Academy Award for best actor

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Academy Award for best actor: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 29, 2025

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Also Known As

Oscar for best actor

Notable Honorees

Paul Newman • Robert De Niro • Sidney Poitier • Denzel Washington • Clark Gable • Al Pacino • John Wayne • Tom Hanks • Jack Nicholson • Brendan Fraser • Kevin Spacey • Anthony Hopkins • Leonardo DiCaprio • Laurence Olivier • Michael Douglas • Will Smith • Jeff Bridges • Henry Fonda • Dustin Hoffman • Jamie Foxx • Humphrey Bogart • Russell Crowe • Colin Firth • Rami Malek • Richard Dreyfuss • Sean Penn • James Cagney • Gary Oldman • Marlon Brando • Cillian Murphy • Matthew McConaughey • Joaquin Phoenix • James Stewart • Philip Seymour Hoffman • Alec Guinness • Burt Lancaster • Geoffrey Rush • Roberto Benigni • Robert Duvall • Paul Muni • Nicolas Cage • Ben Kingsley • Fredric March • Cliff Robertson • Charlton Heston • Spencer Tracy • F. Murray Abraham • Jack Lemmon • Gregory Peck • Ernest Borgnine • Adrien Brody • Eddie Redmayne • Ronald Colman • Jon Voight • George C. Scott • Forest Whitaker • William Holden • Art Carney • Yul Brynner • Bing Crosby • Casey Affleck • Gene Hackman • Charles Laughton • Emil Jannings • Peter Finch • Lionel Barrymore • Jeremy Irons • Rod Steiger • Rex Harrison • Lee Marvin • Gary Cooper • Paul Scofield • José Ferrer • William Hurt • David Niven • Robert Donat • Victor McLaglen • Wallace Beery • George Arliss • Ray Milland

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acting Academy Award Academy Award for best original screenplay Academy Award for best adapted screenplay Academy Award for best director Academy Award for best cinematography Academy Award for best actress Academy Award for best picture Academy Award for best supporting actor Academy Award for best supporting actress Meisner technique Stanislavsky system