Best Actor Oscar Winners All-Time List 🎬 2024 Academy Awards
On 25 April 2021 the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, for films made during 2020, were presented at the Union Station and Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA. The best actor Oscar winners Academy Award is one of the most prestigious of all the Oscar awards so competition is fierce. Every year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) presents the prestigious Academy Awards to Oscar winners at venues near Hollywood in California, USA. Since 1935, the awards have been presented for films released in the preceding year.
- ADDucation’s best Oscar winners list was last updated on 05 Sep 2023
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| Academy Awards Ceremony | Best Actor Oscar Winners | Country | For his leading role in: | Role / Character | Oscar Trivia | Born | Died | Film Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Academy Awards 16 May 1929 | Emil Jannings | 🇩🇪 Germany | The Way Of All Flesh / The Last Command | August Schiller / Grand Duke Sergius Alexander | The first and only time actors were eligible for more than one film made in a calendar year. | 1884 | 1950 | 1927/8 |
| 2nd Academy Awards 3 April 1930 | Warner Baxter | 🇺🇸 USA | In Old Arizona | The Cisco Kid | 1889 | 1951 | 1928/9 | |
| 3rd Academy Awards 5 Nov 1930 | George Arliss | 🏴 England | Disraeli | Benjamin Disraeli | 1868 | 1946 | 1929/30 | |
| 4th Academy Awards 10 Nov 1931 | Lionel Barrymore | 🇺🇸 USA | A Free Soul | Stephen Ashe | 1878 | 1954 | 1930/1 | |
| 5th Academy Awards 18 Nov 1932* | Wallace Beery | 🇺🇸 USA | The Champ | Champ | The first and last time two best actor Oscar winners were awarded. | 1885 | 1949 | 1931/2* |
| 5th Academy Awards 18 Nov 1932* | Frederic March | 🇺🇸 USA | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Dr Henry Jekyll / Mr Edward Hyde | The first and last time two best actor Oscar winners were awarded. | 1897 | 1975 | 1931/2* |
| 6th Academy Awards 16 Mar 1934 | Charles Laugthon | 🏴 England / 🇺🇸 USA | The Private Life Of Henry VIII | Henry VIII | 1899 | 1962 | 1932/3 | |
| 7th Academy Awards 27 Feb 1935 | Clark Gable | 🇺🇸 USA | It Happened One Night | Peter Warne | 1901 | 1960 | 1934 | |
| 8th Academy Awards 5 Mar 1936 | Victor McLaglen | 🏴 England / 🇺🇸 USA | The Informer | “Gypo” Nolan | 1886 | 1959 | 1935 | |
| 9th Academy Awards 4 Mar 1937 | Paul Muni | 🇺🇦 Ukraine / 🇺🇸 USA | The Story of Louis Pasteur | Louis Pasteur | 1895 | 1967 | 1936 | |
| 10th Academy Awards 10 Mar 1938 | Spencer Tracy | 🇺🇸 USA | Captains Courageous | Manuel Fidello | 1900 | 1967 | 1937 | |
| 11th Academy Awards 23 Feb 1939 | Spencer Tracy | 🇺🇸 USA | Boys Town | Father Flanagan | Spencer Tracy was the first to win consecutive best actor Oscar winners. He was joined by Tom Hanks in 1995 in the 67th academy awards. | 1900 | 1967 | 1938 |
| 12th Academy Awards 29 Feb 1940 | Robert Donat | 🏴 England | Goodbye, Mr Chips | Mr Chips | 1905 | 1958 | 1939 | |
| 13th Academy Awards 27 Feb 1941 | James Stewart | 🇺🇸 USA | The Philadelphia Story | Macaulay “Mike” Connor | 1908 | 1987 | 1940 | |
