"It's much heavier than I imagined. I... gosh, I had something to say and I can't remember what I was gonna say for the life of me."
—Marlon Brando winning for On the Waterfront.
A list of people who have won and been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
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1920s
- 1927-28: Emil Jannings for The Last Command as Grand Duke Sergius Alexander and The Way of All Flesh as August Schiller
- Richard Barthelmess for The Noose as Nickie Elkins and The Patent Leather Kid as Patent Leather Kid
- 1928-29: Warner Baxter for In Old Arizona as the Cisco Kid
- George Bancroft for Thunderbolt as Thunderbolt Jim Lang
- Chester Morris for Alibi as Chick Williams
- Paul Muni for The Valiant as James Anthony Douglas / James Dyke
- Lewis Stone for The Patriot as Count Phalen
- 1929-30: George Arliss for Disraeli as Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli
- George Arliss for The Green Goddess as the Raja
- Wallace Beery for The Big House as Butch "Machine Gun" Schmidt
- Maurice Chevalier for The Big Pond as Pierre Mirande and The Love Parade as Count Alfred Renard
- Ronald Colman for Bulldog Drummond as Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond and Condemned as Michel
- Lawrence Tibbett for The Rogue Song as Yegor
1930s
- 1930-31: Lionel Barrymore for A Free Soul as Stephen Ashe
- Jackie Cooper for Skippy as Skippy Skinner
- Richard Dix for Cimarron as Yancey Cravat
- Fredric March for The Royal Family of Broadway as Tony Cavendish
- Adolphe Menjou for The Front Page as Walter Burns
- 1931-32: Tie
- Wallace Beery for The Champ as Andy "Champ" Purcell
- Fredric March for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde
- Alfred Lunt for The Guardsman as the Actor
- 1932-33: Charles Laughton for The Private Life of Henry VIII as King Henry VIII of England
- Leslie Howard for Berkeley Square as Peter Standish
- Paul Muni for I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang as James Allen
- 1934: Clark Gable for It Happened One Night as Peter Warne
- Frank Morgan for The Affairs of Cellini as Alessandro, Duke of Florence
- William Powell for The Thin Man as Nick Charles
- 1935: Victor McLaglen for The Informer as Gypo Nolan
- Clark Gable for Mutiny on the Bounty as Lieutenant Fletcher Christian
- Charles Laughton for Mutiny on the Bounty as Captain William Bligh
- Franchot Tone for Mutiny on the Bounty as Midshipman Roger Byam
- 1936: Paul Muni for The Story of Louis Pasteur as Louis Pasteur
- Gary Cooper for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town as Longfellow Deeds
- Walter Huston for Dodsworth as Samuel "Sam" Dodsworth
- William Powell for My Man Godfrey as Godfrey Park
- Spencer Tracy for San Francisco as Father Tim Mullin
- 1937: Spencer Tracy for Captains Courageous as Manuel Fidello
- Charles Boyer for Conquest as Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte
- Fredric March for A Star Is Born as Norman Maine
- Robert Montgomery for Night Must Fall as Danny
- Paul Muni for The Life of Émile Zola as Émile Zola
- 1938: Spencer Tracy for Boys Town as Father Edward Flanagan
- Charles Boyer for Algiers as Pepe le Moko
- James Cagney for Angels with Dirty Faces as William "Rocky" Sullivan
- Robert Donat for The Citadel as Dr. Andrew Manson
- Leslie Howard for Pygmalion as Henry Higgins
- 1939: Robert Donat for Goodbye, Mr. Chips as Charles Edward "Chips" Chipping
- Clark Gable for Gone with the Wind as Rhett Butler
- Laurence Olivier for Wuthering Heights as Heathcliff
- Mickey Rooney for Babes in Arms as Michael "Mickey" Moran
- Jimmy Stewart for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as Senator Jefferson Smith
