The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...
(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
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
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 officially limited to five nominations per year.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 84 actors.
Daniel Day-Lewis has won the award a record three times.
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
and
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...
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
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematic ...
'' (1976). Italian actor
Roberto Benigni gave the first winning non-English performance in ''
Life Is Beautiful'' (1997). At 29,
Adrien Brody of ''
The Pianist'' (2002) is the youngest winner, and
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...
, 83, is the oldest, for playing Anthony in ''
The Father'' (2020). As of the
94th Academy Awards
The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The awards were scheduled after its usual late February date ...
,
Will Smith is the most recent winner for ''
King Richard''.
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
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...
; 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.
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Multiple awards and nominations
The following individuals received two or more Best Actor awards:
The following individuals received four or more Best Actor nominations:
Age superlatives
See also
*
All Academy Award acting nominees
*
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
*
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor
*
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
*
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
*
Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
*
Notes
:A: According to longstanding Hollywood legend, reported by
Susan Orlean,
Rin Tin Tin actually received the most Best Actor votes, but the Academy (not wishing to give the first award to a dog) refactored the votes to ensure that Jannings won.
:B: Rules at the time of the first three ceremonies allowed for a performer to receive a single nomination which could honor their work in more than one film.
George Arliss,
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", " Louise", " Mimi", and " Thank H ...
, and
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Cinema of the United States, ...
were all nominated for two different roles in the same category. Current Academy rules forbid this from happening. No official reason was ever given as to why Arliss won the award for only one of the two films he was listed for.
:C:
Fredric March received one more vote than
Wallace Beery. Academy rules at that time considered such a close margin to be a tie, so both March and Beery received the award. Under current Academy rules, dual awards are given only for exact ties.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Oscars.org(official Academy site)
The Academy Awards Database(official site)
Oscar.com(official ceremony promotional site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Award For Best Actor
Academy Awards
Film awards for lead actor