| 14th Academy Awards 26 Feb 1942 | Gary Cooper | 🇺🇸 USA | Sergeant York | Sergeant Alvin C. York | 1901 | 1961 | 1941 | |
| 15th Academy Awards 4 Mar 1943 | James Cagney | 🇺🇸 USA | Yankee Doodle Dandy | George M. Cohan | 1891 | 1986 | 1942 | |
| 16th Academy Awards 2 Mar 1944 | Paul Lukas | 🇭🇺 Hungary / 🇺🇸 USA | Watch On The Rhine | Kurt Muller | Paul Lukas is the first and only Hungarian to join the best actor Oscar winners list. | 1895 | 1971 | 1943 |
| 17th Academy Awards 15 Mar 1945 | Bing Crosby | 🇺🇸 USA | Going My Way | Father Chuck O’Malley | 1903 | 1977 | 1944 | |
| 18th Academy Awards 7 Mar 1946 | Ray Milland | 🏴 Wales | The Lost Weekend | Don Birnam | Ray Milland was the first of two Welsh best actor Oscar winners. See also Sir Anthony Hopkins. | 1907 | 1986 | 1945 |
| 19th Academy Awards 17 Mar 1947 | Fredric March | 🇺🇸 USA | The Best Years Of Our Lives | Platoon Sergeant Al Stephenson | 1897 | 1975 | 1946 | |
| 20th Academy Awards 20 Mar 1948 | Ronald Colman | 🏴 England | A Double Life | Anthony John | 1891 | 1958 | 1947 | |
| 21st Academy Awards 24 Mar 1949 | Laurence Olivier, Sir | 🏴 England | Hamlet | Hamlet | 1907 | 1989 | 1948 | |
| 22nd Academy Awards 23 Mar 1950 | Broderick Crawford | 🇺🇸 USA | All The King’s Men | Willie Stark | 1911 | 1986 | 1949 | |
| 23rd Academy Awards 29 Mar 1951 | José Ferrer | 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico / 🇺🇸 USA | Cyrano De Bergerac | Cyrano De Bergerac | 1912 | 1992 | 1950 | |
| 24th Academy Awards 20 Mar 1952 | Humphrey Bogart | 🇺🇸 USA | African Queen | Charlie Allnut | Humphrey Bogart was the last man born in the 19th century to join the list of best actor Oscar winners. | 1899 | 1957 | 1951 |
| 25th Academy Awards 19 Mar 1953 | Gary Cooper | 🇺🇸 USA | High Noon | Will Kane | 1901 | 1961 | 1952 | |
| 26th Academy Awards 25 Mar 1954 | William Holden | 🇺🇸 USA | Stalag 17 | J. J. Sefton | William Holden’s best actor Oscar winners acceptance speech was one of the shortest ever: “Thank You” | 1918 | 1981 | 1953 |
| 27th Academy Awards 30 Mar 1955 | Marlon Brando | 🇺🇸 USA | On The Waterfront | Terry Malloy | Marlon Brando finally joined the best actor Oscar winners list after consecutive nominations the previous four years. | 1924 | 2004 | 1954 |
| 28th Academy Awards 21 Mar 1956 | Ernest Borgnine | 🇺🇸 USA | Marty | Marty Piletti | 1917 | 2012 | 1955 | |
| 29th Academy Awards 27 Mar 1957 | Yul Brynner | 🇷🇺 Russia / 🇺🇸 USA | The King And I | King Mongkut of Siam | 1920 | 1985 | 1956 | |
| 30th Academy Awards 26 Mar 1958 | Alec Guinness, Sir | 🏴 England | Bridge On The River Kwai | Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson | 1914 | 2000 | 1957 | |
| 31st Academy Awards 6 Apr 1959 | David Niven | 🏴 England | Separate Tables | Major David Angus Pollock | The only host in Oscar history to win an academy award at the same ceremony. Shortest on-screen time of all the best actor Oscar winners performances at 15 minutes, 38 seconds. | 1910 | 1983 | 1958 |
