Academy Award for Best Actor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Academy Award for Best Actor |
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The 2023 recipient: Brendan Fraser
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| Presented by | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) |
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 1929 (for performance in films released during the 1927/1928 film season) |
| Currently held by | Brendan Fraser The Whale (2022) |
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actress winner.
The 1st Academy Awards were held in 1929 with Emil Jannings receiving the award for his roles in The Last Command (1928) and The Way of All Flesh (1927). Currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy.
In the first three years of the awards, actors were nominated as the best in their categories. At that time, all of their work during the qualifying period (as many as three films, in some cases) was listed after the award. During the third ceremony in 1930, only one of those films was cited in each winner's final award, even though each of the acting winners had two films following their names on the ballots. The following year, this system was replaced by the current system in which an actor is nominated for a specific performance in a single film. Starting with the ninth ceremony in 1937, the category was limited to five nominations per year.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 85 actors. Daniel Day-Lewis has won the award a record three times. Spencer Tracy and Laurence Olivier were nominated a record nine times. Peter O'Toole is the most nominated actor in this category without a single win. James Dean is the only actor posthumously nominated more than once. Peter Finch is the only posthumous winner, for Network (1976). Italian actor Roberto Benigni gave the first winning non-English performance in Life Is Beautiful (1997). In 1950, José Ferrer was the first Hispanic to win in this category for Cyrano de Bergerac. In 1964, Sidney Poitier was the first black actor to win Lead Actor for Lilies of the Field. At 29, Adrien Brody of The Pianist (2002) is the youngest winner, and Anthony Hopkins, 83, is the oldest, for playing Anthony in The Father (2020). As of the 95th Academy Awards, Brendan Fraser is the most recent winner for his portrayal of Charlie in The Whale, in which he became the first Canadian actor to win.
Contents
Winners and nominees
In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in Los Angeles County; the ceremonies are always held the following year. For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months, from August 1 to July 31. For the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933. Since the 7th ceremony held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.
| ‡ | Indicates the winner |
|---|---|
| § | Indicates winner who refused the award |
| † | Indicates a posthumous winner |
| † | Indicates a posthumous nominee |
1920s
Emil Jannings was the first winner, for The Last Command (1928) and The Way of All Flesh (1927).
Lionel Barrymore won for A Free Soul (1931).
| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927/28 (1st) |
Emil Jannings  |
Grand Duke Sergius Alexander | The Last Command | |
| August Schilling | The Way of All Flesh | |||
| Richard Barthelmess | Nickie Elkins | The Noose | ||
| Patent Leather Kid | The Patent Leather Kid | |||
| Charles Chaplin | The Tramp | The Circus | ||
| 1928/29 (2nd) |
Warner Baxter |
The Cisco Kid | In Old Arizona | |
| George Bancroft | Thunderbolt Jim Lang | Thunderbolt | ||
| Chester Morris | Chick Williams | Alibi | ||
| Paul Muni | James Dyke | The Valiant | ||
| Lewis Stone | Count Pahlen | The Patriot |
1930s
Charles Laughton won for The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933).
Clark Gable won for his performance in It Happened One Night (1934).
Spencer Tracy was the first of two lead actors to win twice consecutively, for Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938).
Fredric March won twice, for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).
| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929/30 (3rd) |
George Arliss |
Benjamin Disraeli | Disraeli | |
| George Arliss | The Raja | The Green Goddess | ||
| Wallace Beery | Butch "Machine Gun" Schmidt | The Big House | ||
| Maurice Chevalier | Pierre Mirande | The Big Pond | ||
| Count Alfred Renard | The Love Parade | |||
| Ronald Colman | Capt. Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond | Bulldog Drummond | ||
| Michel | Condemned | |||
| Lawrence Tibbett | Yegor | The Rogue Song | ||
| 1930/31 (4th) |
Lionel Barrymore |
Stephen Ashe | A Free Soul | |
| Jackie Cooper | Skippy Skinner | Skippy | ||
| Richard Dix | Yancey Cravat | Cimarron | ||
| Fredric March | Tony Cavendish | The Royal Family of Broadway | ||
| Adolphe Menjou | Walter Burns | The Front Page | ||
| 1931/32 (5th) |
Wallace Beery (Tie) |
Andy "Champ" Purcell | The Champ | |
| Fredric March (Tie) |
Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | ||
| Alfred Lunt | The Actor | The Guardsman | ||
| 1932/33 (6th) |
Charles Laughton |
King Henry VIII | The Private Life of Henry VIII | |
| Leslie Howard | Peter Standish | Berkeley Square | ||
| Paul Muni | James Allen | I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang | ||
| 1934 (7th) |
Clark Gable |
Peter Warne | It Happened One Night | |
| Frank Morgan | Alessandro, Duke of Florence | The Affairs of Cellini | ||
| William Powell | Nick Charles | The Thin Man | ||
| 1935 (8th) |
Victor McLaglen |
Gypo Nolan | The Informer | |
| Clark Gable | Lt. Fletcher Christian | Mutiny on the Bounty | ||
| Charles Laughton | Captain William Bligh | |||
| Franchot Tone | Midshipman Roger Byam | |||
| Paul Muni (Write-in) | Joe Radek | Black Fury | ||
| 1936 (9th) |
Paul Muni |
Louis Pasteur | The Story of Louis Pasteur | |
| Gary Cooper | Longfellow Deeds | Mr. Deeds Goes to Town | ||
| Walter Huston | Sam Dodsworth | Dodsworth | ||
| William Powell | Godfrey Park | My Man Godfrey | ||
| Spencer Tracy | Father Tim Mullin | San Francisco | ||
| 1937 (10th) |
Spencer Tracy |
Manuel Fidello | Captains Courageous | |
| Charles Boyer | Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte | Conquest | ||
| Fredric March | Norman Maine | A Star Is Born | ||
| Robert Montgomery | Danny | Night Must Fall | ||
| Paul Muni | Émile Zola | The Life of Emile Zola | ||
| 1938 (11th) |
Spencer Tracy |
Father Edward Flanagan | Boys Town | |
| Charles Boyer | Pepe le Moko | Algiers | ||
| James Cagney | Rocky Sullivan | Angels with Dirty Faces | ||
| Robert Donat | Dr. Andrew Manson | The Citadel | ||
| Leslie Howard | Professor Henry Higgins | Pygmalion | ||
| 1939 (12th) |
Robert Donat |
Charles Edward Chipping | Goodbye, Mr. Chips | |
| Clark Gable | Rhett Butler | Gone with the Wind | ||
| Laurence Olivier | Heathcliff | Wuthering Heights | ||
| Mickey Rooney | Mickey Moran | Babes in Arms | ||
| James Stewart | Jefferson Smith | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington |
1940s
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James Stewart won for his performance in The Philadelphia Story (1940).
