20 Oscar Nominees and Winners Who Paint

Oscar nominees and winners with hidden artistic talents.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Every year, American actors, actresses, directors, writers, and more gather for the Academy Awards, the oldest and one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies in the entertainment industry. To be nominated for or to receive an Oscar is an honor that most people can only dream of, yet some of these already accomplished stars somehow find the time to pursue other hobbies, such as painting and visual art. And here we can't even muster the energy to pack a lunch before work!

Many of the celebrities on this list, such as Jared Leto and Javier Bardem, cite painting as their first love. It's hard to imagine Johnny Depp or Sylvester Stallone being famous for their paintings rather than their acting, but it turns out that they all have real talents to fall back on in case something in film doesn't work out. 

Here are 20 Oscar Nominees and Winners Who Paint, many who will surprise you.

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Dennis Hopper

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Audrey Hepburn

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Viggo Mortensen

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Anthony Hopkins

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Javier Bardem

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Darren Aronofsky

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Jeff Bridges

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Daniel Sousa

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James Dean

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Daniel Day-Lewis

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James Franco

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Sally Hawkins

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Sylvester Stallone

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Kathryn Bigelow

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Jared Leto

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Nomination: Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Dallas Buyers Club (2014)

Jared Leto is nominated at the Oscars this year for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category. He was first trained in the visual arts before getting into the performing arts. He attended three art schools, beginning with the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C., where he studied painting. He went to two other art schools after that, ended up in New York City, and then dropped out during his third year of school.

In an interview with James Franco, Leto elaborated on his painting work, art movements he's interested in, and other artistic mediums he has explored:


I was doing conceptual work. I was really into abstract and contemporary art. I always loved pop art as well. Then I fell in love with photography and filmmaking. I was also studying sculpture and exploring a lot of different things, as you do when you're a student. But I ended up focusing on film during my third year. Not so much traditional, narrative film—more art film and video art. But then I dropped out because I thought I would have a better chance at directing a film if I got a job as an actor first. So that's one of the reasons why I headed west with a backpack and a couple hundred bucks in my pocket. I went to California and ended up sleeping on the beach in Venice, and that was really the beginning for me. But I come from a visual background, and I grew up around a lot of hippies and artists. My mom and my brother and I moved around a lot. We basically moved every couple of years, and I went to a lot of different schools. But creativity, for us, was always a way of life. It was never a job. Being an artist was a passion and a way of life.

Judi Dench

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Johnny Depp

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Jennifer Lawrence

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Banksy

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Christian Bale

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