| 32nd Academy Awards 4 Apr 1960 | Charlton Heston | 🇺🇸 USA | Ben Hur | Judah Ben-Hur | 1923 | 2008 | 1959 | |
| 33rd Academy Awards 17 Apr 1961 | Burt Lancaster | 🇺🇸 USA | Elmer Gantry | Elmer Gantry | 19013 | 1994 | 1960 | |
| 34th Academy Awards 9 Apr 1962 | Maximilian Schell | 🇦🇹 Austria | Judgment At Nuremberg | Hans Rolfe | 1930 | 2014 | 1961 | |
| 35th Academy Awards 8 Apr 1963 | Gregory Peck | 🇺🇸 USA | To Kill A Mockingbird | Atticus Finch | 1916 | 2003 | 1962 | |
| 36th Academy Awards 13 Apr 1964 | Sidney Poitier | 🇺🇸 USA | Lilies Of The Field | Homer Smith | Sidney Poitier was the first of four black best actor Oscar winners along with Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx and Forest Whitaker. | 1927 | 1963 | |
| 37th Academy Awards 5 Apr 1965 | Rex Harrison, Sir | 🏴 England / 🇺🇸 USA | My Fair Lady | Professor Henry Higgins | 1908 | 1990 | 1964 | |
| 38th Academy Awards 18 Apr 1966 | Lee Marvin | 🇺🇸 USA | Cat Ballou | Kid Shelleen / Tim Strawn | 1924 | 1987 | 1965 | |
| 39th Academy Awards 10 Apr 1967 | Paul Scofield | 🏴 England | A Man For All Seasons | Sir Thomas More | 1922 | 2008 | 1966 | |
| 40th Academy Awards 10 Apr 1968 | Rod Steiger | 🇺🇸 USA | In The Heat Of The Night | Police Chief Bill Gillespie | 1925 | 2002 | 1967 | |
| 41st Academy Awards 14 Apr 1969 | Cliff Robertson | 🇺🇸 USA | Charly | Charlie Gordon | 1923 | 2011 | 1968 | |
| 42nd Academy Awards 7 Apr 1970 | John Wayne | 🇺🇸 USA | True Grit | Rooster Cogburn | 1907 | 1979 | 1969 | |
| 43rd Academy Awards 15 Apr 1971 | George C. Scott | 🇺🇸 USA | Patton | General George S. Patton () | One of two best actor Oscar winners to decline the award, see also Marlon Brando. | 1927 | 1999 | 1970 |
| 44th Academy Awards 10 Apr 1972 | Gene Hackman | 🇺🇸 USA | French Connection | Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle | 1930 | 1971 | ||
| 45th Academy Awards 27 Mar 1973 | Marlon Brando | 🇺🇸 USA | Godfather | Vito Corleone | 1924 | 2004 | 1972 | |
| 46th Academy Awards 2 Apr 1974 | Jack Lemmon | 🇺🇸 USA | Save The Tiger | Harry Stoner | 1925 | 2001 | 1973 | |
| 47th Academy Awards 8 Apr 1975 | Art Carney | 🇺🇸 USA | Harry And Tonto | Harry Coombes | 1918 | 2003 | 1974 | |
| 48th Academy Awards 29 Mar 1976 | Jack Nicholson | 🇺🇸 USA | One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest | Randle Patrick McMurphy | 1937 | 1975 | ||
| 49th Academy Awards 28 Mar 1977 | Peter Finch | 🏴 England / 🇦🇺 Australia / 🇺🇸 USA | Network | Howard Beale | 1916 | 1977 | 1976 | |
| 50th Academy Awards 3 Apr 1978 | Richard Dreyfuss | 🇺🇸 USA | The Goodbye Girl | Elliot Garfield | 1947 | 1977 | ||
| 51st Academy Awards 9 Apr 1979 | Jon Voight | 🇺🇸 USA | Coming Home | Luke Martin | 1938 | 1978 | ||
| 52nd Academy Awards 14 Apr 1980 | Dustin Hoffman | 🇺🇸 USA | Kramer Vs. Kramer | Ted Kramer | 1937 | 1979 | ||
| 53rd Academy Awards 31 Mar 1981 | Robert De Niro | 🇺🇸 USA | Raging Bull | Jake LaMotta | 1943 | 1980 | ||
| 54th Academy Awards 29 Mar 1982 | Henry Fonda | 🇺🇸 USA | On Golden Pond | Norman Thayer Jr. | 1905 | 1982 | 1981 | |
| 55th Academy Awards 11 Apr 1983 | Ben Kingsley | 🏴 England | Gandhi | Mahatma Gandhi | 1943 | 1982 | ||