1940s
- 1940: Jimmy Stewart for The Philadelphia Story as Macaulay "Mike" Connor
- Charlie Chaplin for The Great Dictator as Adenoid Hynkel / the Barber
- Henry Fonda for The Grapes of Wrath as Tom Joad
- Raymond Massey for Abe Lincoln in Illinois as Abraham Lincoln
- Laurence Olivier for Rebecca as Maximilian "Maxim" De Winter
- 1941: Gary Cooper for Sergeant York as Sergeant Alvin York
- Cary Grant for Penny Serenade as Roger Adams
- Walter Huston for The Devil and Daniel Webster as Mr. Scratch
- Robert Montgomery for Here Comes Mr. Jordan as Joe Pendleton
- Orson Welles for Citizen Kane as Charles Foster Kane
- 1942: James Cagney for Yankee Doodle Dandy as George M. Cohan
- Ronald Colman for Random Harvest as Charles Rainier / John "Smithy" Smith
- Gary Cooper for The Pride of the Yankees as Lou Gehrig
- Walter Pidgeon for Mrs. Miniver as Clem Miniver
- Monty Woolley for The Pied Piper as John Howard
- 1943: Paul Lukas for Watch on the Rhine as Kurt Muller
- Humphrey Bogart for Casablanca as Rick Blaine
- Gary Cooper for For Whom the Bell Tolls as Robert Jordan
- Walter Pidgeon for Madame Curie as Pierre Curie
- Mickey Rooney for The Human Comedy as Homer Macaulay
- 1944: Bing Crosby for Going My Way as Father Charles "Chuck" O'Malley
- Charles Boyer for Gaslight as Gregory Anton / Sergis Bauer
- Barry Fitzgerald for Going My Way as Father Fitzgibbon
- Cary Grant for None but the Lonely Heart as Ernie Mott
- Alexander Knox for Wilson as President Woodrow Wilson
- 1945: Ray Milland for The Lost Weekend as Don Birman
- Bing Crosby for The Bells of St. Mary's as Father Charles "Chuck" O'Malley
- Gene Kelly for Anchors Aweigh as Joseph "Joe" Brady
- Gregory Peck for The Keys of the Kingdom as Father Francis Chisholm
- Cornel Wilde for A Song to Remember as Frédéric Chopin
- 1946: Fredric March for The Best Years of Our Lives as Sergeant Al Stephenson
- Laurence Olivier for Henry V as King Henry V of England
- Larry Parks for The Jolson Story as Al Jolson
- Gregory Peck for The Yearling as Ezra "Penny" Baxter
- Jimmy Stewart for It's a Wonderful Life as George Bailey
- 1947: Ronald Colman for A Double Life as Anthony "Tony" John
- John Garfield for Body and Soul as Charley Davis
- Gregory Peck for Gentleman's Agreement as Philip Schuyler "Phil" Green
- William Powell for Life with Father as Clarence Day Sr.
- Michael Redgrave for Mourning Becomes Electra as Orin Mannon
- 1948: Laurence Olivier for Hamlet as Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
- Lew Ayres for Johnny Belinda as Dr. Robert Richardson
- Montgomery Clift for The Search as Ralph "Steve" Stevenson
- Dan Dailey for When My Baby Smiles at Me as Skid Johnson
- Clifton Webb for Sitting Pretty as Lynn Aloysius Belvedere
- 1949: Broderick Crawford for All the King's Men as Willie Stark
- Kirk Douglas for Champion as Michael "Midge" Kelly
- Gregory Peck for Twelve O'Clock High as Brigadier General Frank Savage
- Richard Todd for The Hasty Heart as Corporal Lachlan "Lachie" MacLachlan
- John Wayne for Sands of Iwo Jima as Sergeant John Stryker
1950s
- 1950: José Ferrer for Cyrano de Bergerac as Cyrano De Bergerac
- Louis Calhern for The Magnificent Yankee as Oliver Wendell Holmes
- William Holden for Sunset Boulevard as Joe Gillis
- Jimmy Stewart for Harvey as Elwood P. Dowd
- Spencer Tracy for Father of the Bride as Stanley Banks
- 1951: Humphrey Bogart for The African Queen as Charlie Allnut
- Marlon Brando for A Streetcar Named Desire as Stanley Kowalski
- Montgomery Clift for A Place in the Sun as George Eastman
- Arthur Kennedy for Bright Victory as Larry Nevins
- Fredric March for Death of a Salesman as William "Willy" Loman
