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Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit. It is presented each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is to recognize an actor with an outstanding performance in a movie. Before 1976, this award was called the Academy Award of Merit for Performance by an Actor. Since the beginning the award has commonly been called the Oscar for Best Actor.
| Academy Award for Best Actor | |
|---|---|
 The 2022 recipient: Brendan Fraser | |
| Awarded for | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) |
| First awarded | 1929 (for performance in movies released during the 1927/1928 movie season) |
| Most recent winner | Brendan Fraser The Whale (2022) |
| Most awards | Daniel Day-Lewis (3) |
| Most nominations | Laurence Olivier and Spencer Tracy (9) |
| Website | oscars |
Actors are nominated for this award by Academy members who are actors and actresses themselves. The winner is selected by the Academy membership as a whole.
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Winners are listed first in bold, followed by the other nominees.
1920s
| Year | Actor | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927/28 (1st) | |||
| Emil Jannings | The Last Command | Grand Duke Sergius Alexander | |
| The Way of All Flesh | August Schilling | ||
| Richard Barthelmess | The Noose | Nickie Elkins | |
| The Patent Leather Kid | Patent Leather Kid | ||
| 1928/29 (2nd) | |||
| Warner Baxter | In Old Arizona | The Cisco Kid | |
| George Bancroft | Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt Jim Lang | |
| Chester Morris | Alibi | Chick Williams (No. 1065) | |
| Paul Muni | The Valiant | James Dyke | |
| Lewis Stone | The Patriot | Count Pahlen | |
1930s
| Year | Actor | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929/30 (3rd) | |||
| George Arliss | Disraeli | Benjamin Disraeli | |
| George Arliss | The Green Goddess | The Raja of Rukh | |
| Wallace Beery | The Big House | 'Machine Gun' Butch Schmidt | |
| Maurice Chevalier | The Big Pond | Pierre Mirande | |
| Maurice Chevalier | The Love Parade | Count Alfred Renard | |
| Ronald Colman | Bulldog Drummond | Capt. Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond | |
| Ronald Colman | Condemned | Michel | |
| Lawrence Tibbett | The Rogue Song | Yegor | |
| 1930/31 (4th) | |||
| Lionel Barrymore | A Free Soul | Stephen Ashe | |
| Adolphe Menjou | The Front Page | Walter Burns | |
| Jackie Cooper | Skippy | Skippy Skinner | |
| Richard Dix | Cimarron | Yancey Cravat | |
| Fredric March | The Royal Family of Broadway | Tony Cavendish | |
| 1931/32 (5th) | |||
| Wallace Beery (tie) | The Champ | Andy "Champ" Purcell | |
| Fredric March (tie) | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Dr. Henry L. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde | |
| Alfred Lunt | The Guardsman | The Actor | |
| 1932/33 (6th) | |||
| Charles Laughton | The Private Life of Henry VIII | King Henry VIII of England | |
| Leslie Howard | Berkeley Square | Peter Standish | |
| Paul Muni | I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang | James Allen | |
| 1934 (7th) | |||
| Clark Gable | It Happened One Night | Peter Warne | |
| Frank Morgan | The Affairs of Cellini | Alessandro - Duke of Florence | |
| William Powell | The Thin Man | Nick Charles | |
| 1935 (8th) | |||
| Victor McLaglen | The Informer | Gypo Nolan | |
| Clark Gable | Mutiny on the Bounty | Fletcher Christian | |
| Charles Laughton | Mutiny on the Bounty | William Bligh | |
| Franchot Tone | Mutiny on the Bounty | Roger Byam | |
| 1936 (9th) | |||
| Paul Muni | The Story of Louis Pasteur | Louis Pasteur | |
| Gary Cooper | Mr. Deeds Goes to Town | Longfellow Deeds | |
| Walter Huston | Dodsworth | Sam Dodsworth | |
| William Powell | My Man Godfrey | Godfrey Park | |
| Spencer Tracy | San Francisco | Father Tim Mullin | |
| 1937 (10th) | |||
| Spencer Tracy | Captains Courageous | Manuel | |
| Charles Boyer | Conquest | Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte | |
| Fredric March | A Star Is Born | Norman Maine | |
| Robert Montgomery | Night Must Fall | Danny | |
