The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, has been honoring the best performances in cinema since 1929. The Oscars are regarded as the most prestigious awards in the movie industry, and the Best Actor award is one of the most sought-after accolades. Take a look at this article to find out about the nominations, awards, and performances for Best Actor at the Academy Awards.
A Brief History of the Best Actor Award
The Best Actor award at the Academy Awards was first presented in 1929, when Emil Jannings was honored for his performances in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh. Since then, hundreds of performances have been nominated, including several iconic ones, such as Laurence Olivier in 1948 for Hamlet and Marlon Brando in 1954 for On The Waterfront.
Best Actor contenders have included a wide range of talent, from rising stars to the most experienced screen veterans. Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, and Daniel Day-Lewis have all been nominated more than once.
The 2020 Oscar Winner
This year, at the 92nd Academy Awards, Joaquin Phoenix took home the Best Actor award for his role in Joker. Phoenix was selected from a list of five stunning nominees; Adam Driver from Marriage Story, Antonio Banderas from Pain and Glory, Leonard DiCaprio from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Jonathan Pryce from The Two Popes.
The Nominations and Winners Over the Decades
The 1930s
In the first decade of Best Actor awards, Emil Jannings was the only actor to take home the Oscar twice, once in 1929 and then again in 1930. He was followed by Lionel Barrymore in 1931 and Fredric March in 1932. The decade ended with Victor McLaglen winning the award for The Informer in 1935.
The 1940s
The 1940s saw some legendary Oscar-winning performances come out of Hollywood. The decade opened with James Stewart for The Philadelphia Story in 1940 and Laurence Olivier in 1941 for his iconic portrayal of Hamlet. Humphrey Bogart took home the award for Casablanca in 1943 and Gary Cooper for Sergeant York in 1942.
The 1950s
The 1950s brought some of the best performances in the history of film. Marlon Brando won for On the Waterfront in 1954 and the following year, Ernest Borgnine was honored for his role in Marty. Yul Brynner was awarded the Oscar for The King and I in 1956, while Alec Guinness won the following year for The Bridge on the River Kwai. Charlton Heston closed off the decade in 1959 for Ben-Hur.
The 1960s
The first actor to win the Best Actor award in the 1960s was the great Burt Lancaster who won the award in 1960 for Elmer Gantry. Two years later, the award went to Maximilian Schell in Judgment at Nuremberg. Gregory Peck won the award for To Kill A Mockingbird in 1963, and Sidney Poitier won for Lilies of the Field two years later.
The turbulent 60s ended with Rod Steiger’s powerful portrayal of a Mafia Don from 1967’s The Gentleman from Milan and John Wayne for True Grit in 1969.
The 1970s
The first Best Actor award handed out in the 1970s went to John Voight for Coming Home. The following year, Dustin Hoffman won for Kramer vs. Kramer. In 1981, Robert De Niro won for Raging Bull and Klaus Maria Brandauer for Mephisto. One year later, Henry Fonda won for On Golden Pond.
The 1980s
The 1980s was a great decade for cinema and the winners at the Academy Awards reflected that. Robert De Niro became the first actor to win twice in the decade when he won for The Deer Hunter in 1979. The year after that, Robert Duvall won the award for his role in Apocalypse Now.
The following year, Peter Finch took home the award for Network in 1981. The award for 1982 was split between Brestup Halson for Gandhi and Ben Kingsley for his portrayal of the same leader. The decade wound up with four Oscars for Michael Ddouglas, for Wall Street in 1989.
The 1990s
In the 90s, the Oscars experienced a change in the selection of characters, moving away from the powerful roles and towards lighter ones. The decade opened with Daniel Day-Lewis’ mesmerizing performance in My Left Foot in 1989.
The following year, Jeremy Irons won the award for Reversal of Fortune. The award for 1992 went to Anthony Hopkins for his legendary portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. The next year, and the only one to win back to back Oscars, was Tom Hanks, who won for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump in 1993 and 1994.
The 2000s
The new millennium ushered in the Academy Awards awarding historical characters. Russell Crowe took home the award in 2000 for Gladiator and Denzel Washington won in 2001 for Training Day.
Sean Penn won the award for Mystic River in 2003, and Jamie Foxx won for Ray in 2004.
The 2010s
At the beginning of the decade, Jeff Bridges won for Crazy Heart in 2010 and Jean Dujardin won for The Artist in 2012. Daniel Day-Lewis won his third Best Actor award for his role in Lincoln in 2013, and Eddie Redmayne won his first Oscar in 2014 for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.
In 2015, Leonardo DiCaprio’s electric portrayal of Hugh Glass in The Revenant earned him his first Oscar, followed by Casey Affleck’s performance in Manchester by the Sea the following year.
In 2018, Rami Malek won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, and the following year, Joaquin Phoenix coined his name as the Best Actor winner for his role in Joker.
For over nine decades, a wide range of performances have been nominated and awarded the Best Actor award at the Academy awards. It has been an honor for Hollywood’s most talented performers and even years later, these classic performances still awe audiences around the world.