- 1952: Gary Cooper for High Noon as Marshal William "Will" Kane
- Marlon Brando for Viva Zapata! as Emiliano Zapata
- Kirk Douglas for The Bad and the Beautiful as Jonathan Shields
- José Ferrer for Moulin Rouge as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
- Alec Guinness for The Lavender Hill Mob as Henry Holland
- 1953: William Holden for Stalag 17 as Sergeant J.J. Sefton
- Marlon Brando for Julius Caesar as Mark Antony
- Richard Burton for The Robe as Marcellus Gallio
- Montgomery Clift for From Here to Eternity as Private Robert E. Lee "Prew" Prewitt
- Burt Lancaster for From Here to Eternity as First Sergeant Milton Warden
- 1954: Marlon Brando for On the Waterfront as Terry Malloy
- Humphrey Bogart for The Caine Mutiny as Lieutenant Commander Philip Francis Queeg
- Bing Crosby for The Country Girl as Frank Elgin
- James Mason for A Star Is Born as Norman Maine
- Dan Oherlihy for Robinson Crusoe as Robinson Crusoe
- 1955: Ernest Borgnine for Marty as Marty Piletti
- James Cagney for Love Me or Leave Me as Martin Snyder
- James Dean (posthumous) for East of Eden as Caleb "Cal" Trask
- Frank Sinatra for The Man with the Golden Arm as Frankie Machine
- Spencer Tracy for Bad Day at Black Rock as John J. Macreedy
- 1956: Yul Brynner for The King and I as King Mongkut of Siam
- James Dean (posthumous) for Giant as Jett Rink
- Kirk Douglas for Lust for Life as Vincent van Gogh
- Rock Hudson for Giant as Jordan "Bick" Benedict
- Laurence Olivier for Richard III as King Richard III of England
- 1957: Alec Guinness for The Bridge on the River Kwai as Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson
- Marlon Brando for Sayonara as Major Lloyd "Ace" Gruver
- Anthony Franciosa for A Hatful of Rain as Polo Pope
- Charles Laughton for Witness for the Prosecution as Sir Wilfrid Robarts
- Anthony Quinn for Wild Is the Wind as Gino
- 1958: David Niven for Separate Tables as Major David Angus Pollock
- Tony Curtis for The Defiant Ones as John "Joker" Jackson
- Paul Newman for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as Brick Pollitt
- Sidney Poitier for The Defiant Ones as Noah Cullen
- Spencer Tracy for The Old Man and the Sea as Santiago / The Old Man
- 1959: Charlton Heston for Ben-Hur as Judah Ben-Hur
- Laurence Harvey for Room at the Top as Joseph "Joe" Lampton
- Jack Lemmon for Some Like It Hot as Jerry / Daphne
- Paul Muni for The Last Angry Man as Dr. Samuel "Sam" Abelman
- Jimmy Stewart for Anatomy of a Murder as Paul Biegler
1960s
- 1960: Burt Lancaster for Elmer Gantry as Elmer Gantry
- Trevor Howard for Sons and Lovers as Walter Morel
- Jack Lemmon for The Apartment as C.C. "Bud" Baxter
- Laurence Olivier for The Entertainer as Archie Rice
- Spencer Tracy for Inherit the Wind as Henry Drummond
- 1961: Maximilian Schell for Judgment at Nuremberg as Hans Rolfe
- Charles Boyer for Fanny as César
- Paul Newman for The Hustler as Eddie "Fast Eddie" Felson
- Spencer Tracy for Judgment at Nuremberg as Chief Judge Dan Haywood
- Stuart Whitman for The Mark as Jim Fuller
- 1962: Gregory Peck for To Kill a Mockingbird as Atticus Finch
- Burt Lancaster for Birdman of Alcatraz as Robert Franklin Stroud
- Jack Lemmon for Days of Wine and Roses as Joe Clay
- Marcello Mastroianni for Marriage Italian Style as Ferdinando Cefalù
- Peter O'Toole for Lawrence of Arabia as T. E. Lawrence
- 1963: Sidney Poitier for Lilies of the Field as Homer Smith
- Albert Finney for Tom Jones as Tom Jones
- Richard Harris for This Sporting Life as Frank Machin
- Rex Harrison for Cleopatra as Julius Caesar
- Paul Newman for Hud as Hud Bannon
- 1964: Rex Harrison for My Fair Lady as Henry Higgins
