Complete List: Best Actor Winners at the Oscars Every Year

An Oscar for Best Actor is one of the most prestigious awards someone in the film industry can win. Each year, the awards ceremony is held in Beverly Hills and actors, directors, writers, and other cast members are presented awards in a variety of categories. Over the years, the Academy Awards ceremony has grown and it’s now broadcast in over 200 countries across the globe.

To determine who won best actor every year at the Oscars, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Actors who won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role were ranked chronologically.

The first Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929, just two years after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was established. Although the prestigious ceremony was previously only known as the Academy Awards, the Academy renamed it the Oscars before the 85th Academy Awards celebration. Today, both names are often used interchangeably.

Films can be recognized for numerous categories, from the best director to the best visual effects. There are 24 Oscar categories in all, and winning best actor is the height of many actor’s careers. The winners are nominated and chosen by members of the Academy.

Since the beginning of the Oscars, the award for best actor has been presented to 85 different actors and a total of 95 times since 1929. The Best Actor award is specifically presented to an actor in a leading role in a film, but there’s also an Oscar presented for the Best Supporting Actor.

Out of all the Best Actor awards, Daniel Day-Lewis has won the most Oscars in this category. Daniel won the Oscar for Best Actor three times for his roles in “My Left Foot,” “There Will Be Blood,” and “Lincoln.” Actors such as Jack Nicholson, Spencer Tracy, Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, and Anthony Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar twice. Although he hasn’t won the most awards for Best Actor, Jack Nicholson has been nominated for an award the most times.

Not only is winning the Best Actor award a significant honor, it can significantly impact the career of an actor. Those who have won an Oscar tend to receive more attention in the media and are often paid higher salaries.

Many of the actors on this list are ones you’re most likely familiar with. If you’re not familiar with some of the actors and films on the list, it may be time to expand your film knowledge with a marathon movie night. (Also See Character Roles That Have Garnered the Most Oscar Nominations.)

1st Academy Awards (1927/28): Emil Jannings

• Role: General Dolgorucki in “The Last Command” and August Schilling in “The Way of All Flesh”
• Runner-ups: Richard Barthelmess

2nd Academy Awards (1928/29): Warner Baxter

• Role: The Cisco Kid in “In Old Arizona”
• Runner-ups: Lewis Stone, Paul Muni, Chester Morris, George Bancroft

3rd Academy Awards (1929/30): George Arliss

• Role: Benjamin Disraeli in “Disraeli” and Oxonian, the Rajah of Rukh in “The Green Goddess”
• Runner-ups: Lawrence Tibbett, Ronald Colman, Maurice Chevalier, Wallace Beery

4th Academy Awards (1930/31): Lionel Barrymore

• Role: Stephen Ashe in “A Free Soul”
• Runner-ups: Adolphe Menjou, Fredric March, Richard Dix, Jackie Cooper

5th Academy Awards (1931/32): Wallace Beery; Fredric March

• Role: Champ in “The Champ”; Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Hyde in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”
• Runner-ups: Alfred Lunt

6th Academy Awards (1932/33): Charles Laughton

• Role: Henry VIII in “The Private Life of Henry VIII”
• Runner-ups: Paul Muni, Leslie Howard

7th Academy Awards (1934): Clark Gable

• Role: Peter Warne in “It Happened One Night”
• Runner-ups: William Powell, Frank Morgan

8th Academy Awards (1935): Victor McLaglen

• Role: Gypo Nolan in “The Informer”
• Runner-ups: Franchot Tone, Paul Muni, Charles Laughton, Clark Gable

9th Academy Awards (1936): Paul Muni

• Role: Louis Pasteur in “The Story of Louis Pasteur”
• Runner-ups: Spencer Tracy, William Powell, Walter Huston, Gary Cooper

10th Academy Awards (1937): Spencer Tracy

• Role: Manuel in “Captains Courageous”
• Runner-ups: Paul Muni, Robert Montgomery, Fredric March, Charles Boyer

11th Academy Awards (1938): Spencer Tracy

• Role: Father Flanagan in “Boys Town”
• Runner-ups: Leslie Howard, Robert Donat, James Cagney, Charles Boyer