| 56th Academy Awards 9 Apr 1984 | Robert Duvall | 🇺🇸 USA | Tender Mercies | Mac Sledge | 1931 | 1983 | ||
| 57th Academy Awards 25 Mar 1985 | F. Murray Abraham | 🇺🇸 USA | Amadeus | Antonio Salieri | 1939 | 1984 | ||
| 58th Academy Awards 24 Mar 1986 | William Hurt | 🇺🇸 USA | Kiss Of The Spider Woman | Luis Molina | 1950 | 1985 | ||
| 59th Academy Awards 30 Mar 1987 | Paul Newman | 🇺🇸 USA | The Color Of Money | “Fast Eddie” Felson | 1925 | 2008 | 1986 | |
| 60th Academy Awards 11 Apr 1988 | Michael Douglas | 🇺🇸 USA | Wall Street | Gordon Gekko | 1944 | 1987 | ||
| 61st Academy Awards 29 Mar 1989 | Dustin Hoffman | 🇺🇸 USA | Rain Man | Raymond Babbit | 1937 | 1988 | ||
| 62nd Academy Awards 26 Mar 1990 | Daniel Day-Lewis | 🏴 England | My Left Foot | Christy Brown | Daniel Day-Lewis currently tops the best actor Oscar winners list with three wins: My Left Foot in 1989, There Will Be Blood in 2007 and Lincoln in 2012. | 1957 | 1989 | |
| 63rd Academy Awards 25 Mar 1991 | Jeremy Irons | 🏴 England | Reversal Of Fortune | Claus von Bülow | 1948 | 1990 | ||
| 64th Academy Awards 30 Mar 1992 | Anthony Hopkins, Sir | 🏴 Wales | The Silence Of The Lambs | Dr. Hannibal Lecter | Anthony Hopkins is the second of two Welsh best actor Oscar winners. See also Ray Milland. | 1937 | 1991 | |
| 65th Academy Awards 29 Mar 1993 | Al Pacino | 🇺🇸 USA | Scent Of A Woman | Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade | 1940 | 1992 | ||
| 66th Academy Awards 21 Mar 1994 | Tom Hanks | 🇺🇸 USA | Philadelphia | Andrew Beckett | 1956 | 1993 | ||
| 67th Academy Awards 27 Mar 1995 | Tom Hanks | 🇺🇸 USA | Forrest Gump | Forrest Gump | Tom Hanks joined Spencer Tracy as one of only two consecutive best actor Oscar winners. | 1956 | 1994 | |
| 68th Academy Awards 25 Mar 1996 | Nicolas Cage | 🇺🇸 USA | Leaving Las Vegas | Ben Sanderson | 1964 | 1995 | ||
| 69th Academy Awards 24 Mar 1997 | Geoffrey Rush | 🇦🇺 Australia | Shine | David Helfgott | 1951 | 1996 | ||
| 70th Academy Awards 23 Mar 1998 | Jack Nicholson | 🇺🇸 USA | As Good As It Gets | Melvin Udall | 1937 | 1997 | ||
| 71st Academy Awards 21 Mar 1999 | Roberto Benigni | 🇮🇹 Italy | Life is Beautiful | Guido Orefice | 1952 | 1998 | ||
| 72nd Academy Awards 26 Mar 2000 | Kevin Spacey | 🇺🇸 USA | American Beauty | Lester Burnham | 1959 | 1999 | ||
| 73rd Academy Awards 25 Mar 2001 | Russell Crowe | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | Gladiator | General Maximus Decimus Meridius | 1964 | 2000 | ||
| 74th Academy Awards 24 Mar 2002 | Denzel Washington | 🇺🇸 USA | Training Day | Alonzo Harris | Denzel Washington was the second of four black best actor Oscar winners along with Sidney Poitier, Jamie Foxx and Forest Whitaker. | 1954 | 2001 | |
| 75th Academy Awards 23 Mar 2003 | Adrien Brody | 🇺🇸 USA | The Pianist | Władysław Szpilman | 1973 | 2002 | ||
| 76th Academy Awards 29 Feb 2004 | Sean Penn | 🇺🇸 USA | Mystic River | Jimmy Markum | 1960 | 2003 | ||
