the United States.
According to The Wrap, only one Oscar has ever been rescinded after being awarded, and it was actually for a technicality: In 1969, the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature was given to Young Americans, then taken away after it was revealed that the documentary was exhibited publicly starting in 1967.
Herman Mankiewicz's statuette for Best Screenplay for 'Citizen Kane' was sold for $588,455. In 1999, Michael Jackson spent an exorbitant 1.5 million dollars to buy the statuette for 'Gone with the Wind', which won the Oscar for Best Film in 1939.
Through a study carried out by IBISworld some time ago, it was estimated that the average salary of an Oscar winner rises by up to 20% after receiving the award, so although they don't receive anything directly, it does increase their income.
Brando did not appear at the function but a buckskin clad American Indian woman Sacheen Little Feather, got on the stage and told the audience: “Marlon Brando very regretfully cannot accept this award because of the treatment of American Indians in this country to-day on the television, on reruns and recent happenings ...
Although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which oversees the Academy Awards, has expelled individuals from its organization before, it has not stripped an actor of their Academy Award. The academy has revoked an Oscar before, but for a film, not an actor.
Hepburn chose not to attend the awards ceremony—as she would not for the duration of her career—but was thrilled with the win. Her success continued with the role of Jo in the film Little Women (1933).
The nominated directors, actors, composers, scriptwriters and designers are all desperate to win an Oscar, but in addition to the statue, and the glory that goes with it, do the Oscar winners receive a cash prize from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences? The quick answer is no.
Cast in bronze and finished with gold plating, the award is among the most coveted in the film industry — and the Academy values it at just $1. Of course, the Oscar itself is much more costly to produce.
While each trophy reportedly costs over $400 to produce, official regulation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences states that the winners or anyone else cannot sell it in the market. It mandates that any resale requires for it to be first offered back to the Academy for $1.
Although Carrey took home back-to-back Golden Globes for "The Truman Show" and the Andy Kaufman biopic "Man on the Moon," he didn't receive a nod from the Academy for either.
Despite his stellar performances and undying fame, Keanu Reeves has never secured an Oscar. More surprisingly, he has never even received a nomination for the prestigious award.
Although being Academy nominated for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Finding Neverland, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Depp has stated he doesn't ever want to win an Oscar. He is, however, honored by the nominations he has received, saying they are enough.
No one has ever surrendered their Oscar. After Will Smith smacked Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, the Academy felt the ire of viewers demanding they rescind Smith's Best Actor trophy or for Smith to return it in shame. Neither happened. People don't willingly give up major awards like that.
Despite Lennix's plea, it seems that Will Smith will be able to keep his prize. The Academy didn't want to set a precedent of taking awards away from actors and directors for extracurricular behaviour and instead believed the decade-long ban from attending the ceremony would suffice.
Prior to 1950, Oscar statuettes were (and remain) the property of the recipient. Since then the statuettes have been legally encumbered by the requirement that the statuette be first offered for sale back to the Academy for US$1. If a winner refuses to agree to this stipulation, then the Academy keeps the statuette.
Who knows the winners before they're announced? According to the academy website, just two PricewaterhouseCoopers partners know the results beforehand. PwC is the accounting firm that tabulates the votes.
Typically Oscars do best when they're kept alone. However, if you want your Oscar to have a companion, try to introduce them as young as possible to increase the odds that they'll get along. If your Oscar is already mature, try moving the fish to a new tank when you introduce them.