Ronald Colman won for his performance in A Double Life (1947).
Laurence Olivier won for his performance as the title role in Hamlet (1948), a film which he directed himself.
Broderick Crawford won for All the King's Men (1949).
| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 (13th) |
James Stewart |
Macaulay "Mike" Connor | The Philadelphia Story | |
| Charles Chaplin | Adenoid Hynkel & The Barber | The Great Dictator | ||
| Henry Fonda | Tom Joad | The Grapes of Wrath | ||
| Raymond Massey | Abraham Lincoln | Abe Lincoln in Illinois | ||
| Laurence Olivier | Maximilian "Maxim" de Winter | Rebecca | ||
| 1941 (14th) |
Gary Cooper |
Sgt. Alvin York | Sergeant York | |
| Cary Grant | Roger Adams | Penny Serenade | ||
| Walter Huston | Mr. Scratch | The Devil and Daniel Webster | ||
| Robert Montgomery | Joe Pendleton | Here Comes Mr. Jordan | ||
| Orson Welles | Charles Foster Kane | Citizen Kane | ||
| 1942 (15th) |
James Cagney |
George M. Cohan | Yankee Doodle Dandy | |
| Ronald Colman | Charles Rainier | Random Harvest | ||
| Gary Cooper | Lou Gehrig | The Pride of the Yankees | ||
| Walter Pidgeon | Clem Miniver | Mrs. Miniver | ||
| Monty Woolley | Howard | The Pied Piper | ||
| 1943 (16th) |
Paul Lukas |
Kurt Muller | Watch on the Rhine | |
| Humphrey Bogart | Rick Blaine | Casablanca | ||
| Gary Cooper | Robert Jordan | For Whom the Bell Tolls | ||
| Walter Pidgeon | Pierre Curie | Madame Curie | ||
| Mickey Rooney | Homer Macauley | The Human Comedy | ||
| 1944 (17th) |
Bing Crosby |
Father Chuck O'Malley | Going My Way | |
| Charles Boyer | Gregory Anton | Gaslight | ||
| Barry Fitzgerald | Father Fitzgibbon | Going My Way | ||
| Cary Grant | Ernie Mott | None but the Lonely Heart | ||
| Alexander Knox | Woodrow Wilson | Wilson | ||
| 1945 (18th) |
Ray Milland |
Don Birnam | The Lost Weekend | |
| Bing Crosby | Father Chuck O'Malley | The Bells of St. Mary's | ||
| Gene Kelly | Joseph Brady | Anchors Aweigh | ||
| Gregory Peck | Father Francis | The Keys of the Kingdom | ||
| Cornel Wilde | Frédéric Chopin | A Song to Remember | ||
| 1946 (19th) |
Fredric March |
Platoon Sergeant Al Stephenson | The Best Years of Our Lives | |
| Laurence Olivier | King Henry V of England | Henry V | ||
| Larry Parks | Al Jolson | The Jolson Story | ||
| Gregory Peck | Ezra "Penny" Baxter | The Yearling | ||
| James Stewart | George Bailey | It's a Wonderful Life | ||
| 1947 (20th) |
Ronald Colman |
Anthony John | A Double Life | |
| John Garfield | Charlie Davis | Body and Soul | ||
| Gregory Peck | Philip Schuyler Green | Gentleman's Agreement | ||
| William Powell | Clarence Day, Sr. | Life with Father | ||
| Michael Redgrave | Orin Mannon | Mourning Becomes Electra | ||
| 1948 (21st) |
Laurence Olivier |
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark | Hamlet | |
| Lew Ayres | Dr. Robert Richardson | Johnny Belinda | ||
| Montgomery Clift | Ralph "Steve" Stevenson | The Search | ||
| Dan Dailey | "Skid" Johnson | When My Baby Smiles at Me | ||
| Clifton Webb | Lynn Aloysius Belvedere | Sitting Pretty | ||
| 1949 (22nd) |
Broderick Crawford |
Willie Stark | All the King's Men | |
| Kirk Douglas | Michael "Midge" Kelly | Champion | ||
| Gregory Peck | Brig. General Frank Savage | Twelve O'Clock High | ||
| Richard Todd | Cpl. Lachlan "Lachie" MacLachlan | The Hasty Heart | ||
| John Wayne | Sergeant John M. Stryker | Sands of Iwo Jima |
1950s
José Ferrer became the first Hispanic actor to win an Oscar, in addition to being the first that bookended his (first) Tony win for the same role.
