Year of
Award
Best Actor*
Academy Award Winners
Name of Character Role
Best Supporting Actor*
Academy Award Winners
Name of Character Role
1927-28
Emil Jannings
The Way of All Flesh, The Last Command
August Schilling/Gen. Dolgorucki
N/A
N/A
1928-29
Warner Baxter
In Old Arizona
The Cisco Kid
N/A
N/A
1929-30
George Arliss
Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli
N/A
N/A
1930-31
Lionel Barrymore
A Free Soul
Stephen Ashe
N/A
N/A
1931-32
Fredric March; Wallace Beery
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; The Champ
Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde and The Champ
N/A
N/A
1932-33
Charles Laughton
The Private Life of Henry VIII
King Henry VIII
N/A
N/A
1934
Clark Gable
It Happened One Night
Peter Warne
N/A
N/A
1935
Victor McLaglen
The Informer
Gypo Nolan
N/A
N/A
1936
Paul Muni
The Story of Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur
Walter Brennan
Come and Get It
Swan Bostrom
1937
Spencer Tracy
Captains Courageous
Manuel
Joseph Schildkraut
The Life of Emile Zola
Capt. Alfred Dreyfus
1938
Spencer Tracy
Boys Town
Father Flanagan
Walter Brennan
Kentucky
Peter Goodwin
1939
Robert Donat
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Mr. Charles Chipping (Mr. Chips)
Thomas Mitchell
Stagecoach
Doc Boone
1940
James Stewart
The Philadelphia Story
Macaulay Connor
Walter Brennan
The Westerner
Judge Roy Bean
1941
Gary Cooper
Sergeant York
Alvin Cullum York
Donald Crisp
How Green Was My Valley
Mr. Morgan
1942
James Cagney
Yankee Doodle Dandy
George M. Cohan
Van Heflin
Johnny Eager
Jeff Hartnett
1943
Paul Lukas
Watch on the Rhine
Kurt Muller
Charles Coburn
The More the Merrier
Benjamin Dingle
1944
Bing Crosby
Going My Way
Father Chuck O'Malley
Barry Fitzgerald
Going My Way
Father Fitzgibbon
1945
Ray Milland
The Lost Weekend
Don Birnam
James Dunn
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Johnny Nolan (aka The Brooklyn Thrush)
1946
Fredric March
The Best Years of Our Lives
Al Stephenson
Harold Russell
The Best Years of Our Lives
Homer Parrish
1947
Ronald Colman
A Double Life
Anthony John
Edmund Gwenn
Miracle on 34th Street
Kris Kringle
1948
Laurence Olivier
Hamlet
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Walter Huston
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Howard
1949
Broderick Crawford
All the King's Men
Willie Stark
Dean Jagger
Twelve O'Clock High
Major Stovall
1950
Jose Ferrer
Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac
George Sanders
All About Eve
Addison DeWitt
1951
Humphrey Bogart
The African Queen
Charlie Allnut
Karl Malden
A Streetcar Named Desire
Harold 'Mitch' Mitchell
1952
Gary Cooper
High Noon
Marshal Will Kane
Anthony Quinn
Viva Zapata
Eufemio Zapata
1953
William Holden
Stalag 17
Sgt. J.J. Sefton
Frank Sinatra
From Here to Eternity
Pvt. Angelo Maggio
1954
Marlon Brando
On The Waterfront
Terry Malloy
Edmond O'Brien
The Barefoot Contessa
Oscar Muldoon
1955
Ernest Borgnine
Marty
Marty Piletti
Jack Lemmon
Mister Roberts
Ens. Frank Thurlowe Pulver
1956
Yul Brynner
The King and I
King Mongkut of Siam
Anthony Quinn
Lust for Life
Paul Gauguin
1957
Alec Guinness
The Bridge On The River Kwai
Col. Nicholson
Red Buttons
Sayonara
Airman Joe Kelly
1958
David Niven
Separate Tables
Major Angus Pollock
Burl Ives
The Big Country
Rufus Hannassey
1959
Charlton Heston
Ben-Hur
Judah Ben-Hur
Hugh Griffith
Ben-Hur
Sheik Ilderim
1960
Burt Lancaster
Elmer Gantry
Elmer Gantry
Peter Ustinov
Spartacus
Lentulus Batiatus
1961
Maximillian Schell
Judgment at Nuremburg
Hans Rolfe
George Chakiris
West Side Story
Bernardo
1962
Gregory Peck
To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus Finch
Ed Begley
Sweet Bird of Youth
Tom 'Boss' Finley
1963
Sidney Poitier
Lilies of the Field
Homer Smith
Melvyn Douglas
Hud
Homer Bannon
1964
Rex Harrison
My Fair Lady
Professor Henry Higgins
Peter Ustinov
Topkapi
Arthur Simon Simpson
1965
Lee Marvin
Cat Ballou
Kid Shelleen/Tim Strawn
Martin Balsam
A Thousand Clowns
Arnold Burns
1966
Paul Scofield
A Man for All Seasons
Sir Thomas More
Walter Matthau
The Fortune Cookie
Willie Gingrich
1967
Rod Steiger
In the Heat of the Night
Police Chief Bill Gillespie
George Kennedy
Cool Hand Luke
Dragline
1968
Cliff Robertson
Charly
Charly Gordon
Jack Albertson
The Subject Was Roses
John Cleary
1969
John Wayne
True Grit
Marshal Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn
Gig Young
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Rocky
1970
George C. Scott
Patton
Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.
