The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The award was traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actress winner. However, in recent years, it has shifted towards being presented by previous years' Best Actor winners instead.
The Best Actor award has been presented 98 times, to 87 actors. The first winner was German actor Emil Jannings for his roles in The Last Command (1928) and The Way of All Flesh (1927). The most recent winner is Michael B. Jordan for his dual role as twin brothers Elijah and Elias Moore in Sinners (2025). The record for most wins is three, held by Daniel Day-Lewis, and ten other actors have won twice. The record for most nominations is nine, held jointly by Spencer Tracy and Laurence Olivier. At the 5th Academy Awards in 1932, Fredric March finished one vote ahead of Wallace Beery; under the rules of the time this resulted in them sharing the award, the only time this has occurred.
Nominations process Nominees are currently 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 and actresses were nominated as the best individuals 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. Despite this, at the 3rd Academy Awards, held in 1930, only one film was cited in each winner's award regardless of how many they were eligible to be considered for during that span. The current system, in which an actor is nominated for a specific performance in a single film, was introduced for the 4th Academy Awards. Starting with the 9th Academy Awards, held in 1937, the category was limited to a maximum five nominations per year.
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.
+ Table key ‡ Indicates the winner § Indicates winner who refused the award † Indicates a posthumous winner † Indicates a posthumous nominee
1920s
Year Actor Role(s) Film 1927/28 (1st) Patent Leather Kid 1928/29(2nd)The 2nd Academy Awards is unique in being the only occasion where there were no official nominees. Subsequent research by AMPAS has resulted in a list of unofficial or de facto nominees, based on records of which films were evaluated by the judges. In Old Arizona Thunderbolt Alibi
1930s
Year Actor Role(s) Film 1929/30 (3rd) Disraeli Bulldog Drummond Michel Condemned Yegor 1930/31 (4th) Skippy Cimarron 1931/32 (5th) (Tie) (Tie) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1932/33 (6th) Berkeley Square I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang 1934 (7th) It Happened One Night Alessandro, Duke of Florence 1935 (8th) Mutiny on the Bounty (Write-in) Black FuryMutiny on the Bounty 1936 (9th) Mr. Deeds Goes to Town Dodsworth My Man Godfrey San Francisco 1937 (10th) Captains Courageous Conquest Danny Night Must Fall 1938 (11th) Boys Town Algiers Angels with Dirty Faces Pygmalion 1939 (12th) Goodbye, Mr. Chips Gone with the Wind Heathcliff Wuthering Heights Babes in Arms Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1940s
Year Actor Role(s) Film 1940 (13th) & The Barber Abe Lincoln in Illinois Rebecca 1941 (14th) Sergeant York Penny Serenade Here Comes Mr. Jordan Citizen Kane 1942 (15th) Yankee Doodle Dandy Random Harvest Mrs. Miniver Howard 1943 (16th) Watch on the Rhine Casablanca For Whom the Bell Tolls Madame Curie 1944 (17th) Going My Way Gaslight Going My Way None but the Lonely Heart Wilson 1945 (18th) Anchors Aweigh 1946 (19th) Henry V It's a Wonderful Life 1947 (20th) Body and Soul Gentleman's Agreement Life with Father Mourning Becomes Electra 1948 (21st) Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Hamlet Johnny Belinda When My Baby Smiles at Me Sitting Pretty 1949 (22nd) All the King's Men Champion Twelve O'Clock High Sands of Iwo Jima
