It’s not often that more than one actor can create a character so memorable that the performance in the role garners more than one Academy Award nomination. It’s happened 25 times in the history of motion pictures.
To determine the character roles that have garnered multiple Oscar nominations, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on Academy Award nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Character roles were ranked based on the number of times actors have been nominated for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, or Best Supporting Actress for their portrayal. Instances in which the same actor was nominated for the same character in multiple films were included.
Of the actors who played the same characters in the 25 films on our list, 12 of them brought home an Academy Award. Three actors — Rex Harrison, Paul Newman, and Daniel Day-Lewis — won the Oscar in the replayed role.
Thirteen other nominees had either won an Academy Award already or would do so eventually. This group includes Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Laurence Olivier, and Cate Blanchett. Speaking of Blanchett, the English actress played Queen Elizabeth I in two movies just nine years apart. (Here is a list of multiple actors who have played the same iconic character.)
Characters from historically themed movies have gotten multiple Oscar nominations in eight films on our list, half of them spotlighting English royalty. Actors have been nominated for an Academy Award three times for portraying Queen Elizabeth I and King Henry VIII, respectively.
Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro made Oscar history by winning the statue for portraying the Mafia don Vito Corleone at different stages of his life in the Godfather films. Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix repeated that Oscar triumph by playing the Joker character in “The Dark Knight” and “Joker.”
Paul Newman resurrected pool hustler Eddie Felson 27 years after “The Hustler” was released in 1961 and won his only gold statue in “The Color of Money.” Newman is one of six actors to have been nominated for a character they reprised. The others are Bing Crosby, Peter O’Toole, Sylvester Stallone, Cate Blanchett, and Al Pacino. (These are 25 of the most egregious snubs in Oscars’ history.)
25. Billie Holiday
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Diana Ross in “Lady Sings the Blues” (1972); Andra Day in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” (2020)
24. Vito Corleone
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Marlon Brando in “The Godfather” (1972) (won); Robert De Niro in “The Godfather Part II” (1974) (won)
23. Vincent Van Gogh
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Kirk Douglas in “Lust for Life” (1956); Willem Dafoe in “At Eternity’s Gate” (2018)
22. Rooster Cogburn
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: John Wayne in “True Grit” (1969) (won); Jeff Bridges in “True Grit” (2010)
21. Rocky Balboa
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Sylvester Stallone in “Rocky” (1976); Sylvester Stallone in “Creed” (2015)
20. Richard Nixon
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Anthony Hopkins in “Nixon” (1995); Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (2008)
19. Professor Henry Higgins
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Leslie Howard in “Pygmalion” (1938); Rex Harrison in “My Fair Lady” (1964) (won)
18. Norman Maine/Alfred Hinkel
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Fredric March in “A Star Is Born” (1937); James Mason in “A Star Is Born” (1954)
17. Michael Corleone
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Al Pacino in “The Godfather” (1972); Al Pacino in “The Godfather Part II” (1974)
16. Max Corkle
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: James Gleason in “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” (1941); Jack Warden in “Heaven Can Wait” (1978)
15. Leslie Crosbie
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Jeanne Eagels in “The Letter” (1929); Bette Davis in “The Letter” (1940)
14. King Henry II
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Peter O’Toole in “Becket” (1964); Peter O’Toole in “The Lion in Winter” (1968)
13. Joker
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (2008) (won); Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker” (2019) (won)
12. Joe Pendleton
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Robert Montgomery in “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” (1941); Warren Beatty in “Heaven Can Wait” (1978)
11. Jo March
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Winona Ryder in “Little Women” (1994); Saoirse Ronan in “Little Women” (2019)
10. Jane Hudson
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Katharine Hepburn in “Summertime” (1955); Bette Davis in “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” (1962)
9. Howard Hughes
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Jason Robards in “Melvin and Howard” (1980); Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Aviator” (2004)
8. Henry V
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Laurence Olivier in “Henry V” (1946); Kenneth Branagh in “Henry V” (1989)
7. Father O’Malley
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Bing Crosby in “Going My Way” (1944) (won); Bing Crosby in “The Bells of St. Mary’s” (1945)
6. Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Janet Gaynor in “A Star Is Born” (1937); Judy Garland in “A Star Is Born” (1954)
5. Eddie Felson
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Paul Newman in “The Hustler” (1961); Paul Newman in “The Color of Money” (1986) (won)
4. Cyrano de Bergerac
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: José Ferrer in “Cyrano de Bergerac” (1950) (won); Gerard Depardieu in “Cyrano de Bergerac” (1990)
3. Abraham Lincoln
- Total nominations: 2
- Nomination history: Raymond Massey in “Abe Lincoln in Illinois” (1940); Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln” (2012) (won)
2. Queen Elizabeth I
- Total nominations: 3
- Nomination history: Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth” (1998); Judi Dench in “Shakespeare in Love” (1998) (won); Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (2007)
1. King Henry VIII
- Total nominations: 3
- Nomination history: Charles Laughton in “The Private Life of Henry VIII” (1933) (won); Robert Shaw in “A Man for All Seasons” (1966); Richard Burton in “Anne of the Thousand Days” (1969)