| Paul Muni | The Life of Emile Zola | Émile Zola | |
| 1938 (11th) | |||
| Spencer Tracy | Boys Town | Father Flanagan | |
| Charles Boyer | Algiers | Pepe le Moko | |
| James Cagney | Angels with Dirty Faces | Rocky Sullivan | |
| Robert Donat | The Citadel | Dr. Andrew Manson | |
| Leslie Howard | Pygmalion | Professor Henry Higgins | |
| 1939 (12th) | |||
| Robert Donat | Goodbye, Mr. Chips | Charles Edward Chipping | |
| Clark Gable | Gone with the Wind | Rhett Butler | |
| Laurence Olivier | Wuthering Heights | Heathcliff | |
| Mickey Rooney | Babes in Arms | Mickey Moran | |
| James Stewart | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Jefferson Smith |
1940s
| Year | Actor | Movie | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 (13th) | |||
| James Stewart | The Philadelphia Story | Macaulay Connor | |
| Charlie Chaplin | The Great Dictator | Adenoid Hynkel (Dictator of Tomania) A Jewish Barber | |
| Henry Fonda | The Grapes of Wrath | Tom Joad | |
| Raymond Massey | Abe Lincoln in Illinois | Abraham Lincoln | |
| Laurence Olivier | Rebecca | 'Maxim' de Winter | |
| 1941 (14th) | |||
| Gary Cooper | Sergeant York | Alvin C. York | |
| Cary Grant | Penny Serenade | Roger Adams | |
| Walter Huston | The Devil and Daniel Webster | Mr. Scratch | |
| Robert Montgomery | Here Comes Mr. Jordan | Joe Pendleton | |
| Orson Welles | Citizen Kane | Charles Foster Kane | |
| 1942 (15th) | |||
| James Cagney | Yankee Doodle Dandy | George M. Cohan | |
| Ronald Colman | Random Harvest | Charles Rainier | |
| Gary Cooper | The Pride of the Yankees | Lou Gehrig | |
| Walter Pidgeon | Mrs. Miniver | Clem Miniver | |
| Monty Woolley | The Pied Piper | Howard | |
| 1943 (16th) | |||
| Paul Lukas | Watch on the Rhine | Kurt Muller | |
| Humphrey Bogart | Casablanca | Rick Blaine | |
| Gary Cooper | For Whom the Bell Tolls | Robert Jordan | |
| Walter Pidgeon | Madame Curie | Pierre Curie | |
| Mickey Rooney | The Human Comedy | Homer Macauley | |
| 1944 (17th) | |||
| Bing Crosby | Going My Way | Father Chuck O'Malley | |
| Charles Boyer | Gaslight | Gregory Anton | |
| Barry Fitzgerald | Going My Way | Father Fitzgibbon | |
| Cary Grant | None but the Lonely Heart | Ernie Mott | |
| Alexander Knox | Wilson | Woodrow Wilson | |
| 1945 (18th) | |||
| Ray Milland | The Lost Weekend | Don Birnam | |
| Bing Crosby | The Bells of St. Mary's | Father Chuck O'Malley | |
| Gene Kelly | Anchors Aweigh | Joseph Brady | |
| Gregory Peck | The Keys of the Kingdom | Father Francis | |
| Cornel Wilde | A Song to Remember | Frédéric Chopin | |
| 1946 (19th) | |||
| Fredric March | The Best Years of Our Lives | Al Stephenson | |
| Laurence Olivier | Henry V | King Henry V of England | |
| Larry Parks | The Jolson Story | Al Jolson | |
| Gregory Peck | The Yearling | Ezra 'Penny' Baxter | |
| James Stewart | It's a Wonderful Life | George Bailey | |
| 1947 (20th) | |||
| Ronald Colman | A Double Life | Anthony John | |
| John Garfield | Body and Soul | Charlie Davis | |
| Gregory Peck | Gentleman's Agreement | Philip Schuyler Green | |
| William Powell | Life with Father | Clarence Day, Sr. | |
| Michael Redgrave | Mourning Becomes Electra | Orin Mannon | |
| 1948 (21st) | |||
| Laurence Olivier | Hamlet | Hamlet, Prince of Denmark | |
| Lew Ayres | Johnny Belinda | Dr. Robert Richardson | |
| Montgomery Clift | The Search | Ralph 'Steve' Stevenson | |
| Dan Dailey | When My Baby Smiles at Me | 'Skid' Johnson | |
| Clifton Webb | Sitting Pretty | Lynn Belvedere | |
| 1949 (22nd) | |||
| Broderick Crawford | All the King's Men | Willie Stark | |
| Kirk Douglas | Champion | Michael 'Midge' Kelly | |
| Gregory Peck | Twelve O'Clock High | General Savage | |
| Richard Todd | The Hasty Heart | Cpl. Lachlan 'Lachie' MacLachlan | |
| John Wayne | Sands of Iwo Jima | Sgt. John M. Stryker |
1950s
| Year | Actor | Movie | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 (23rd) | |||
| José Ferrer | Cyrano de Bergerac | Cyrano de Bergerac | |
| Louis Calhern | The Magnificent Yankee | Oliver Wendell Holmes | |
| William Holden | Sunset Boulevard | Joe Gillis | |
| James Stewart | Harvey | Elwood P. Dowd | |
| Spencer Tracy | Father of the Bride | Stanley T. Banks | |