12th Academy Awards (1939): Robert Donat

• Role: Mr. Chips in “Goodbye, Mr. Chips”
• Runner-ups: James Stewart, Mickey Rooney, Laurence Olivier, Clark Gable

13th Academy Awards (1940): James Stewart

• Role: Mike Connor in “The Philadelphia Story”
• Runner-ups: Laurence Olivier, Raymond Massey, Henry Fonda, Charles Chaplin

14th Academy Awards (1941): Gary Cooper

• Role: Alvin C. York in “Sergeant York”
• Runner-ups: Orson Welles, Robert Montgomery, Walter Huston, Cary Grant

15th Academy Awards (1942): James Cagney

• Role: George M. Cohan in “Yankee Doodle Dandy”
• Runner-ups: Monty Woolley, Walter Pidgeon, Gary Cooper, Ronald Colman

16th Academy Awards (1943): Paul Lukas

• Role: Kurt Muller in “Watch on the Rhine”
• Runner-ups: Mickey Rooney, Walter Pidgeon, Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart

17th Academy Awards (1944): Bing Crosby

• Role: Father O’Malley in “Going My Way”
• Runner-ups: Alexander Knox, Cary Grant, Barry Fitzgerald, Charles Boyer

18th Academy Awards (1945): Ray Milland

• Role: Don Birnam in “The Lost Weekend”
• Runner-ups: Cornel Wilde, Gregory Peck, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby

19th Academy Awards (1946): Fredric March

• Role: Al Stephenson in “The Best Years of Our Lives”
• Runner-ups: James Stewart, Gregory Peck, Larry Parks, Laurence Olivier

20th Academy Awards (1947): Ronald Colman

• Role: Anthony John in “A Double Life”
• Runner-ups: Michael Redgrave, William Powell, Gregory Peck, John Garfield

21st Academy Awards (1948): Laurence Olivier

• Role: Hamlet in “Hamlet”
• Runner-ups: Clifton Webb, Dan Dailey, Montgomery Clift, Lew Ayres

22nd Academy Awards (1949): Broderick Crawford

• Role: Willie Stark in “All the King’s Men”
• Runner-ups: John Wayne, Richard Todd, Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas

23rd Academy Awards (1950): José Ferrer

• Role: Cyrano de Bergerac in “Cyrano de Bergerac”
• Runner-ups: Spencer Tracy, James Stewart, William Holden, Louis Calhern

24th Academy Awards (1951): Humphrey Bogart

• Role: Charlie Allnut in “The African Queen”
• Runner-ups: Fredric March, Arthur Kennedy, Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando

25th Academy Awards (1952): Gary Cooper

• Role: Will Kane in “High Noon”
• Runner-ups: Alec Guinness, José Ferrer, Kirk Douglas, Marlon Brando

26th Academy Awards (1953): William Holden

• Role: Sefton in “Stalag 17”
• Runner-ups: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Richard Burton, Marlon Brando

27th Academy Awards (1954): Marlon Brando

• Role: Terry Malloy in “On the Waterfront”
• Runner-ups: Dan O’Herlihy, James Mason, Bing Crosby, Humphrey Bogart

28th Academy Awards (1955): Ernest Borgnine

• Role: Marty Pilletti in “Marty”
• Runner-ups: Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, James Dean, James Cagney

29th Academy Awards (1956): Yul Brynner

• Role: The King in “The King and I”
• Runner-ups: Sir Laurence Olivier, Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, James Dean

30th Academy Awards (1957): Alec Guinness

• Role: Colonel Nicholson in “The Bridge on the River Kwai”
• Runner-ups: Anthony Quinn, Charles Laughton, Anthony Franciosa, Marlon Brando

31st Academy Awards (1958): David Niven

• Role: Major Pollock in “Separate Tables”
• Runner-ups: Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman, Tony Curtis

32nd Academy Awards (1959): Charlton Heston

• Role: Judah Ben-Hur in “Ben-Hur”
• Runner-ups: James Stewart, Paul Muni, Jack Lemmon, Laurence Harvey