Humphrey Bogart won for his performance in The African Queen (1951).
Marlon Brando won twice, for On the Waterfront (1954) and The Godfather (1972), although he declined the latter award.
Ernest Borgnine won for Marty in 1955.
Yul Brynner won for The King and I in 1956.
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| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 (23rd) |
José Ferrer |
Cyrano de Bergerac | Cyrano de Bergerac | |
| Louis Calhern | Oliver Wendell Holmes | The Magnificent Yankee | ||
| William Holden | Joe Gillis | Sunset Boulevard | ||
| James Stewart | Elwood P. Dowd | Harvey | ||
| Spencer Tracy | Stanley T. Banks | Father of the Bride | ||
| 1951 (24th) |
Humphrey Bogart |
Charlie Allnut | The African Queen | |
| Marlon Brando | Stanley Kowalski | A Streetcar Named Desire | ||
| Montgomery Clift | George Eastman | A Place in the Sun | ||
| Arthur Kennedy | Larry Nevins | Bright Victory | ||
| Fredric March | Willy Loman | Death of a Salesman | ||
| 1952 (25th) |
Gary Cooper |
Marshal Will Kane | High Noon | |
| Marlon Brando | Emiliano Zapata | Viva Zapata! | ||
| Kirk Douglas | Jonathan Shields | The Bad and the Beautiful | ||
| José Ferrer | Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec & Comte Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec | Moulin Rouge | ||
| Alec Guinness | Henry Holland | The Lavender Hill Mob | ||
| 1953 (26th) |
William Holden |
Sgt. J.J. Sefton | Stalag 17 | |
| Marlon Brando | Mark Antony | Julius Caesar | ||
| Richard Burton | Marcellus Gallio | The Robe | ||
| Montgomery Clift | Pvt. Robert E. Lee "Prew" Prewitt | From Here to Eternity | ||
| Burt Lancaster | 1st Sgt. Milton Warden | |||
| 1954 (27th) |
Marlon Brando |
Terry Malloy | On the Waterfront | |
| Humphrey Bogart | Lt. Cmdr. Philip Francis Queeg | The Caine Mutiny | ||
| Bing Crosby | Frank Elgin | The Country Girl | ||
| James Mason | Norman Maine | A Star Is Born | ||
| Dan O'Herlihy | Robinson Crusoe | Robinson Crusoe | ||
| 1955 (28th) |
Ernest Borgnine |
Marty Piletti | Marty | |
| James Cagney | Martin Snyder | Love Me or Leave Me | ||
| James Dean † | Cal Trask | East of Eden | ||
| Frank Sinatra | Frankie Machine | The Man with the Golden Arm | ||
| Spencer Tracy | John J. Macreedy | Bad Day at Black Rock | ||
| 1956 (29th) |
Yul Brynner |
King Mongkut of Siam | The King and I | |
| James Dean † | Jett Rink | Giant | ||
| Kirk Douglas | Vincent van Gogh | Lust for Life | ||
| Rock Hudson | Jordan "Bick" Benedict Jr. | Giant | ||
| Laurence Olivier | King Richard III | Richard III | ||
| 1957 (30th) |
Alec Guinness |
Colonel Nicholson | The Bridge on the River Kwai | |
| Marlon Brando | Major Lloyd "Ace" Gruver, USAF | Sayonara | ||
| Anthony Franciosa | Polo Pope | A Hatful of Rain | ||
| Charles Laughton | Sir Wilfrid Robarts | Witness for the Prosecution | ||
| Anthony Quinn | Gino | Wild Is the Wind | ||
| 1958 (31st) |
David Niven |
Major Angus Pollock | Separate Tables | |
| Tony Curtis | John "Joker" Jackson | The Defiant Ones | ||
| Paul Newman | Brick Pollitt | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | ||
| Sidney Poitier | Noah Cullen | The Defiant Ones | ||
| Spencer Tracy | The Old Man | The Old Man and the Sea | ||
| 1959 (32nd) |
Charlton Heston |
Judah Ben-Hur | Ben-Hur | |
| Laurence Harvey | Joe Lampton | Room at the Top | ||
| Jack Lemmon | Jerry / Daphne | Some Like It Hot | ||
| Paul Muni | Dr. Sam Abelman | The Last Angry Man | ||
| James Stewart | Paul Biegler | Anatomy of a Murder |
1960s
Burt Lancaster won for his performance in Elmer Gantry (1960).
Maximilian Schell won for his performance in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961).
Sidney Poitier won for his performance in Lilies of the Field (1963), becoming the first black actor to win this category.
Rod Steiger won for his performance as Chief Gillespie in In the Heat of the Night (1967).
John Wayne won for his role as curmudgeonly Rooster Cogburn in True Grit (1969).
| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 (33rd) |
Burt Lancaster |
Elmer Gantry | Elmer Gantry | |
| Trevor Howard | Walter Morel | Sons and Lovers | ||
| Jack Lemmon | C. C. "Bud" Baxter | The Apartment | ||
| Laurence Olivier | Archie Rice | The Entertainer | ||
| Spencer Tracy | Henry Drummond | Inherit the Wind | ||
| 1961 (34th) |
Maximilian Schell |
Hans Rolfe | Judgment at Nuremberg | |
| Charles Boyer | Cesar | Fanny | ||
| Paul Newman | "Fast" Eddie Felson | The Hustler | ||
| Spencer Tracy | Chief Judge Dan Haywood | Judgment at Nuremberg | ||
| Stuart Whitman | Jim Fuller | The Mark | ||
| 1962 (35th) |
Gregory Peck |
Atticus Finch | To Kill a Mockingbird | |
| Burt Lancaster | Robert Stroud | Birdman of Alcatraz | ||
| Jack Lemmon | Joe Clay | Days of Wine and Roses | ||
| Marcello Mastroianni | Ferdinando Cefalù | Divorce Italian Style | ||
| Peter O'Toole | Thomas Edward Lawrence | Lawrence of Arabia | ||
| 1963 (36th) |
Sidney Poitier |
Homer Smith | Lilies of the Field | |
| Albert Finney | Tom Jones | Tom Jones | ||
| Richard Harris | Frank Machin | This Sporting Life | ||
| Rex Harrison | Julius Caesar | Cleopatra | ||
| Paul Newman | Hud Bannon | Hud | ||
| 1964 (37th) |
Rex Harrison |
Professor Henry Higgins | My Fair Lady | |
| Richard Burton | Thomas Becket | Becket | ||
| Peter O'Toole | King Henry II | |||
| Anthony Quinn | Alexis Zorba | Zorba the Greek | ||
| Peter Sellers | Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley, and Dr. Strangelove | Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | ||
| 1965 (38th) |
Lee Marvin |
Kid Shelleen & Tim Strawn | Cat Ballou | |
| Richard Burton | Alec Leamas | The Spy Who Came in from the Cold | ||
| Laurence Olivier | Othello | Othello | ||
| Rod Steiger | Sol Nazerman | The Pawnbroker | ||
| Oskar Werner | Willie Schumann | Ship of Fools | ||
| 1966 (39th) |
Paul Scofield |
Sir Thomas More | A Man for All Seasons | |
| Alan Arkin | Lt. Rozanov | The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming | ||
| Richard Burton | George | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | ||
| Michael Caine | Alfie Elkins | Alfie | ||
| Steve McQueen | Jake Holman | The Sand Pebbles | ||
| 1967 (40th) |
Rod Steiger |
Bill Gillespie | In the Heat of the Night | |
| Warren Beatty | Clyde Barrow | Bonnie and Clyde | ||
| Dustin Hoffman | Benjamin Braddock | The Graduate | ||
| Paul Newman | Lucas "Luke" Jackson | Cool Hand Luke | ||
| Spencer Tracy † | Matt Drayton | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | ||
| 1968 (41st) |
Cliff Robertson |
Charly Gordon | Charly | |
| Alan Arkin | John Singer | The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter | ||
| Alan Bates | Yakov Bok | The Fixer | ||
| Ron Moody | Fagin | Oliver! | ||
| Peter O'Toole | King Henry II | The Lion in Winter | ||
| 1969 (42nd) |
John Wayne |
Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn | True Grit | |
| Richard Burton | King Henry VIII | Anne of the Thousand Days | ||
| Dustin Hoffman | Enrico Salvatore "Ratso" Rizzo | Midnight Cowboy | ||
| Peter O'Toole | Arthur Chipping | Goodbye, Mr. Chips | ||
| Jon Voight | Joe Buck | Midnight Cowboy |
1970s
Gene Hackman won for The French Connection (1971).
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Jack Nicholson won twice, for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and As Good as It Gets (1997).
Peter Finch won for his portrayal of Howard Beale in Network (1976), becoming the first actor to win this leading category award posthumously.
| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 (43rd) |
George C. Scott § | General George S. Patton Jr. | Patton | |
| Melvyn Douglas | Tom Garrison | I Never Sang for My Father | ||
| James Earl Jones | Jack Jefferson | The Great White Hope | ||
| Jack Nicholson | Robert Eroica Dupea | Five Easy Pieces | ||
| Ryan O'Neal | Oliver Barrett IV | Love Story | ||
| 1971 (44th) |
Gene Hackman |
Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle | The French Connection | |
| Peter Finch | Dr. Daniel Hirsh | Sunday Bloody Sunday | ||
| Walter Matthau | Joseph P. Kotcher | Kotch | ||
| George C. Scott | Dr. Herbert Bock | The Hospital | ||
| Topol | Tevye | Fiddler on the Roof | ||
| 1972 (45th) |
Marlon Brando § | Vito Corleone | The Godfather | |
| Michael Caine | Milo Tindle | Sleuth | ||
| Laurence Olivier | Andrew Wyke | |||
| Peter O'Toole | Jack Gurney, 14th Earl of Gurney | The Ruling Class | ||
| Paul Winfield | Nathan Lee Morgan | Sounder | ||
| 1973 (46th) |
Jack Lemmon |
Harry Stoner | Save the Tiger | |
| Marlon Brando | Paul | Last Tango in Paris | ||
| Jack Nicholson | Signalman 1st Class Billy L. "..." Buddusky | The Last Detail | ||
| Al Pacino | Frank Serpico | Serpico | ||
| Robert Redford | Johnny "Kelly" Hooker | The Sting | ||
| 1974 (47th) |
Art Carney |
Harry Coombes | Harry and Tonto | |
| Albert Finney | Hercule Poirot | Murder on the Orient Express | ||
| Dustin Hoffman | Lenny Bruce | Lenny | ||
| Jack Nicholson | J. J. "Jake" Gittes | Chinatown | ||
| Al Pacino | Michael Corleone | The Godfather Part II | ||
| 1975 (48th) |
Jack Nicholson |
Randle Patrick McMurphy | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | |
| Walter Matthau | Willy Clark | The Sunshine Boys | ||
| Al Pacino | Sonny Wortzik | Dog Day Afternoon | ||
| Maximilian Schell | Arthur Goldman | The Man in the Glass Booth | ||
| James Whitmore | Harry S. Truman | Give 'em Hell, Harry! | ||
| 1976 (49th) |
Peter Finch † | Howard Beale | Network | |
| Robert De Niro | Travis Bickle | Taxi Driver | ||
| Giancarlo Giannini | Pasqualino Frafuso | Seven Beauties | ||
| William Holden | Max Schumacher | Network | ||
| Sylvester Stallone | Rocky Balboa | Rocky | ||
| 1977 (50th) |
Richard Dreyfuss |
Elliot Garfield | The Goodbye Girl | |
| Woody Allen | Alvy Singer | Annie Hall | ||
| Richard Burton | Martin Dysart | Equus | ||
| Marcello Mastroianni | Gabriele | A Special Day | ||
| John Travolta | Tony Manero | Saturday Night Fever | ||
| 1978 (51st) |
Jon Voight |
Luke Martin | Coming Home | |
| Warren Beatty | Joe Pendleton / Leo Farnsworth / Tom Jarrett | Heaven Can Wait | ||
| Gary Busey | Buddy Holly | The Buddy Holly Story | ||
| Robert De Niro | Michael Vronsky | The Deer Hunter | ||
| Laurence Olivier | Ezra Lieberman | The Boys from Brazil | ||
| 1979 (52nd) |
Dustin Hoffman |
Ted Kramer | Kramer vs. Kramer | |
| Jack Lemmon | Jack Godell | The China Syndrome | ||
| Al Pacino | Arthur Kirkland | ...And Justice for All. | ||
| Roy Scheider | Joe Gideon | All That Jazz | ||
| Peter Sellers | Chance the gardener / Chauncey Gardiner | Being There |
1980s
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F. Murray Abraham won for his portrayal of Antonio Salieri in Amadeus (1984); the first Arab to win the award.