1950s
Year Actor Role(s) Film 1950 (23rd) Cyrano de Bergerac Sunset Boulevard Harvey Father of the Bride 1951 (24th) Bright Victory Death of a Salesman 1952 (25th) High Noon Viva Zapata! Moulin Rouge 1953 (26th) Stalag 17 Julius Caesar From Here to Eternity 1954 (27th) On the Waterfront Robinson Crusoe 1955 (28th) Marty Love Me or Leave Me † East of Eden Bad Day at Black Rock 1956 (29th) † Giant Lust for Life Giant Richard III 1957 (30th) Sayonara Witness for the Prosecution Gino Wild Is the Wind 1958 (31st) Separate Tables Cat on a Hot Tin Roof The Defiant Ones 1959 (32nd) Ben-Hur Room at the Top Jerry / Daphne Some Like It Hot Anatomy of a Murder
1960s
Year Actor Role(s) Film 1960 (33rd) Elmer Gantry Sons and Lovers Inherit the Wind 1961 (34th) Judgment at Nuremberg Cesar Fanny Judgment at Nuremberg 1962 (35th) To Kill a Mockingbird Birdman of Alcatraz Days of Wine and Roses Divorce Italian Style Lawrence of Arabia 1963 (36th) Lilies of the Field Tom Jones This Sporting Life Cleopatra Hud 1964 (37th) My Fair Lady Becket Zorba the Greek , President Merkin Muffley, and Dr. Strangelove Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 1965 (38th) & Tim Strawn Cat Ballou Othello Othello Ship of Fools 1966 (39th) George Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Alfie 1967 (40th) In the Heat of the Night Bonnie and Clyde Cool Hand Luke † Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 1968 (41st) Charly Fagin Oliver! 1969 (42nd) True Grit Anne of the Thousand Days Midnight Cowboy Goodbye, Mr. Chips Midnight Cowboy
1970s
Year Actor Role(s) Film 1970 (43rd) § Patton I Never Sang for My Father Five Easy Pieces Love Story 1971 (44th) Sunday Bloody Sunday Kotch Topol Tevye Fiddler on the Roof 1972 (45th) § Sleuth Sounder 1973 (46th) Save the Tiger Paul Last Tango in Paris Serpico 1974 (47th) Harry and Tonto Murder on the Orient Express Lenny Chinatown 1975 (48th) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Dog Day Afternoon Give 'em Hell, Harry! 1976 (49th) † Network Taxi Driver Seven Beauties Network Rocky 1977 (50th) Annie Hall Equus Gabriele Saturday Night Fever 1978 (51st) Coming Home Heaven Can Wait 1979 (52nd) Kramer vs. Kramer ...And Justice for All All That Jazz Being There
1980s
Year Actor Role(s) Film 1980 (53rd) Raging Bull Tribute 1981 (54th) On Golden Pond Reds Atlantic City Arthur Absence of Malice 1982 (55th) Gandhi Tootsie Missing My Favorite Year 1983 (56th) Tender Mercies Educating Rita Reuben, Reuben Norman Sir 1984 (57th) Amadeus Scott “Starman” Hayden Starman Under the Volcano Amadeus 1985 (58th) Kiss of the Spider Woman Witness Murphy's Romance Prizzi's Honor Runaway Train 1986 (59th) Round Midnight George Mona Lisa Children of a Lesser God Salvador 1987 (60th) Wall Street Broadcast News Romano Patroni Dark Eyes Ironweed Good Morning, Vietnam 1988 (61st) Rain Man Mississippi Burning Big Stand and Deliver Lassefar "Lasse" Karlsson Pelle the Conqueror 1989 (62nd) My Left Foot Henry V Born on the Fourth of July Driving Miss Daisy Dead Poets Society
1990s
Year Actor Role(s) Film 1990 (63rd) Reversal of Fortune Dances With Wolves Awakenings Cyrano de Bergerac 1991 (64th) Bugsy Cape Fear 1992 (65th) Scent of a Woman Chaplin Unforgiven Fergus Malcolm X Malcolm X 1993 (66th) Philadelphia In the Name of the Father What's Love Got to Do with It Schindler's List 1994 (67th) Forrest Gump Nobody's Fool Pulp Fiction 1995 (68th) Leaving Las Vegas Mr. Holland's Opus Nixon Dead Man Walking † Il Postino: The Postman 1996 (69th) Shine Jerry Maguire Sling Blade 1997 (70th) As Good as It Gets Good Will Hunting Ulee's Gold Wag the Dog 1998 (71st) Life Is Beautiful Saving Private Ryan Gods and Monsters Affliction American History X 1999 (72nd) American Beauty Sweet and Lowdown
