10 people you didn't know had won Oscars

If it had somehow escaped your notice – in which case, come on out from under that rock – the Oscars are almost upon us again.

But what about the winners everyone has forgotten about? The unexpected ones. The forgotten heroes. Here are 11 Oscar winners you may not have realised owned a little gold guy.

1. Peter Capaldi

The Twelfth Doctor took home a statuette from the Academy in 1995, for writing and directing short film Franz Kafka's It's A Wonderful Life. (Not to be confused with Frank Capra's actual It's A Wonderful Life.)

The absurdist short follows Kafka (played by Richard E Grant) in the throes of writer's block while attempting to write his masterpiece Metamorphosis, and it tied for Best Live Action Short Film with Peggy Rajski's Trevor.

2. Eminem

Yep, 8 Mile's 'Lose Yourself' became the first rap track ever to receive the Best Original Song Oscar. The win was so unexpected that when it was announced, Mr Mathers himself was at home, asleep in front of cartoons with his daughter.

3. Phil Collins

Collins has won plenty of awards in his time, but Disney's 1999 Tarzan is unlikely to be the first place your mind goes to when you're pondering what for. He penned all of the soundtrack's songs (alongside Mark Mancina on scoring duties) and 'You'll Be in My Heart' nabbed the big prize on Oscar night.

The soundtrack also earned a Grammy and a Golden Globe, which still left Collins a fair way from earning an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony). He does have the OGGG, for what that's worth.

4. Oprah Winfrey

Despite being snubbed by the Academy for her compelling comeback performance in The Butler, the reason might simply have been that it's only been two years since they gave her the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

This special honour is bestowed periodically – Angelina Jolie was also a recipient – to celebrate outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes.

It's given out at the separate Governors Awards rather than the main ceremony, which is one reason many people may be unaware of Oprah's status as an Oscar winner.

5. Nicolas Cage

It's really, really difficult to look back beyond the fog of straight-to-TV that has clogged Cage's later career.

But back in the day, Cage the respectable actor won the Best Actor gong for his performance as a suicidal alcoholic in Leaving Las Vegas.

6. Jim Rash

The Dean from Community totally won an Oscar, and not even for acting – Rash co-wrote the script for George Clooney-starrer The Descendants, alongside Nat Faxon and director Alexander Payne.

Rash and Faxon reunited to write the similarly bittersweet indie comedy The Way Way Back, a gem which unfortunately didn't have a high enough profile to make the Academy shortlist.

7. Walton Goggins

Goggins is now best known for his work with Quentin Tarantino in Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight (plus his role as career criminal Boyd Crowder in FX drama Justified, for which he's been Emmy-nominated).

But back in 2001, Goggins co-won the Best Live Action Short Film award for producing Ray McKinnon's "farm comedy" The Accountant, in which he also played second lead.

8. Lionel Richie

Hello? Is it him you're looking for? Yes. It is. Lionel won in 1985 for Best Original Song, with 'Say You, Say Me', which featured in White Nights, a Cold War drama about defecting Russian and American dancers, and is only notable otherwise for having been the film where Helen Mirren met her husband, director Taylor Hackford.

9. Annie Lennox

It's not that we're surprised that Annie Lennox has won an Oscar – she's a legendary singer and songwriter, so of course she probably won one back in the Eurythmics days, or when her solo stuff dominated the Brits every year, right? Wrong.

She won in 2003 for the "Elvish lament" 'Into The West', the end-credits theme of The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King, which she co-wrote with Fran Walsh and Howard Shore.

10. Danny Dyer

Okay, we'll admit this one is a stretch, since technically Danny Dyer wasn't the recipient of the 2005 Oscar for Best Live Action Short (yep, that old chestnut again). Fish Tank director Andrea Arnold won it for Wasp, a 30-minute drama which starred Dyer as an ex-boyfriend trying to rekindle the flame with Natalie Press's single mum.

The very fact that Danny Dyer was involved in Oscar-winning work, however, justifies this inclusion.

11. Rachel Shenton

Yep, Mitzeee from Hollyoaks. She wrote and starred in The Silent Child, which won in 2018 for Best Live Action Short Film. TAKE THAT, STREEP.

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Emma Dibdin

Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.