- Richard Burton for Becket as Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury
- Peter O'Toole for Becket as King Henry II of England
- Anthony Quinn for Zorba the Greek as Alexis Zorba
- Peter Sellers for Dr. Strangelove as Group Captain Lionel Mandrake / President Merkin Muffley / Dr. Strangelove
- 1965: Lee Marvin for Cat Ballou as Kid Shelleen / Tim Strawn
- Richard Burton for The Spy Who Came in from the Cold as Alec Leamas
- Laurence Olivier for Othello as Othello
- Rod Steiger for The Pawnbroker as Sol Nazerman
- Oskar Werner for Ship of Fools as Dr. Willie Schumann
- 1966: Paul Scofield for A Man for All Seasons as Thomas More
- Alan Arkin for The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming as Lieutenant Yuri Rozanov
- Richard Burton for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as George
- Michael Caine for Alfie as Alfie Elkins
- Steve McQueen for The Sand Pebbles as Jake Holman
- 1967: Rod Steiger for In the Heat of the Night as Police Chief William "Bill" Gillespie
- Warren Beatty for Bonnie and Clyde as Clyde Barrow
- Dustin Hoffman for The Graduate as Benjamin Braddock
- Paul Newman for Cool Hand Luke as Lucas "Cool Hand Luke" Jackson
- Spencer Tracy (posthumous) for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner as Matt Drayton
- 1968: Cliff Robertson for Charly as Charly Gordon
- Alan Arkin for The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter as John Singer
- Alan Bates for The Fixer as Yakov Bok
- Ron Moody for Oliver! as Fagin
- Peter O'Toole for The Lion in Winter as King Henry II of England
- 1969: John Wayne for True Grit as Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn
- Richard Burton for Anne of the Thousand Days as King Henry VIII of England
- Dustin Hoffman for Midnight Cowboy as Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo
- Peter O'Toole for Goodbye, Mr. Chips as Arthur Chipping
- Jon Voight for Midnight Cowboy as Joe Buck
1970s
- 1970: George C. Scott for Patton as General George S. Patton
- Melvyn Douglas for I Never Sang for My Father as Tom Garrison
- James Earl Jones for The Great White Hope as Jack Jefferson
- Jack Nicholson for Five Easy Pieces as Robert "Bobby" Dupea
- Ryan O'Neal for Love Story as Oliver Barrett IV
- 1971: Gene Hackman for The French Connection as Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle
- Peter Finch for Sunday Bloody Sunday as Dr. Daniel Hirsh
- Walter Matthau for Kotch as Joseph P. Kotcher
- George C. Scott for The Hospital as Dr. Herbert "Herb" Bock
- Topol for Fiddler on the Roof as Tevye
- 1972: Marlon Brando for The Godfather as Vito Corleone
- Michael Caine for Sleuth as Milo Tindle
- Laurence Olivier for Sleuth as Andrew Wyke
- Peter O'Toole for The Ruling Class as Jack Gurney, 14th Earl of Gurney
- Paul Winfield for Sounder as Nathan Lee Morgan
- 1973: Jack Lemmon for Save the Tiger as Harry Stoner
- Marlon Brando for Last Tango in Paris as Paul
- Jack Nicholson for The Last Detail as Signalman First Class Billy L. "Badass" Buddusky
- Al Pacino for Serpico as Officer Frank Serpico
- Robert Redford for The Sting as Johnny Hooker / Kelly
- 1974: Art Carney for Harry and Tonto as Harry Coombes
- Albert Finney for Murder on the Orient Express as Detective Hercule Poirot
- Dustin Hoffman for Lenny as Lenny Bruce
- Jack Nicholson for Chinatown as J.J. "Jake" Gittes
- Al Pacino for The Godfather Part II as Michael Corleone
- 1975: Jack Nicholson for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as Randle Patrick "Mac" McMurphy
- Walter Matthau for The Sunshine Boys as Willy Clark
- Al Pacino for Dog Day Afternoon as Sonny Wortzik