33rd Academy Awards (1960): Burt Lancaster

• Role: Elmer Gantry in “Elmer Gantry”
• Runner-ups: Spencer Tracy, Laurence Olivier, Jack Lemmon, Trevor Howard

34th Academy Awards (1961): Maximilian Schell

• Role: Hans Rolfe in “Judgment at Nuremberg”
• Runner-ups: Stuart Whitman, Spencer Tracy, Paul Newman, Charles Boyer

35th Academy Awards (1962): Gregory Peck

• Role: Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird”
• Runner-ups: Peter O’Toole, Marcello Mastroianni, Jack Lemmon, Burt Lancaster

36th Academy Awards (1963): Sidney Poitier

• Role: Homer Smith in “Lilies of the Field”
• Runner-ups: Paul Newman, Rex Harrison, Richard Harris, Albert Finney

37th Academy Awards (1964): Rex Harrison

• Role: Professor Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady”
• Runner-ups: Peter Sellers, Anthony Quinn, Peter O’Toole, Richard Burton

38th Academy Awards (1965): Lee Marvin

• Role: Kid Shelleen/Tim Strawn in “Cat Ballou”
• Runner-ups: Oskar Werner, Rod Steiger, Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton

39th Academy Awards (1966): Paul Scofield

• Role: Sir Thomas More in “A Man for All Seasons”
• Runner-ups: Steve McQueen, Michael Caine, Richard Burton, Alan Arkin

40th Academy Awards (1967): Rod Steiger

• Role: Police Chief Bill Gillespie in “In the Heat of the Night”
• Runner-ups: Spencer Tracy, Paul Newman, Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty

41st Academy Awards (1968): Cliff Robertson

• Role: Charly Gordon in “Charly”
• Runner-ups: Peter O’Toole, Ron Moody, Alan Bates, Alan Arkin

42nd Academy Awards (1969): John Wayne

• Role: Rooster Cogburn in “True Grit”
• Runner-ups: Jon Voight, Peter O’Toole, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Burton

43rd Academy Awards (1970): George C. Scott

• Role: General George S. Patton, Jr. in “Patton”
• Runner-ups: Ryan O’Neal, Jack Nicholson, James Earl Jones, Melvyn Douglas

44th Academy Awards (1971): Gene Hackman

• Role: Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle in “The French Connection”
• Runner-ups: Topol, George C. Scott, Walter Matthau, Peter Finch

45th Academy Awards (1972): Marlon Brando

• Role: Don Vito Corleone in “The Godfather”
• Runner-ups: Paul Winfield, Peter O’Toole, Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine

46th Academy Awards (1973): Jack Lemmon

• Role: Harry Stoner in “Save the Tiger”
• Runner-ups: Robert Redford, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando

47th Academy Awards (1974): Art Carney

• Role: Harry in “Harry and Tonto”
• Runner-ups: Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Albert Finney

48th Academy Awards (1975): Jack Nicholson

• Role: Randle Patrick McMurphy in “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”
• Runner-ups: James Whitmore, Maximilian Schell, Al Pacino, Walter Matthau

49th Academy Awards (1976): Peter Finch

• Role: Howard Beale in “Network”
• Runner-ups: Sylvester Stallone, William Holden, Giancarlo Giannini, Robert De Niro

50th Academy Awards (1977): Richard Dreyfuss

• Role: Elliot Garfield in “The Goodbye Girl”
• Runner-ups: John Travolta, Marcello Mastroianni, Richard Burton, Woody Allen

51st Academy Awards (1978): Jon Voight

• Role: Luke Martin in “Coming Home”
• Runner-ups: Laurence Olivier, Robert De Niro, Gary Busey, Warren Beatty

52nd Academy Awards (1979): Dustin Hoffman

• Role: Ted Kramer in “Kramer vs. Kramer”
• Runner-ups: Peter Sellers, Roy Scheider, Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon

53rd Academy Awards (1980): Robert De Niro

• Role: Jake LaMotta in “Raging Bull”
• Runner-ups: Peter O’Toole, Jack Lemmon, John Hurt, Robert Duvall

