From Emil Jannings in 1929 to Adrien Brody in 2025, the Academy Awards have recognized great performances by leading actors throughout the years. Multiple winners have included Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Spencer Tracy, Marlon Brando, Anthony Hopkins and Brody.
2025 (97th) |
Adrien Brody![]() The Brutalist Other Nominees: Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown); Colman Domingo (Sing Sing); Ralph Fiennes (Conclave); Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) |
2024 (96th) |
Cillian Murphy![]() Oppenheimer Other Nominees: Bradley Cooper (Maestro); Colman Domingo (Rustin); Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers); Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) |
2023 (95th) |
Brendan Fraser![]() The Whale Other Nominees: Austin Butler (Elvis); Colin Farrell (The Banshees Of Inisherin); Paul Mescal (Aftersun); Bill Nighy (Living) |
2022 (94th) |
Will Smith![]() King Richard Other Nominees: Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos); Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog); Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick... Boom!); Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth) |
2021 (93rd) |
Anthony Hopkins![]() The Father Other Nominees: Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal); Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom); Gary Oldman (Mank); Steven Yeun (Minari) |
2020 (92nd) |
Joaquin Phoenix![]() Joker Other Nominees: Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory); Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood); Adam Driver (Marriage Story); Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes) |
2019 (91st) |
Remi Malek![]() Bohemian Rhapsody Other Nominees: Christian Bale (Vice); Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born); Willem Dafoe (At Eternity's Gate); Viggo Mortensen (Green Book) |
2018 (90th) |
Gary Oldman![]() Darkest Hour Other Nominees: Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name); Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread); Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out); Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.) |
2017 (89th) |
Casey Affleck![]() Manchester By The Sea Other Nominees: Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge); Ryan Gosling (La La Land); Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic); Denzel Washington (Fences) |
2016 (88th) |
Leonardo DiCaprio![]() The Revenant Other Nominees: Bryan Cranston (Trumbo); Matt Damon (The Martian); Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs); Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl) |
2015 (87th) |
Eddie Redmayne![]() The Theory Of Everything Other Nominees: Steve Carell (Foxcatcher); Bradley Cooper (American Sniper); Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game); Michael Keaton (Birdman) |
2014 (86th) |
Matthew McConaughey![]() Dallas Buyers Club Other Nominees: Christian Bale (American Hustle); Bruce Dern (Nebraska); Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street); Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) |
2013 (85th) |
Daniel Day-Lewis![]() Lincoln Other Nominees: Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook); Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables); Joaquin Phoenix (The Master); Denzel Washington (Flight) |
2012 (84th) |
Jean Dujardin![]() The Artist Other Nominees: Demián Bichir (A Better Life); George Clooney (The Descendants); Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy); Brad Pitt (Moneyball) |
2011 (83rd) |
Colin Firth![]() The King's Speech Other Nominees: Javier Bardem (Biutiful); Jeff Bridges (True Grit); Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network); James Franco (127 Hours) |
2010 (82nd) |
Jeff Bridges![]() Crazy Heart Other Nominees: George Clooney (Up in the Air); Colin Firth (A Single Man); Morgan Freeman (Invictus); Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) |
2009 (81st) |
Sean Penn![]() Milk Other Nominees: Richard Jenkins (The Visitor); Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon); Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button); Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) |
2008 (80th) |
Daniel Day-Lewis![]() There Will Be Blood Other Nominees: George Clooney (Michael Clayton); Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street); Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah); Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises) |
2007 (79th) |
Forest Whitaker![]() The Last King Of Scotland Other Nominees: Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond); Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson); Peter O'Toole (Venus); Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness) |
2006 (78th) |
Philip Seymour Hoffman![]() Capote Other Nominees: Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow); Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain); Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line); David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck) |