2000s
Year Actor Role(s) Film 2000 (73rd) Gladiator Before Night Falls Cast Away Pollock Quills 2001 (74th) Training Day I Am Sam Ali In the Bedroom 2002 (75th) Adaptation. Gangs of New York About Schmidt 2003 (76th) Mystic River Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl House of Sand and Fog Cold Mountain Lost in Translation 2004 (77th) Ray Hotel Rwanda Finding Neverland Million Dollar Baby 2005 (78th) Capote DJay Hustle & Flow Brokeback Mountain Walk the Line Good Night, and Good Luck 2006 (79th) Blood Diamond Half Nelson Venus 2007 (80th) There Will Be Blood Michael Clayton Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street In the Valley of Elah Eastern Promises 2008 (81st) Milk Frost/Nixon 2009 (82nd) Crazy Heart Up in the Air Invictus
2010s
Year Actor Role(s) Film 2010 (83rd) Uxbal True Grit 127 Hours 2011 (84th) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Moneyball 2012 (85th) Lincoln Silver Linings Playbook Les Misérables Flight 2013 (86th) Dallas Buyers Club American Hustle Nebraska 12 Years a Slave 2014 (87th) Foxcatcher American Sniper Birdman 2015 (88th) Trumbo Steve Jobs 2016 (89th) Manchester by the Sea Hacksaw Ridge La La Land Captain Fantastic Fences 2017 (90th) Darkest Hour Call Me by Your Name Phantom Thread Get Out Roman J. Israel, Esq. 2018 (91st) Bohemian Rhapsody Vice At Eternity's Gate Green Book 2019 (92nd) Joker Pain and Glory Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Marriage Story
2020s
Year Actor Role(s) Film 2020/21The eligibility period for the 93rd ceremony was extended through to February 28, 2021, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. (93rd) Anthony Sound of Metal † Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Mank Minari 2021(94th) King Richard Being the Ricardos Tick, Tick... Boom! 2022(95th) Charlie Elvis Aftersun Living 2023(96th) Oppenheimer Maestro Rustin American Fiction 2024(97th) Sing Sing Conclave 2025(98th) Sinners Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Blue Moon The Secret Agent
Multiple awards and nominations
The following individuals won two or more Academy Awards for Best Actor: Wins Actor NominationsYears won 3 Daniel Day-Lewis 61989, 2007, 2012 2 Spencer Tracy 91937, 1938 Jack Nicholson 81975, 1997 Marlon Brando 71954, 1972 Dustin Hoffman1979, 1988 Gary Cooper 51941, 1952 Tom Hanks1993, 1994 Fredric March1931-32, 1946 Sean Penn2003, 2008 Anthony Hopkins 41991, 2020 Adrien Brody 22002, 2024
The following individuals received three or more Best Actor nominations: Nominations Actor 9 Laurence Olivier Spencer Tracy 8 Paul Newman Jack Nicholson Peter O'Toole 7 Marlon Brando Dustin Hoffman Jack Lemmon Denzel Washington 6 Richard Burton Daniel Day-Lewis Leonardo DiCaprio Paul Muni 5 Gary Cooper Robert De Niro Tom Hanks Fredric March Al Pacino Gregory Peck Sean Penn James Stewart 4 Warren Beatty Charles Boyer Michael Caine Bradley Cooper Albert Finney Anthony Hopkins Burt Lancaster 3 Javier Bardem Humphrey Bogart Jeff Bridges James Cagney Timothée Chalamet Montgomery Clift George Clooney Ronald Colman Bing Crosby Russell Crowe Johnny Depp Kirk Douglas Robert Duvall Morgan Freeman Clark Gable William Holden William Hurt Charles Laughton Marcello Mastroianni Viggo Mortensen Gary Oldman Joaquin Phoenix William Powell Will Smith Jon Voight Robin Williams
Age superlatives
Record Actor Film Year Age Oldest WinnerAnthony HopkinsThe Father202083 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