54th Academy Awards (1981): Henry Fonda

• Role: Norman Thayer, Jr. in “On Golden Pond”
• Runner-ups: Paul Newman, Dudley Moore, Burt Lancaster, Warren Beatty

55th Academy Awards (1982): Ben Kingsley

• Role: Mahatma Gandhi in “Gandhi”
• Runner-ups: Peter O’Toole, Paul Newman, Jack Lemmon, Dustin Hoffman

56th Academy Awards (1983): Robert Duvall

• Role: Mac Sledge in “Tender Mercies”
• Runner-ups: Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay, Tom Conti, Michael Caine

57th Academy Awards (1984): F. Murray Abraham

• Role: Antonio Salieri in “Amadeus”
• Runner-ups: Sam Waterston, Tom Hulce, Albert Finney, Jeff Bridges

58th Academy Awards (1985): William Hurt

• Role: Luis Molina in “Kiss of the Spider Woman”
• Runner-ups: Jon Voight, Jack Nicholson, James Garner, Harrison Ford

59th Academy Awards (1986): Paul Newman

• Role: Eddie Felson in “The Color of Money”
• Runner-ups: James Woods, William Hurt, Bob Hoskins, Dexter Gordon

60th Academy Awards (1987): Michael Douglas

• Role: Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street”
• Runner-ups: Robin Williams, Jack Nicholson, Marcello Mastroianni, William Hurt

61st Academy Awards (1988): Dustin Hoffman

• Role: Raymond Babbitt in “Rain Man”
• Runner-ups: Max von Sydow, Edward James Olmos, Tom Hanks, Gene Hackman

62nd Academy Awards (1989): Daniel Day Lewis

• Role: Christy Brown in “My Left Foot”
• Runner-ups: Robin Williams, Morgan Freeman, Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh

63rd Academy Awards (1990): Jeremy Irons

• Role: Claus Von Bulow in “Reversal of Fortune”
• Runner-ups: Richard Harris, Gerard Depardieu, Robert De Niro, Kevin Costner

64th Academy Awards (1991): Anthony Hopkins

• Role: Dr. Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs”
• Runner-ups: Robin Williams, Nick Nolte, Robert De Niro, Warren Beatty

65th Academy Awards (1992): Al Pacino

• Role: Lt. Col. Frank Slade in “Scent of a Woman”
• Runner-ups: Denzel Washington, Stephen Rea, Clint Eastwood, Robert Downey Jr.

66th Academy Awards (1993): Tom Hanks

• Role: Andrew Beckett in “Philadelphia”
• Runner-ups: Liam Neeson, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Fishburne, Daniel Day-Lewis

67th Academy Awards (1994): Tom Hanks

• Role: Forrest Gump in “Forrest Gump”
• Runner-ups: John Travolta, Paul Newman, Nigel Hawthorne, Morgan Freeman

68th Academy Awards (1995): Nicolas Cage

• Role: Ben Sanderson in “Leaving Las Vegas”
• Runner-ups: Massimo Troisi, Sean Penn, Anthony Hopkins, Richard Dreyfuss

69th Academy Awards (1996): Geoffrey Rush

• Role: David Helfgott in “Shine”
• Runner-ups: Billy Bob Thornton, Woody Harrelson, Ralph Fiennes, Tom Cruise

70th Academy Awards (1997): Jack Nicholson

• Role: Melvin Udall in “As Good as It Gets”
• Runner-ups: Dustin Hoffman, Peter Fonda, Robert Duvall, Matt Damon

71st Academy Awards (1998): Roberto Benigni

• Role: Guido in “Life Is Beautiful”
• Runner-ups: Edward Norton, Nick Nolte, Ian McKellen, Tom Hanks

72nd Academy Awards (1999): Kevin Spacey

• Role: Lester Burnham in “American Beauty”
• Runner-ups: Denzel Washington, Sean Penn, Richard Farnsworth, Russell Crowe

73rd Academy Awards (2000): Russell Crowe

• Role: Maximus Decimus Meridius in “Gladiator”
• Runner-ups: Geoffrey Rush, Ed Harris, Tom Hanks, Javier Bardem

74th Academy Awards (2001): Denzel Washington

• Role: Alonzo in “Training Day”
• Runner-ups: Tom Wilkinson, Will Smith, Sean Penn, Russell Crowe