2005 (77th) |
Jamie Foxx![]() Ray Other Nominees: Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda); Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland); Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator); Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby) |
2004 (76th) |
Sean Penn![]() Mystic River Other Nominees: Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl); Ben Kingsley (House of Sand and Fog); Jude Law (Cold Mountain); Bill Murray (Lost in Translation) |
2003 (75th) |
Adrien Brody![]() The Pianist Other Nominees: Nicolas Cage (Adaptation); Michael Caine (The Quiet American); Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York); Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt) |
2002 (74th) |
Denzel Washington![]() Training Day Other Nominees: Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind); Sean Penn (I Am Sam); Will Smith (Ali); Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom) |
2001 (73rd) |
Russell Crowe![]() Gladiator Other Nominees: Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls); Tom Hanks (Cast Away); Ed Harris (Pollock); Geoffrey Rush (Quills) |
2000 (72nd) |
Kevin Spacey![]() American Beauty Other Nominees: Russell Crowe (The Insider); Richard Farnsworth (The Straight Story); Sean Penn (Sweet and Lowdown); Denzel Washington (The Hurricane) |
1999 (71st) |
Roberto Benigni![]() Life Is Beautiful Other Nominees: Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan); Ian McKellen (Gods and Monsters); Nick Nolte (Affliction); Edward Norton (American History X) |
1998 (70th) |
Jack Nicholson![]() As Good As It Gets Other Nominees: Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting); Robert Duvall (The Apostle); Peter Fonda (Ulee's Gold); Dustin Hoffman (Wag the Dog) |
1997 (69th) |
Geoffrey Rush![]() Shine Other Nominees: Tom Cruise (Jerry Maguire); Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient); Woody Harrelson (The People vs. Larry Flynt); Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade) |
1996 (68th) |
Nicholas Cage![]() Leaving Las Vegas Other Nominees: Richard Dreyfuss (Mr. Holland's Opus); Anthony Hopkins (Nixon); Sean Penn (Dead Man Walking); Massimo Troisi (Il Postino: The Postman) |
1995 (67th) |
Tom Hanks![]() Forrest Gump Other Nominees: Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption); Nigel Hawthorne (The Madness of King George); Paul Newman (Nobody's Fool); John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) |
1994 (66th) |
Tom Hanks![]() Philadelphia Other Nominees: Daniel Day-Lewis (In The Name of The Father); Laurence Fishburne (What's Love Got To Do With It); Anthony Hopkins (The Remains Of The Day); Liam Neeson (Schindler's List) |
1993 (65th) |
Al Pacino![]() Scent Of A Woman Other Nominees: Robert Downey Jr. (Chaplin); Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven); Stephen Rea (The Crying Game); Denzel Washington (Malcolm X) |
1992 (64th) |
Anthony Hopkins![]() The Silence Of The Lambs Other Nominees: Warren Beatty (Bugsy); Robert De Niro (Cape Fear); Nick Nolte (The Prince Of Tides); Robin Williams (The Fisher King) |
1991 (63rd) |
Jeremy Irons![]() Reversal Of Fortune Other Nominees: Kevin Costner (Dances With Wolves); Robert De Niro (Awakenings); Gerard Depardieu (Cyrano de Bergerac); Richard Harris (The Field) |
1990 (62nd) |
Daniel Day-Lewis![]() My Left Foot Other Nominees: Kenneth Branagh (Henry V); Tom Cruise (Born Of The Fourth Of July); Morgan Freeman (Driving Miss Daisy); Robin Williams (Dead Poets Society) |
1989 (61st) |
Dustin Hoffman![]() Rain Man Other Nominees: Gene Hackman (Mississippi Burning); Tom Hanks (Big); Edward James Olmos (Stand And Deliver); Max von Sydow (Pelle The Conquerer) |
1988 (60th) |
Michael Douglas![]() Wall Street Other Nominees: William Hurt (Broadcast News); Marcello Mastroianni (Dark Eyes); Jack Nicholson (Ironweed); Robin Williams (Good Morning, Vietnam) |
1987 (59th) |
Paul Newman![]() The Color Of Money Other Nominees: Dexter Gordon (Round Midnight); Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa); William Hurt (Children Of A Lesser God); James Woods (Salvador) |
1986 | William Hurt | (Kiss Of The Spider Woman) | ![]() |
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1985 | F. Murray Abraham | (Amadeus) | ![]() |
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1984 | Robert Duvall | (Tender Mercies) | ![]() |
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1983 | Ben Kingsley | (Gandhi) | ![]() |
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1982 | Henry Fonda | (On Golden Pond) | ![]() |
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1981 | Robert De Niro | (Raging Bull) | ![]() |
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1980 | Dustin Hoffman | (Kramer vs. Kramer) | ![]() |
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1979 | Jon Voight | (Coming Home) | ![]() |
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1978 | Richard Dreyfuss | (The Goodbye Girl) | ![]() |
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1977 | Peter Finch | (Network) | ![]() |