| 1951 (24th) | |||
| Humphrey Bogart | The African Queen | Charlie Allnut | |
| Marlon Brando | A Streetcar Named Desire | Stanley Kowalski | |
| Montgomery Clift | A Place in the Sun | George Eastman | |
| Arthur Kennedy | Bright Victory | Larry Nevins | |
| Fredric March | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman | |
| 1952 (25th) | |||
| Gary Cooper | High Noon | Marshal Will Kane | |
| Marlon Brando | Viva Zapata! | Emiliano Zapata | |
| Kirk Douglas | The Bad and the Beautiful | Jonathan Shields | |
| José Ferrer | Moulin Rouge | Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec The Comte de Toulouse-Lautrec | |
| Alec Guinness | The Lavender Hill Mob | Henry Holland | |
| 1953 (26th) | |||
| William Holden | Stalag 17 | Sgt. J.J. Sefton | |
| Marlon Brando | Julius Caesar | Mark Antony | |
| Richard Burton | The Robe | Marcellus Gallio | |
| Montgomery Clift | From Here to Eternity | Pvt. Robert E. Lee 'Prew' Prewitt | |
| Burt Lancaster | From Here to Eternity | 1st Sgt. Milton Warden | |
| 1954 (27th) | |||
| Marlon Brando | On the Waterfront | Terry Malloy | |
| Humphrey Bogart | The Caine Mutiny | Lt. Cmdr. Philip Francis Queeg | |
| Bing Crosby | The Country Girl | Frank Elgin | |
| James Mason | A Star Is Born | Norman Maine | |
| Dan O'Herlihy | Adventures of Robinson Crusoe | Robinson Crusoe | |
| 1955 (28th) | |||
| Ernest Borgnine | Marty | Marty Piletti | |
| James Cagney | Love Me or Leave Me | Martin Snyder | |
| James Dean(posthumous nomination) | East of Eden | Cal Trask | |
| Frank Sinatra | The Man with the Golden Arm | Frankie Machine | |
| Spencer Tracy | Bad Day at Black Rock | John J. Macreedy | |
| 1956 (29th) | |||
| Yul Brynner | The King and I | King Mongkut of Siam | |
| James Dean(posthumous nomination) | Giant | Jett Rink | |
| Kirk Douglas | Lust for Life | Vincent van Gogh | |
| Rock Hudson | Giant | Jordan "Bick" Benedict Jr. | |
| Laurence Olivier | Richard III | King Richard III of England | |
| 1957 (30th) | |||
| Alec Guinness | The Bridge on the River Kwai | Colonel Nicholson | |
| Marlon Brando | Sayonara | Maj. Lloyd 'Ace' Gruver — USAF | |
| Anthony Franciosa | A Hatful of Rain | Polo Pope | |
| Charles Laughton | Witness for the Prosecution | Sir Wilfrid Robarts | |
| Anthony Quinn | Wild Is the Wind | Gino | |
| 1958 (31st) | |||
| David Niven | Separate Tables | Major Angus Pollock | |
| Tony Curtis | The Defiant Ones | John 'Joker' Jackson | |
| Paul Newman | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Brick Pollitt | |
| Sidney Poitier | The Defiant Ones | Noah Cullen | |
| Spencer Tracy | The Old Man and the Sea | The Old Man | |
| 1959 (32nd) | |||
| Charlton Heston | Ben-Hur | Judah Ben-Hur | |
| Laurence Harvey | Room at the Top | Joe Lampton | |
| Jack Lemmon | Some Like It Hot | Jerry | |
| Paul Muni | The Last Angry Man | Dr. Sam Abelman | |
| James Stewart | Anatomy of a Murder | Paul Biegler |
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year | Actor | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 (93rd) | |||
| Anthony Hopkins | The Father | Anthony | |
| Riz Ahmed | Sound of Metal | Ruben Stone | |
| Chadwick Boseman (posthumous nomination) | Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | Levee Green | |
| Gary Oldman | Mank | Herman J. Mankiewicz | |
| Steven Yeun | Minari | Jacob Yi | |
| 2021 (94th) | |||
| Will Smith | King Richard | Richard Williams | |
| Javier Bardem | Being the Ricardos | Desi Arnaz | |
| Benedict Cumberbatch | The Power of the Dog | Phil Burbank | |
| Andrew Garfield | Tick, Tick... Boom! | Jonathan Larson | |
| Denzel Washington | The Tragedy of Macbeth | Lord 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 | Rodney Williams | Living | |
| 2023 (96th) |
Bradley Cooper | Leonard Bernstein | Maestro |
| Colman Domingo | Bayard Rustin | Rustin | |
| Paul Giamatti | Paul Hunham | The Holdovers | |
| Cillian Murphy | J. Robert Oppenheimer | Oppenheimer | |
| Jeffrey Wright | Thelonious "Monk" Ellison | American Fiction |
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- Oscars.org (official Academy site)
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