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William Hurt won for his performance in Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985).
Paul Newman won for The Color of Money (1986).
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Daniel Day-Lewis won thrice, for My Left Foot (1989), There Will Be Blood (2007), and Lincoln (2012).
| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 (53rd) |
Robert De Niro |
Jake LaMotta | Raging Bull | |
| Robert Duvall | Lt. Col. Wilbur "Bull" Meechum | The Great Santini | ||
| John Hurt | John Merrick | The Elephant Man | ||
| Jack Lemmon | Scottie Templeton | Tribute | ||
| Peter O'Toole | Eli Cross | The Stunt Man | ||
| 1981 (54th) |
Henry Fonda |
Norman Thayer Jr. | On Golden Pond | |
| Warren Beatty | John "Jack" Reed | Reds | ||
| Burt Lancaster | Lou Pascal | Atlantic City | ||
| Dudley Moore | Arthur Bach | Arthur | ||
| Paul Newman | Michael Gallagher | Absence of Malice | ||
| 1982 (55th) |
Ben Kingsley |
Mahatma Gandhi | Gandhi | |
| Dustin Hoffman | Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels | Tootsie | ||
| Jack Lemmon | Edmund Horman | Missing | ||
| Paul Newman | Frank Galvin | The Verdict | ||
| Peter O'Toole | Alan Swann | My Favorite Year | ||
| 1983 (56th) |
Robert Duvall |
Mac Sledge | Tender Mercies | |
| Michael Caine | Dr. Frank Bryant | Educating Rita | ||
| Tom Conti | Gowan McGland | Reuben, Reuben | ||
| Tom Courtenay | Norman | The Dresser | ||
| Albert Finney | Sir | |||
| 1984 (57th) |
F. Murray Abraham |
Antonio Salieri | Amadeus | |
| Jeff Bridges | Scott Hayden / Starman | Starman | ||
| Albert Finney | Geoffrey Firmin | Under the Volcano | ||
| Tom Hulce | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Amadeus | ||
| Sam Waterston | Sydney Schanberg | The Killing Fields | ||
| 1985 (58th) |
William Hurt |
Luis Molina | Kiss of the Spider Woman | |
| Harrison Ford | John Book | Witness | ||
| James Garner | Murphy Jones | Murphy's Romance | ||
| Jack Nicholson | Charley Partanna | Prizzi's Honor | ||
| Jon Voight | Oscar "Manny" Manheim | Runaway Train | ||
| 1986 (59th) |
Paul Newman |
"Fast" Eddie Felson | The Color of Money | |
| Dexter Gordon | Dale Turner | Round Midnight | ||
| Bob Hoskins | George | Mona Lisa | ||
| William Hurt | James Leeds | Children of a Lesser God | ||
| James Woods | Richard Boyle | Salvador | ||
| 1987 (60th) |
Michael Douglas |
Gordon Gekko | Wall Street | |
| William Hurt | Tom Grunick | Broadcast News | ||
| Marcello Mastroianni | Romano Patroni | Dark Eyes | ||
| Jack Nicholson | Francis Phelan | Ironweed | ||
| Robin Williams | Adrian Cronauer | Good Morning, Vietnam | ||
| 1988 (61st) |
Dustin Hoffman |
Raymond Babbitt | Rain Man | |
| Gene Hackman | Rupert Anderson | Mississippi Burning | ||
| Tom Hanks | Josh Baskin | Big | ||
| Edward James Olmos | Jaime Escalante | Stand and Deliver | ||
| Max von Sydow | Lassefar "Lasse" Karlsson | Pelle the Conqueror | ||
| 1989 (62nd) |
Daniel Day-Lewis |
Christy Brown | My Left Foot | |
| Kenneth Branagh | King Henry V | Henry V | ||
| Tom Cruise | Ron Kovic | Born on the Fourth of July | ||
| Morgan Freeman | Hoke Colburn | Driving Miss Daisy | ||
| Robin Williams | John Keating | Dead Poets Society |
1990s
Anthony Hopkins won twice for The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and The Father (2020), the latter rendering him the oldest Best Actor winner at age 83.