John Mills
Ryan's Daughter
Michael
1971
Gene Hackman
The French Connection
Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle
Ben Johnson
The Last Picture Show
Sam the Lion
1972
Marlon Brando
The Godfather
Don Vito Corleone
Joel Gray
Cabaret
MC - Master of Ceremonies
1973
Jack Lemmon
Save the Tiger
Harry Stoner
John Houseman
The Paper Chase
Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr.
1974
Art Carney
Harry and Tonto
Harry Coombes
Robert De Niro
The Godfather, Part 2
Vito Corleone
1975
Jack Nicholson
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Randle Patrick (R. P.) "Mac" McMurphy
George Burns
The Sunshine Boys
Al Lewis
1976
Peter Finch
Network
Howard Beale
Jason Robards
All the President's Men
Ben Bradlee
1977
Richard Dreyfuss
The Goodbye Girl
Elliot Garfield
Jason Robards
Julia
Dashiell Hammett
1978
Jon Voight
Coming Home
Luke Martin
Christopher Walken
The Deer Hunter
Nikonar 'Nick' Chevotarevich
1979
Dustin Hoffman
Kramer vs. Kramer
Ted Kramer
Melvyn Douglas
Being There
Benjamin Turnbull Rand
1980
Robert De Niro
Raging Bull
Jake LaMotta
Timothy Hutton
Ordinary People
Conrad Jarrett
1981
Henry Fonda
On Golden Pond
Norman Thayer
John Gielgud
Arthur
Hobson
1982
Ben Kingsley
Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Louis Gossett, Jr.
An Officer and a Gentleman
Gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley
1983
Robert Duvall
Tender Mercies
Mac Sledge
Jack Nicholson
Terms of Endearment
Garrett Breedlove
1984
F. Murray Abraham
Amadeus
Antonio Salieri
Haing S. Ngor
The Killing Fields
Dith Pran
1985
William Hurt
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Luis Molina
Don Ameche
Cocoon
Arthur Selwyn
1986
Paul Newman
The Color of Money
'Fast Eddie' Felson
Michael Caine
Hannah and Her Sisters
Elliot
1987
Michael Douglas
Wall Street
Gordon Gekko
Sean Connery
The Untouchables
Jim Malone
1988
Dustin Hoffman
Rain Man
Raymond Babbitt
Kevin Kline
A Fish Called Wanda
Otto West
1989
Daniel Day-Lewis
My Left Foot
Christy Brown
Denzel Washington
Glory
Pvt. Trip
1990
Jeremy Irons
Reversal of Fortune
Claus von Bulow
Joe Pesci
GoodFellas
Tommy DeVito
1991
Anthony Hopkins
The Silence of the Lambs
Dr. Hannibal Lecter
Jack Palance
City Slickers
Curly Washburn
1992
Al Pacino
Scent of a Woman
Lieut. Col. Frank Slade
Gene Hackman
Unforgiven
Little Bill Daggett
1993
Tom Hanks
Philadelphia
Andrew Beckett
Tommy Lee Jones
The Fugitive
Marshall Samuel Gerard
1994
Tom Hanks
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
Martin Landau
Ed Wood
Bela Lugosi
1995
Nicolas Cage
Leaving Las Vegas
Ben Sanderson
Kevin Spacey
The Usual Suspects
Roger 'Verbal' Kint
1996
Geoffrey Rush
Shine
David Helfgott
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Jerry Maguire
Rod Tidwell
1997
Jack Nicholson
As Good as It Gets
Melvin Udall
Robin Williams
Good Will Hunting
Sean Maguire
1998
Roberto Benigni
Life is Beautiful
Guido Orefice
James Coburn
Affliction
Glen Whitehouse
1999
Kevin Spacey
American Beauty