- Maximilian Schell for The Man in the Glass Booth as Arthur Goldman
- James Whitmore for Give 'em Hell, Harry! as President Harry S. Truman
- 1976: Peter Finch (posthumous) for Network as Howard Beale
- Robert De Niro for Taxi Driver as Travis Bickle
- Giancarlo Giannini for Seven Beauties as Pasqualino Frafuso
- William Holden for Network as Max Schumacher
- Sylvester Stallone for Rocky as Robert "Rocky" Balboa
- 1977: Richard Dreyfuss for The Goodbye Girl as Elliot Garfield
- Woody Allen for Annie Hall as Alvy Singer
- Richard Burton for Equus as Dr. Martin Dysart
- Marcello Mastroianni for A Special Day as Gabriele
- John Travolta for Saturday Night Fever as Anthony "Tony" Manero
- 1978: Jon Voight for Coming Home as Luke Martin
- Warren Beatty for Heaven Can Wait as Joe Pendleton / Leo Farnsworth / Tom Jarrett
- Gary Busey for The Buddy Holly Story as Buddy Holly
- Robert De Niro for The Deer Hunter as Staff Sergeant Michael "Mike" Vronsky
- Laurence Olivier for The Boys from Brazil as Ezra Lieberman
- 1979: Dustin Hoffman for Kramer vs. Kramer as Ted Kramer
- Jack Lemmon for The China Syndrome as Jack Godell
- Al Pacino for ...And Justice for All as Arthur Kirkland
- Roy Scheider for All That Jazz as Joe Gideon
- Peter Sellers for Being There as Chance / Chauncey Gardiner
1980s
- 1980: Robert De Niro for Raging Bull as Jake LaMotta
- Robert Duvall for The Great Santini as Lieutenant Colonel Wilbur "Bull" Meechum
- John Hurt for The Elephant Man as John Merrick
- Jack Lemmon for Tribute as Scottie Templeton
- Peter O'Toole for The Stunt Man as Eli Cross
- 1981: Henry Fonda for On Golden Pond as Norman Thayer
- Warren Beatty for Reds as John Reed
- Burt Lancaster for Atlantic City as Lou Pascal
- Dudley Moore for Arthur as Arthur Bach
- Paul Newman for Absence of Malice as Michael Gallagher
- 1982: Ben Kingsley for Gandhi as Mahatma Gandhi
- Dustin Hoffman for Tootsie as Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels
- Jack Lemmon for missing. as Edmund "Ed" Horman
- Paul Newman for The Verdict as Frank Galvin
- Peter O'Toole for My Favorite Year as Alan Swann
- 1983: Robert Duvall for Tender Mercies as Mac Sledge
- Michael Caine for Educating Rita as Dr. Frank Bryant
- Tom Conti for Reuben, Reuben as Gowan McGland
- Tom Courtenay for The Dresser as Norman
- Albert Finney for The Dresser as Sir
- 1984: F. Murray Abraham for Amadeus as Antonio Salieri
- Jeff Bridges for Starman as Starman / Scott Hayden
- Albert Finney for Under the Volcano as Geoffrey Firmin
- Tom Hulce for Amadeus as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Sam Waterston for The Killing Fields as Sydney Schanberg
- 1985: William Hurt for Kiss of the Spider Woman as Luis Molina
- Harrison Ford for Witness as Detective Sergeant John Book
- James Garner for Murphy's Romance as Murphy Jones
- Jack Nicholson for Prizzi's Honor as Charley Partanna
- Jon Voight for Runaway Train as Oscar "Manny" Manheim
- 1986: Paul Newman for The Color of Money as Eddie "Fast Eddie" Felson
- Dexter Gordon for Round Midnight as Dale Turner
- Bob Hoskins for Mona Lisa as George
- William Hurt for Children of a Lesser God as James Leeds
- James Woods for Salvador as Richard Boyle
- 1987: Michael Douglas for Wall Street as Gordon Gekko
- William Hurt for Broadcast News as Tom Grunick
- Marcello Mastroianni for Dark Eyes as Romano Patroni
- Jack Nicholson for Ironweed as Francis Phelan
- Robin Williams for Good Morning, Vietnam as Adrian Cronauer
- 1988: Dustin Hoffman for Rain Man as Raymond Babbitt
- Gene Hackman for Mississippi Burning as Special Agent Rupert Anderson
- Tom Hanks for Big as Josh Baskin
- Edward James Olmos for Stand and Deliver as Jamie Escalante