75th Academy Awards (2002): Adrien Brody

• Role: Wladyslaw Szpilman in “The Pianist”
• Runner-ups: Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Michael Caine, Nicolas Cage

76th Academy Awards (2003): Sean Penn

• Role: Jimmy Markum in “Mystic River”
• Runner-ups: Bill Murray, Jude Law, Ben Kingsley, Johnny Depp

77th Academy Awards (2004): Jamie Foxx

• Role: Ray Charles in “Ray”
• Runner-ups: Clint Eastwood, Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Don Cheadle

78th Academy Awards (2005): Philip Seymour Hoffman

• Role: Truman Capote in “Capote”
• Runner-ups: David Strathairn, Joaquin Phoenix, Heath Ledger, Terrence Howard

79th Academy Awards (2006): Forest Whitaker

• Role: Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland”
• Runner-ups: Will Smith, Peter O’Toole, Ryan Gosling, Leonardo DiCaprio

80th Academy Awards (2007): Daniel Day-Lewis

• Role: Daniel Plainview in “There Will Be Blood”
• Runner-ups: Viggo Mortensen, Tommy Lee Jones, Johnny Depp, George Clooney

81st Academy Awards (2008): Sean Penn

• Role: Harvey Milk in “Milk”
• Runner-ups: Mickey Rourke, Brad Pitt, Frank Langella, Richard Jenkins

82nd Academy Awards (2009): Jeff Bridges

• Role: Bad Blake in “Crazy Heart”
• Runner-ups: Jeremy Renner, Morgan Freeman, Colin Firth, George Clooney

83rd Academy Awards (2010): Colin Firth

• Role: King George VI in “The King’s Speech”
• Runner-ups: James Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Javier Bardem

84th Academy Awards (2011): Jean Dujardin

• Role: George Valentin in “The Artist”
• Runner-ups: Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, George Clooney, Demián Bichir

85th Academy Awards (2012): Daniel Day-Lewis

• Role: Abraham Lincoln in “Lincoln”
• Runner-ups: Denzel Washington, Joaquin Phoenix, Hugh Jackman, Bradley Cooper

86th Academy Awards (2013): Matthew McConaughey

• Role: Ron Woodroof in “Dallas Buyers Club”
• Runner-ups: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Dern, Christian Bale

87th Academy Awards (2014): Eddie Redmayne

• Role: Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything”
• Runner-ups: Michael Keaton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bradley Cooper, Steve Carell

88th Academy Awards (2015): Leonardo DiCaprio

• Role: Hugh Glass in “The Revenant”
• Runner-ups: Eddie Redmayne, Michael Fassbender, Matt Damon, Bryan Cranston

89th Academy Awards (2016): Casey Affleck

• Role: Lee Chandler in “Manchester by the Sea”
• Runner-ups: Denzel Washington, Viggo Mortensen, Ryan Gosling, Andrew Garfield

90th Academy Awards (2017): Gary Oldman

• Role: Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour”
• Runner-ups: Denzel Washington, Daniel Kaluuya, Daniel Day-Lewis, Timothée Chalamet

91st Academy Awards (2018): Rami Malek

• Role: Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody”
• Runner-ups: Viggo Mortensen, Willem Dafoe, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale

92nd Academy Awards (2019): Joaquin Phoenix

• Role: Arthur Fleck in “Joker”
• Runner-ups: Jonathan Pryce, Adam Driver, Leonardo DiCaprio, Antonio Banderas

93rd Academy Awards (2020): Anthony Hopkins

• Role: Anthony in “The Father”
• Runner-ups: Steven Yeun, Gary Oldman, Chadwick Boseman, Riz Ahmed

94th Academy Awards (2021): Will Smith

• Role: Richard Williams in “King Richard”
• Runner-ups: Denzel Washington, Andrew Garfield, Benedict Cumberbatch, Javier Bardem

95th Academy Awards (2022): Brendan Fraser

• Role: Charlie in “The Whale”
• Runner-ups: Bill Nighy, Paul Mescal, Colin Farrell, Austin Butler