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1976 | Jack Nicholson | (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) | ![]() |
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1975 | Art Carney | (Harry & Tonto) | ![]() |
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1974 | Jack Lemmon | (Save The Tiger) | ![]() |
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1973 | Marlon Brando | (The Godfather) | ![]() |
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1972 | Gene Hackman | (The French Connection) | ![]() |
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1971 | George C. Scott | (Patton) | ![]() |
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1970 | John Wayne | (True Grit) | ![]() |
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1969 | Cliff Robertson | (Charly) | ![]() |
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1968 | Rod Steiger | (In The Heat Of The Night) | ![]() |
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1967 | Paul Scofield | (A Man For All Seasons) | ![]() |
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1966 | Lee Marvin | (Cat Ballou) | ![]() |
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1965 | Rex Harrison | (My Fair Lady) | ![]() |
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1964 | Sidney Poitier | (Lillies Of The Field) | ![]() |
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1963 | Gregory Peck | (To Kill A Mockingbird) | ![]() |
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1962 | Maximillian Schell | (Judgment At Nuremberg) | ![]() |
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1961 | Burt Lancaster | (Elmer Gantry) | ![]() |
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1960 | Charlton Heston | (Ben-Hur) | ![]() |
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1959 | David Niven | (Separate Tables) | ![]() |
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1958 | Alec Guinness | (The Bridge On The River Kwai) | ![]() |
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1957 | Yul Brynner | (The King And I) | ![]() |
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1956 | Ernest Borgnine | (Marty) | ![]() |
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1955 | Marlon Brando | (On The Waterfront) | ![]() |
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1954 | William Holden | (Stalag 17) | ![]() |
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1953 | Gary Cooper | (High Noon) | ![]() |
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1952 | Humphrey Bogart | (The African Queen) | ![]() |
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1951 | Jose Ferrer | (Cyrano de Bergerac) | ![]() |
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1950 | Broderick Crawford | (All The King's Men) | ![]() |
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1949 | Laurence Olivier | (Hamlet) | ![]() |
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1948 | Ronald Colman | (A Double Life) | ![]() |
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1947 | Fredric March | (The Best Years Of Our Lives) | ![]() |
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1946 | Ray Milland | (The Lost Weekend) | ![]() |
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1945 | Bing Crosby | (Going My Way) | ![]() |
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1944 | Paul Lukas | (Watch On The Rhine) | ![]() |
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1943 | James Cagney | (Yankee Doodle Dandy) | ![]() |
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1942 | Gary Cooper | (Sergeant York) | ![]() |
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1941 | James Stewart | (The Philadelphia Story) | ![]() |
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1940 | Robert Donat | (Goodbye, Mr. Chips) | ![]() |
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1939 | Spencer Tracy | (Boys Town) | ![]() |
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1938 | Spencer Tracy | (Captains Courageous) | ![]() |
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1937 | Paul Muni | (The Story Of Louis Pasteur) | ![]() |
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1936 | Victor McLaglen | (The Informer) | ![]() |
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1935 | Clark Gable | (It Happened One Night) | ![]() |
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1934 | Charles Laughton | (The Private Life Of Henry VIII) | ![]() |
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1932 | Wallace Beery & Fredric March | (The Champ & Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde) | ![]() |
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1931 | Lionel Barrymore | (A Free Soul) | ![]() |
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1930 | George Arliss | (Disraeli) | ![]() |
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1930 | Warner Baxter | (In Old Arizona) | ![]() |
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1929 | Emil Jannings | (The Way Of All Flesh & The Last Command) | ![]() |