- Max von Sydow for Pelle the Conqueror as Lassefar "Lasse" Karlsson
- 1989: Daniel Day-Lewis for My Left Foot as Christy Brown
- Kenneth Branagh for Henry V as King Henry V of England
- Tom Cruise for Born on the Fourth of July as Ron Kovic
- Morgan Freeman for Driving Miss Daisy as Hoke Colburn
- Robin Williams for Dead Poets Society as John Charles "Keats" Keating
1990s
- 1990: Jeremy Irons for Reversal of Fortune as Claus von Bülow
- Kevin Costner for Dances with Wolves as Lieutenant John J. Dunbar
- Robert De Niro for Awakenings as Leonard Lowe
- Gérard Depardieu for Cyrano de Bergerac as Cyrano de Bergerac
- Richard Harris for The Field as Bull McCabe
- 1991: Anthony Hopkins for The Silence of the Lambs as Dr. Hannibal Lecter
- Warren Beatty for Bugsy as Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel
- Robert De Niro for Cape Fear as Maximilian "Max" Cady
- Nick Nolte for The Prince of Tides as Tom Wingo
- Robin Williams for The Fisher King as Henry "Parry" Sagan
- 1992: Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade
- Robert Downey Jr. for Chaplin as Charlie Chaplin
- Clint Eastwood for Unforgiven as William "Will" Munny
- Stephen Rea for The Crying Game as Fergus
- Denzel Washington for Malcolm X as Malcolm Little / Malcolm X
- 1993: Tom Hanks for Philadelphia as Andrew Beckett
- Daniel Day-Lewis for In the Name of the Father as Gerard "Gerry" Conlon
- Laurence Fishburne for What's Love Got to Do with It as Ike Turner
- Anthony Hopkins for The Remains of the Day as James Stevens
- Liam Neeson for Schindler's List as Oskar Schindler
- 1994: Tom Hanks for Forrest Gump as Forrest Gump
- Morgan Freeman for The Shawshank Redemption as Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding
- Nigel Hawthorne for The Madness of King George as King George III
- Paul Newman for Nobody's Fool as Donald "Sully" Sullivan
- John Travolta for Pulp Fiction as Vincent Vega
- 1995: Nicolas Cage for Leaving Las Vegas as Ben Sanderson
- Richard Dreyfuss for Mr. Holland's Opus as Glenn Holland
- Anthony Hopkins for Nixon as President Richard Nixon
- Sean Penn for Dead Man Walking as Mathew Poncelet
- Massimo Troisi (posthumous) for Il Postino as Mario Ruoppolo
- 1996: Geoffrey Rush for Shine as David Helfgott
- Tom Cruise for Jerry Maguire as Jerry Maguire
- Ralph Fiennes for The English Patient as Count László de Almásy
- Woody Harrelson for The People vs. Larry Flynt as Larry Flynt
- Billy Bob Thornton for Sling Blade as Karl Childers
- 1997: Jack Nicholson for As Good as It Gets as Melvin Udall
- Matt Damon for Good Will Hunting as Will Hunting
- Robert Duvall for The Apostle as Euliss "Sonny" Dewey / The Apostle
- Peter Fonda for Ulee’s Gold as Ulysses "Ulee" Jackson
- Dustin Hoffman for Wag the Dog as Stanley Motss
- 1998: Roberto Benigni for Life Is Beautiful as Guido Orefice
- Tom Hanks for Saving Private Ryan as Captain John H. Miller
- Ian McKellen for Gods and Monsters as James Whale
- Nick Nolte for Affliction as Wade Whitehouse
- Edward Norton for American History X as Derek Vinyard
- 1999: Kevin Spacey for American Beauty as Lester Burnham
- Russell Crowe for The Insider as Jeffery Wigand
- Richard Farnsworth for The Straight Story as Alvin Straight
- Sean Penn for Sweet and Lowdown as Emmet Ray
- Denzel Washington for The Hurricane as Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter
2000s
- 2000: Russell Crowe for Gladiator as Maximus Decimus Meridius
- Javier Bardem for Before Night Falls as Reinaldo Arenas
- Tom Hanks for Cast Away as Chuck Noland
- Ed Harris for Pollock as Jackson Pollock
- Geoffrey Rush for Quills as the Marquis de Sade