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Al Pacino won for Scent of A Woman (1992).
Tom Hanks was the second lead actor to win twice consecutively, for Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994).
Nicolas Cage won for Leaving Las Vegas (1995).
Roberto Benigni won for Life is Beautiful (1997), the first lead male win for a foreign language role (Italian).
| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 (63rd) |
Jeremy Irons |
Claus von Bülow | Reversal of Fortune | |
| Kevin Costner | Lt. John J. Dunbar | Dances with Wolves | ||
| Robert De Niro | Leonard Lowe | Awakenings | ||
| Gérard Depardieu | Cyrano de Bergerac | Cyrano de Bergerac | ||
| Richard Harris | "Bull" McCabe | The Field | ||
| 1991 (64th) |
Anthony Hopkins |
Dr. Hannibal Lecter | The Silence of the Lambs | |
| Warren Beatty | Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel | Bugsy | ||
| Robert De Niro | Max Cady | Cape Fear | ||
| Nick Nolte | Tom Wingo | The Prince of Tides | ||
| Robin Williams | Henry "Parry" Sagan | The Fisher King | ||
| 1992 (65th) |
Al Pacino |
Lt. Col. Frank Slade | Scent of a Woman | |
| Robert Downey Jr. | Charlie Chaplin | Chaplin | ||
| Clint Eastwood | Will Munny | Unforgiven | ||
| Stephen Rea | Fergus | The Crying Game | ||
| Denzel Washington | Malcolm Little / Malcolm X | Malcolm X | ||
| 1993 (66th) |
Tom Hanks |
Andrew Beckett | Philadelphia | |
| Daniel Day-Lewis | Gerard "Gerry" Conlon | In the Name of the Father | ||
| Laurence Fishburne | Ike Turner | What's Love Got to Do with It | ||
| Anthony Hopkins | James Stevens | The Remains of the Day | ||
| Liam Neeson | Oskar Schindler | Schindler's List | ||
| 1994 (67th) |
Tom Hanks |
Forrest Gump | Forrest Gump | |
| Morgan Freeman | Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding | The Shawshank Redemption | ||
| Nigel Hawthorne | King George III | The Madness of King George | ||
| Paul Newman | Donald "Sully" Sullivan | Nobody's Fool | ||
| John Travolta | Vincent Vega | Pulp Fiction | ||
| 1995 (68th) |
Nicolas Cage |
Ben Sanderson | Leaving Las Vegas | |
| Richard Dreyfuss | Glenn Holland | Mr. Holland's Opus | ||
| Anthony Hopkins | Richard Nixon | Nixon | ||
| Sean Penn | Matthew Poncelet | Dead Man Walking | ||
| Massimo Troisi † | Mario Ruoppolo | Il Postino: The Postman | ||
| 1996 (69th) |
Geoffrey Rush |
David Helfgott | Shine | |
| Tom Cruise | Jerry Maguire | Jerry Maguire | ||
| Ralph Fiennes | Count László de Almásy | The English Patient | ||
| Woody Harrelson | Larry Flynt | The People vs. Larry Flynt | ||
| Billy Bob Thornton | Karl Childers | Sling Blade | ||
| 1997 (70th) |
Jack Nicholson |
Melvin Udall | As Good as It Gets | |
| Matt Damon | Will Hunting | Good Will Hunting | ||
| Robert Duvall | Euliss "Sonny" Dewey / The Apostle E. F. | The Apostle | ||
| Peter Fonda | Ulysses "Ulee" Jackson | Ulee's Gold | ||
| Dustin Hoffman | Stanley Motss | Wag the Dog | ||
| 1998 (71st) |
Roberto Benigni |
Guido Orefice | Life Is Beautiful | |
| Tom Hanks | Captain John H. Miller | Saving Private Ryan | ||
| Ian McKellen | James Whale | Gods and Monsters | ||
| Nick Nolte | Wade Whitehouse | Affliction | ||
| Edward Norton | Derek Vinyard | American History X | ||
| 1999 (72nd) |
Kevin Spacey |
Lester Burnham | American Beauty | |
| Russell Crowe | Jeffrey Wigand | The Insider | ||
| Richard Farnsworth | Alvin Straight | The Straight Story | ||
| Sean Penn | Emmet Ray | Sweet and Lowdown | ||
| Denzel Washington | Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter | The Hurricane |
2000s
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Adrien Brody won for The Pianist (2002) at age 29, becoming the youngest Best Actor winner.
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Sean Penn won twice for Mystic River (2003) and Milk (2008).
Philip Seymour Hoffman won for Capote (2005).
Forest Whitaker won for The Last King of Scotland (2006).
Jeff Bridges won for Crazy Heart (2009).
| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 (73rd) |
Russell Crowe |
Maximus Decimus Meridius | Gladiator | |
| Javier Bardem | Reinaldo Arenas | Before Night Falls | ||
| Tom Hanks | Chuck Noland | Cast Away | ||
| Ed Harris | Jackson Pollock | Pollock | ||
| Geoffrey Rush | Marquis de Sade | Quills | ||
| 2001 (74th) |
Denzel Washington |
Alonzo Harris | Training Day | |
| Russell Crowe | John Forbes Nash | A Beautiful Mind | ||
| Sean Penn | Sam Dawson | I Am Sam | ||
| Will Smith | Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali | Ali | ||
| Tom Wilkinson | Dr. Matt Fowler | In the Bedroom | ||
| 2002 (75th) |
Adrien Brody |
Władysław Szpilman | The Pianist | |
| Nicolas Cage | Charlie Kaufman & Donald Kaufman | Adaptation. | ||
| Michael Caine | Thomas Fowler | The Quiet American | ||
| Daniel Day-Lewis | William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting | Gangs of New York | ||
| Jack Nicholson | Warren R. Schmidt | About Schmidt | ||
| 2003 (76th) |
Sean Penn |
Jimmy Markum | Mystic River | |
| Johnny Depp | Captain Jack Sparrow | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | ||
| Ben Kingsley | Col. Massoud Amir Behrani | House of Sand and Fog | ||
| Jude Law | W. P. Inman | Cold Mountain | ||
| Bill Murray | Bob Harris | Lost in Translation | ||
| 2004 (77th) |
Jamie Foxx |
Ray Charles | Ray | |
| Don Cheadle | Paul Rusesabagina | Hotel Rwanda | ||
| Johnny Depp | Sir James Matthew Barrie | Finding Neverland | ||
| Leonardo DiCaprio | Howard Hughes | The Aviator | ||
| Clint Eastwood | Frankie Dunn | Million Dollar Baby | ||
| 2005 (78th) |
Philip Seymour Hoffman |
Truman Capote | Capote | |
| Terrence Howard | DJay | Hustle & Flow | ||
| Heath Ledger | Ennis Del Mar | Brokeback Mountain | ||
| Joaquin Phoenix | Johnny Cash | Walk the Line | ||
| David Strathairn | Edward R. Murrow | Good Night, and Good Luck. | ||
| 2006 (79th) |
Forest Whitaker |
Idi Amin | The Last King of Scotland | |
| Leonardo DiCaprio | Danny Archer | Blood Diamond | ||
| Ryan Gosling | Dan Dunne | Half Nelson | ||
| Peter O'Toole | Maurice Russell | Venus | ||
| Will Smith | Chris Gardner | The Pursuit of Happyness | ||
| 2007 (80th) |
Daniel Day-Lewis |
Daniel Plainview | There Will Be Blood | |
| George Clooney | Michael Clayton | Michael Clayton | ||
| Johnny Depp | Sweeney Todd / Benjamin Barker | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | ||
| Tommy Lee Jones | Hank Deerfield | In the Valley of Elah | ||
| Viggo Mortensen | Nikolai Luzhin | Eastern Promises | ||
| 2008 (81st) |
Sean Penn |
Harvey Milk | Milk | |
| Richard Jenkins | Walter Vale | The Visitor | ||
| Frank Langella | Richard Nixon | Frost/Nixon | ||
| Brad Pitt | Benjamin Button | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | ||
| Mickey Rourke | Randy "The Ram" Robinson | The Wrestler | ||
| 2009 (82nd) |
Jeff Bridges |
Otis "Bad" Blake | Crazy Heart | |
| George Clooney | Ryan Bingham | Up in the Air | ||
| Colin Firth | George Falconer | A Single Man | ||
| Morgan Freeman | Nelson Mandela | Invictus | ||
| Jeremy Renner | SFC William James | The Hurt Locker |
2010s
Jean Dujardin won for The Artist (2011); the first French actor to win the award.
Matthew McConaughey won for Dallas Buyers Club (2013).
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Leonardo DiCaprio won for The Revenant (2015).
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Gary Oldman won for Darkest Hour (2017).
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Joaquin Phoenix won for Joker (2019).
| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 (83rd) |
Colin Firth |
King George VI | The King's Speech | |
| Javier Bardem | Uxbal | Biutiful | ||
| Jeff Bridges | Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn | True Grit | ||
| Jesse Eisenberg | Mark Zuckerberg | The Social Network | ||
| James Franco | Aron Ralston | 127 Hours | ||
| 2011 (84th) |
Jean Dujardin |
George Valentin | The Artist | |
| Demián Bichir | Carlos Galindo | A Better Life | ||
| George Clooney | Matt King | The Descendants | ||
| Gary Oldman | George Smiley | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | ||
| Brad Pitt | Billy Beane | Moneyball | ||
| 2012 (85th) |
Daniel Day-Lewis |
Abraham Lincoln | Lincoln | |
| Bradley Cooper | Pat Solitano | Silver Linings Playbook | ||
| Hugh Jackman | Jean Valjean | Les Misérables | ||
| Joaquin Phoenix | Freddie Quell | The Master | ||
| Denzel Washington | William "Whip" Whitaker | Flight | ||
| 2013 (86th) |
Matthew McConaughey |
Ron Woodroof | Dallas Buyers Club | |
| Christian Bale | Irving Rosenfeld | American Hustle | ||
| Bruce Dern | Woodrow "Woody" Grant | Nebraska | ||
| Leonardo DiCaprio | Jordan Belfort | The Wolf of Wall Street | ||
| Chiwetel Ejiofor | Solomon Northup | 12 Years a Slave | ||
| 2014 (87th) |
Eddie Redmayne |
Stephen Hawking | The Theory of Everything | |
| Steve Carell | John du Pont | Foxcatcher | ||
| Bradley Cooper | Chris Kyle | American Sniper | ||
| Benedict Cumberbatch | Alan Turing | The Imitation Game | ||
| Michael Keaton | Riggan Thomson | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | ||
| 2015 (88th) |
Leonardo DiCaprio |
Hugh Glass | The Revenant | |
| Bryan Cranston | Dalton Trumbo | Trumbo | ||
| Matt Damon | Mark Watney | The Martian | ||
| Michael Fassbender | Steve Jobs | Steve Jobs | ||
| Eddie Redmayne | Einar Wegener / Lili Elbe | The Danish Girl | ||
| 2016 (89th) |
Casey Affleck |
Lee Chandler | Manchester by the Sea | |
| Andrew Garfield | Desmond Doss | Hacksaw Ridge | ||
| Ryan Gosling | Sebastian Wilder | La La Land | ||
| Viggo Mortensen | Ben Cash | Captain Fantastic | ||
| Denzel Washington | Troy Maxson | Fences | ||
| 2017 (90th) |
Gary Oldman |
Winston Churchill | Darkest Hour | |
| Timothée Chalamet | Elio Perlman | Call Me by Your Name | ||
| Daniel Day-Lewis | Reynolds Woodcock | Phantom Thread | ||
| Daniel Kaluuya | Chris Washington | Get Out | ||
| Denzel Washington | Roman J. Israel | Roman J. Israel, Esq. | ||
| 2018 (91st) |
Rami Malek |
Freddie Mercury | Bohemian Rhapsody | |
| Christian Bale | Dick Cheney | Vice | ||
| Bradley Cooper | Jackson Maine | A Star Is Born | ||
| Willem Dafoe | Vincent van Gogh | At Eternity's Gate | ||
| Viggo Mortensen | Anthony "Tony Lip" Vallelonga | Green Book | ||
| 2019 (92nd) |
Joaquin Phoenix |
Arthur Fleck / Joker | Joker | |
| Antonio Banderas | Salvador Mallo | Pain and Glory | ||
| Leonardo DiCaprio | Rick Dalton | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | ||
| Adam Driver | Charlie Barber | Marriage Story | ||
| Jonathan Pryce | Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio | The Two Popes |
2020s
Will Smith won for King Richard (2020).
| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 (93rd) |
Anthony Hopkins |
Anthony | The Father | |
| Riz Ahmed | Ruben Stone | Sound of Metal | ||
| Chadwick Boseman † | Levee Green | Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | ||
| Gary Oldman | Herman J. Mankiewicz | Mank | ||
| Steven Yeun | Jacob Yi | Minari | ||
| 2021 (94th) |
Will Smith |
Richard Williams | King Richard | |
| Javier Bardem | Desi Arnaz | Being the Ricardos | ||
| Benedict Cumberbatch | Phil Burbank | The Power of the Dog | ||
| Andrew Garfield | Jonathan Larson | Tick, Tick... Boom! | ||
| Denzel Washington | Lord Macbeth | The Tragedy of Macbeth | ||
| 2022 (95th) |
Brendan Fraser |
Charlie | The Whale | |
| Austin Butler | Elvis Presley | Elvis | ||
| Colin Farrell | Pádraic Súilleabháin | The Banshees of Inisherin | ||
| Paul Mescal | Calum Paterson | Aftersun | ||
| Bill Nighy | Mr. Rodney Williams | Living |
Multiple awards and nominations
Age superlatives
| Record | Actor | Film | Year | Age | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oldest Winner | Anthony Hopkins | The Father | 2020 | 83 | |
| Oldest Nominee | |||||
| Youngest Winner | Adrien Brody | The Pianist | 2002 | 29 | |
| Youngest Nominee | Jackie Cooper | Skippy | 1931 | 9 |
Films with multiple Leading Actor nominations
Winners are in bold.
- Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) – Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, and Franchot Tone
- Going My Way (1944) – Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald
- From Here to Eternity (1953) – Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster
- Giant (1956) – James Dean and Rock Hudson
- The Defiant Ones (1958) – Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier
- Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) – Maximilian Schell and Spencer Tracy
- Becket (1964) – Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole
- Midnight Cowboy (1969) – Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight
- Sleuth (1972) – Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier
- Network (1976) – Peter Finch and William Holden
- The Dresser (1983) – Tom Courtenay and Albert Finney
- Amadeus (1984) – F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce
Multiple character nominations
Winners are in bold.
- Arthur Chipping from Goodbye, Mr. Chips (Robert Donat, 1939) & Goodbye, Mr. Chips (Peter O'Toole, 1969)
- Cyrano de Bergerac from Cyrano de Bergerac (José Ferrer, 1950) & Cyrano de Bergerac (Gérard Depardieu, 1990)
- Eddie "Fast Eddie" Felson from The Hustler (Paul Newman, 1961) & The Color of Money (Paul Newman, 1986)
- Father Chuck O'Malley from Going My Way (Bing Crosby, 1944) & The Bells of St. Mary's (Bing Crosby, 1945)
- Joe Pendleton from Here Comes Mr. Jordan (Robert Montgomery, 1941) & Heaven Can Wait (Warren Beatty, 1978)
- King Henry II from Becket (Peter O'Toole, 1964) & The Lion in Winter (Peter O'Toole, 1968)
- King Henry V from Henry V (Laurence Olivier, 1946) & Henry V (Kenneth Branagh, 1989)
- King Henry VIII from The Private Life of Henry VIII (Charles Laughton, 1933) & Anne of the Thousand Days (Richard Burton, 1969)
- Norman Maine from A Star Is Born (Fredric March, 1937) & A Star Is Born (James Mason, 1954)
- President Abraham Lincoln from Abe Lincoln in Illinois (Raymond Massey, 1940) & Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis, 2012)
- President Richard Nixon from Nixon (Anthony Hopkins, 1995) & Frost/Nixon (Frank Langella, 2008)
- Professor Henry Higgins from Pygmalion (Leslie Howard, 1938) & My Fair Lady (Rex Harrison, 1964)
- Rooster Cogburn from True Grit (John Wayne, 1969) & True Grit (Jeff Bridges, 2010)
- Vincent van Gogh from Lust for Life (Kirk Douglas, 1956) & At Eternity's Gate (Willem Dafoe, 2018)
Related pages
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Óscar al mejor actor para niños
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Academy Award for Best Actor Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.