| 77th Academy Awards 27 Feb 2005 | Jamie Foxx | 🇺🇸 USA | Ray | Ray Charles | Jamie Foxx was the third of four black best actor Oscar winners along with Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker. | 1967 | 2004 | |
| 78th Academy Awards 5 Mar 2006 | Philip Seymour Hoffman | 🇺🇸 USA | Capote | Truman Capote | 1967 | 2014 | 2005 | |
| 79th Academy Awards 25 Feb 2007 | Forest Whitaker | 🇺🇸 USA | The Last King Of Scotland | Idi Amin | Forest Whitaker was the last of four black best actor Oscar winners along with Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx. | 1961 | 2006 | |
| 80th Academy Awards 24 Feb 2008 | Daniel Day-Lewis | 🏴 England | There Will Be Blood | Daniel Plainview | Daniel Day-Lewis currently tops the best actor Oscar winners list with three wins: My Left Foot in 1989, There Will Be Blood in 2007 and Lincoln in 2012. | 1957 | 2007 | |
| 81st Academy Awards 22 Feb 2009 | Sean Penn | 🇺🇸 USA | Milk | Harvey Milk | 1960 | 2008 | ||
| 82nd Academy Awards 7 Mar 2010 | Jeff Bridges | 🇺🇸 USA | Crazy Heart | Otis “Bad” Blake | 1949 | 2009 | ||
| 83th Academy Awards 27 Feb 2011 | Colin Firth | 🏴 England | The King’s Speech | King George VI | 1960 | 2010 | ||
| 84th Academy Awards 26 Feb 2012 | Jean Dujardin | 🇫🇷 France | The Artist | George Valentin | 1972 | 2011 | ||
| 85th Academy Awards 24 Feb 2013 | Daniel Day-Lewis | 🏴 England | Lincoln | Abraham Lincoln | Daniel Day-Lewis currently tops the best actor Oscar winners list with three wins: My Left Foot in 1989, There Will Be Blood in 2007 and Lincoln in 2012. | 1957 | 2012 | |
| 86th Academy Awards 2 Mar 2014 | Matthew McConaughey | 🇺🇸 USA | Dallas Buyers Club | Ron Woodroof | 1969 | 2013 | ||
| 87th Academy Awards 22 Feb 2015 | Eddie Redmayne | 🏴 England | The Theory of Everything | Stephen Hawking | 1982 | 2014 | ||
| 88th Academy Awards 28 Feb 2016 | Leonardo DiCaprio | 🇺🇸 USA | The Revenant | Hugh Glass | 1974 | 2015 | ||
| 89th Academy Awards 26 Feb 2017 | Casey Affleck | 🇺🇸 USA | Manchester by the Sea | Lee Chandler | 1975 | 2016 | ||
| 90th Academy Awards 4 Mar 2018 | Gary Oldman | 🏴 England | Darkest Hour | Winston Churchill | 1958 | 2017 | ||
| 91st Academy Awards 25 Feb 2019 | Rami Malek | 🇺🇸 USA | Bohemian Rhapsody | Freddie Mercury | 1981 | 2018 | ||
| 92nd Academy Awards 9 Feb 2020 | Joaquin Phoenix | 🇺🇸 USA | Joker | The Joker | The Joker made his first appearance in DC Comics Batman #1 in 1940. | 1974 | 2019 | |
| 93rd Academy Awards 25 Apr 2021 | Anthony Hopkins | 🏴 Wales | The Father | Anthony | Anthony Hopkins, aged 83, is currently the oldest Best Actor Oscar winner. | 1937 | 2020 |
See also: Oscar Winning Actresses… | Most Famous Actors Roles…
* Although Frederic March gained one more vote than Wallace Beery, rules at the time declared this a tie. Today only exactly the same number of votes results in a tie. Important! ADDucation is neither endorsed nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Oscar® and Academy Awards® and Oscar® design mark are the trademarks and service marks and the Oscar© statuette the copyrighted property, of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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