Marlon Brando and George C. Scott define celebrities who refused or declined awards at the Academy Awards — empty podiums that still echo across five decades of ceremony broadcasts.

Brando won Best Actor for The Godfather then sent Sacheen Littlefeather to decline — among the most famous celebrities who refused or declined awards on any global telecast ever aired.

Scott called the Oscars a meat parade and skipped Patton's Best Actor win — celebrities who refused or declined awards rarely match his blunt public contempt for Hollywood pageantry.

Littlefeather's sixty-second speech became awards history — proof that celebrities who refused or declined awards can reshape ceremony politics without ever touching a trophy.

Peter O'Toole initially declined an honorary Oscar in 2003 hoping for a competitive win — a softer form of celebrities who refused or declined awards before accepting on stage.