Lester Burnham
Michael Caine
The Cider House Rules
Dr. Wilbur Larch
2000
Russell Crowe
Gladiator
Maximus Decimus Meridius
Benicio Del Toro
Traffic
Javier Rodriguez
2001
Denzel Washington
Training Day
Alonzo Harris
Jim Broadbent
Iris
John Bayley
2002
Adrien Brody
The Pianist
Wladyslaw Szpilman
Chris Cooper
Adaptation
John Laroche
2003
Sean Penn
Mystic River
Jimmy Markum
Tim Robbins
Mystic River
Dave Boyle
2004
Jamie Foxx
Ray
Ray Charles
Morgan Freeman
Million Dollar Baby
Eddie 'Scrap-Iron' Dupris
2005
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Capote
Truman Capote
George Clooney
Syriana
Bob Barnes
2006
Forest Whitaker
The Last King of Scotland
Idi Amin
Alan Arkin
Little Miss Sunshine
Edwin Hoover
2007
Daniel Day-Lewis
There Will Be Blood
Daniel Plainview
Javier Bardem
No Country for Old Men
Anton Chigurh
2008
Sean Penn
Milk
Harvey Milk
Heath Ledger
The Dark Knight
The Joker
2009
Jeff Bridges
Crazy Heart
Bad Blake
Christoph Waltz
Inglourious Basterds
Hans Landa
2010
Colin Firth
The King's Speech
King George VI
Christian Bale
The Fighter
Dick "Dicky" Eklund
2011
Jean Dujardin
The Artist
George Valentin
Christopher Plummer
Beginners
Hal Fields
2012
Daniel Day-Lewis
Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Christoph Waltz
Django Unchained
Dr. King Schultz
2013
Matthew McConaughey
Dallas Buyers Club
Ron Woodroof
Jared Leto
Dallas Buyers Club
Rayon
2014
Eddie Redmayne
The Theory of Everything
Stephen Hawking
J.K. Simmons
Whiplash
Terence Fletcher
2015
Leonardo DiCaprio
The Revenant
Hugh Glass
Mark Rylance
Bridge of Spies
Rudolf Abel
2016
Casey Affleck
Manchester By the Sea
Lee Chandler
Mahershala Ali
Moonlight
Juan
2017
Gary Oldman
Darkest Hour
Winston Churchill
Sam Rockwell
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
Jason Dixon
2018
Rami Malek
Bohemian Rhapsody
Freddie Mercury
Mahershala Ali
Green Book
Dr. Don Shirley
2019
Joaquin Phoenix
Joker
Arthur Fleck
Brad Pitt
Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood
Cliff Booth
2020
Anthony Hopkins
The Father
Anthony
Daniel Kaluuya
Judas and the Black Messiah
Fred Hampton
2021
Will Smith
King Richard
Richard Williams
Troy Kotsur
Coda
Frank Rossi
Who got the Best Actor award?
Ajay Devgn and Suriya, both were honoured with the National Award for Best Actor for their outstanding work in 'Tanhaji' and 'Soorarai Pottru', respectively by the president of India and Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur.
Academy Awards Best Actor. The Top Best Actor Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis is the only actor to win three Best Actor awards: My Left Foot (1989), There Will Be Blood (2007), and Lincoln (2012). (His nominations were from 1989-2017.)
While Leonardo tops the Best Actor in the world list for Google, coming a close second to him on the list is Tom Hanks. The 66-year-old actor has had a splendid Hollywood career with films such as Forrest Gump, Cast Away and several other notable works to his name.