- 2001: Denzel Washington for Training Day as Detective Alonzo Harris
- Russell Crowe for A Beautiful Mind as John Forbes Nash Jr.
- Sean Penn for i am sam as Samuel "Sam" Dawson
- Will Smith for Ali as Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali
- Tom Wilkinson for In the Bedroom as Dr. Matt Fowler
- 2002: Adrien Brody for The Pianist as Władysław Szpilman
- Nicolas Cage for Adaptation. as Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman
- Michael Caine for The Quiet American as Thomas Fowler
- Daniel Day-Lewis for Gangs of New York as William "Bill The Butcher" Cutting
- Jack Nicholson for About Schmidt as Warren R. Schmidt
- 2003: Sean Penn for Mystic River as Jimmy Markum
- Johnny Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl as Captain Jack Sparrow
- Ben Kingsley for House of Sand and Fog as Colonel Massoud Amir Behrani
- Jude Law for Cold Mountain as W.P. Inman
- Bill Murray for Lost in Translation as Bob Harris
- 2004: Jamie Foxx for Ray as Ray Charles
- Don Cheadle for Hotel Rwanda as Paul Rusesabinga
- Johnny Depp for Finding Neverland as James "J.M." Barrie
- Leonardo DiCaprio for The Aviator as Howard Hughes
- Clint Eastwood for Million Dollar Baby as Frankie Dunn
- 2005: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote as Truman Capote
- Terrence Howard for Hustle & Flow as DJay
- Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain as Ennis Del Mar
- Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line as Johnny Cash
- David Strathairn for Good Night, and Good Luck. as Edward R. Murrow
- 2006: Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland as Idi Amin
- Leonardo DiCaprio for Blood Diamond as Danny Archer
- Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson as Dan Dunne
- Peter O'Toole for Venus as Maurice Russell
- Will Smith for The Pursuit of Happyness as Chris Gardiner
- 2007: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood as Daniel Plainview
- George Clooney for Michael Clayton as Michael Clayton
- Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street as Sweeney Todd / Benjamin Barker
- Tommy Lee Jones for In the Valley of Elah as Hank Deerfield
- Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises as Nikolai Luzhin
- 2008: Sean Penn for Milk as Harvey Milk
- Richard Jenkins for The Visitor as Walter Vale
- Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon as Richard Nixon
- Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as Benjamin Button
- Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler as Randy "The Ram" Robinson
- 2009: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart as Otis "Bad Blake" Blake
- George Clooney for Up in the Air as Ryan Bingham
- Colin Firth for A Single Man as George Falconer
- Morgan Freeman for Invictus as President Nelson Mandela
- Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker as Sergeant First Class William James
2010s
- 2010: Colin Firth for The King's Speech as King George VI
- Javier Bardem for Biutiful as Uxbal
- Jeff Bridges for True Grit as Rueben "Rooster" Cogburn
- Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network as Mark Zuckerberg
- James Franco for 127 Hours as Aron Ralston
- 2011: Jean Dujardin for The Artist as George Valentin
- Demián Bichir for A Better Life as Carlos Galindo
- George Clooney for The Descendants as Matthew "Matt" King
- Gary Oldman for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy as George Smiley
- Brad Pitt for Moneyball as Billy Beane
- 2012: Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln as President Abraham Lincoln
- Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook as Patrizio "Pat" Solitano Jr.
- Hugh Jackman for Les Miserables as Jean Valjean
- Joaquin Phoenix for The Master as Freddie Quell
- Denzel Washington for Flight as Captain William "Whip" Whitaker Sr.
- 2013: Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club as Ron Woodruff
- Christian Bale for American Hustle as Irving Rosenfeld
- Bruce Dern for Nebraska! as Woodrow "Woody" Grant
- Leonardo DiCaprio for The Wolf of Wall Street as Jordan Belfort
- Chiwetel Ejiofor for 12 Years a Slave as Solomon Northup
- 2014: Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything as Stephen Hawking
- Steve Carell for Foxcatcher as John Eleuthère du Pont
- Bradley Cooper for American Sniper as Chris Kyle
- Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game as Alan Turing
- Michael Keaton for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) as Riggan Thomson / Birdman
- 2015: Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant as Hugh Glass
- Bryan Cranston for Trumbo as Dalton Trumbo
- Matt Damon for The Martian as Mark Watney
- Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs as Steve Jobs
- Eddie Redmayne for The Danish Girl as Lili Elbe / Einar Wegener
- 2016: Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea as Lee Chandler
- Andrew Garfield for Hacksaw Ridge as Desmond Doss
- Ryan Gosling for La La Land as Sebastian Wilder
- Viggo Mortensen for Captain Fantastic as Ben Cash
- Denzel Washington for Fences as Troy Maxson
- 2017: Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour as Prime Minister Winston Churchill
- Timothée Chalamet for Call Me by Your Name as Elio Perlman
- Daniel Day-Lewis for Phantom Thread as Reynolds Woodcock
- Daniel Kaluuya for Get Out as Chris Washington
- Denzel Washington for Roman J. Israel, Esq. as Roman J. Israel
- 2018: Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody as Freddie Mercury
- Christian Bale for Vice as Vice President Dick Cheney
- Bradley Cooper for A Star Is Born as Jackson Maine
- Willem Dafoe for At Eternity's Gate as Vincent van Gogh
- Viggo Mortensen for Green Book as Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga
- 2019: Joaquin Phoenix for Joker as Arthur Fleck / Joker
- Antonio Banderas for Pain and Glory as Salvador Mallo
- Leonardo DiCaprio for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as Rick Dalton
- Adam Driver for Marriage Story as Charlie Barber
- Jonathan Pryce for The Two Popes as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio / Pope Francis
2020s
- 2020-21: Anthony Hopkins for The Father as Anthony
- Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal as Ruben Stone
- Chadwick Boseman (posthumous) for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as Levee Green
- Gary Oldman for Mank as Herman J. Mankiewicz
- Steven Yeun for Minari as Jacob Yi
- 2021: Will Smith for King Richard as Richard Williams
- Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos as Desi Arnaz
- Benedict Cumberbatch for The Power of the Dog as Phil Burbank
- Andrew Garfield for tick, tick... BOOM! as Jonathan "Jon" Larson
- Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth as Lord Macbeth
- 2022: Brendan Fraser for The Whale as Charlie
- Austin Butler for Elvis as Elvis Presley
- Colin Farrell for The Banshees of Inisherin as Pádraic Súilleabháin
- Paul Mescal for Aftersun as Calum Paterson
- Bill Nighy for Living as Mr. Rodney Williams
- 2023: Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer as Robert Oppenheimer
- Bradley Cooper for Maestro as Leonard Bernstein
- Colman Domingo for Rustin as Bayard Rustin
- Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers as Paul Hunham
- Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction as Thelonius "Monk" Ellison
