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Academy Award for Best Actor - Nominees

The Academy Award for Best Actor, introduced at the awards debut in 1929, is presented annually for the best achievement in acting by a leading actor in a film from the previous year.

The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actress winner. From 1929–31, actors were nominated for their work in all qualifying films released during the eligibility period—as many as three films. From 1932 on, actors have been nominated for a specific performance in a single film.

Sorted chronologically by awards year. Winners in BOLD. Acceptance speech linked in Notes (where available).

UPDATED: May 2026

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WINNERS LIST | SITE MAP

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AWARD RECORDS:
Most Awards: Daniel Day-Lewis (3)
Most Nominations: Laurence Olivier & Spencer Tracy (9)
Most Nominations Without a Win: Peter O'Toole (8)

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CATEGORY NAME HISTORY:
1929–1976: Academy Award for Best Actor
1977–Present: Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role

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  • The Last Command

    1

  • The Noose

    2

  • The Patent Leather Kid

    3

  • The Way of All Flesh

    4

  • Alibi

    5

  • In Old Arizona

    6

  • The Patriot

    7

  • Thunderbolt

    8

  • The Valiant

    9

  • The Big House

    10

  • Disraeli

    11

  • The Love Parade

    12

  • The Big Pond

    13

  • Bulldog Drummond

    14

  • Condemned!

    15

  • The Green Goddess

    16

  • The Rogue Song

    17

  • Cimarron

    18

  • The Front Page

    19

  • Skippy

    20

  • A Free Soul

    21

  • The Royal Family of Broadway

    22

  • The Champ

    23

  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    24

  • The Guardsman

    25

  • I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

    26

  • The Private Life of Henry VIII

    27

  • Berkeley Square

    28

  • It Happened One Night

    29

  • The Thin Man

    30

  • The Affairs of Cellini

    31

  • Mutiny on the Bounty

    32

  • The Informer

    33

  • Black Fury

    34

  • Dodsworth

    35

  • Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

    36

  • San Francisco

    37

  • The Story of Louis Pasteur

    38

  • My Man Godfrey

    39

  • The Life of Emile Zola

    40

  • Captains Courageous

    41

  • A Star Is Born

    42

  • Conquest

    43

  • Night Must Fall

    44

  • Boys Town

    45

  • The Citadel

    46

  • Pygmalion

    47

  • Algiers

    48

  • Angels with Dirty Faces

    49

  • Gone with the Wind

    50

  • Goodbye, Mr. Chips

    51

  • Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

    52

  • Wuthering Heights

    53

  • Babes in Arms

    54

  • Rebecca

    55

  • The Grapes of Wrath

    56

  • The Great Dictator

    57

  • The Philadelphia Story

    58

  • Abe Lincoln in Illinois

    59

  • Citizen Kane

    60

  • Here Comes Mr. Jordan

    61

  • Sergeant York

    62

  • All That Money Can Buy

    63

  • Penny Serenade

    64

  • Mrs. Miniver

    65

  • The Pied Piper

    66

  • The Pride of the Yankees

    67

  • Random Harvest

    68

  • Yankee Doodle Dandy

    69

  • Casablanca

    70

  • For Whom the Bell Tolls

    71

  • The Human Comedy

    72

  • Madame Curie

    73

  • Watch on the Rhine

    74

  • Going My Way

    75

  • Gaslight

    76

  • Wilson

    77

  • None But the Lonely Heart

    78

  • The Lost Weekend

    79

  • Anchors Aweigh

    80

  • The Bells of St. Mary's

    81

  • The Keys of the Kingdom

    82

  • A Song to Remember

    83

  • The Best Years of Our Lives

    84

  • Henry V

    85

  • It's a Wonderful Life

    86

  • The Yearling

    87

  • The Jolson Story

    88

  • Gentleman's Agreement

    89

  • Body and Soul

    90

  • A Double Life

    91

  • Life with Father

    92

  • Mourning Becomes Electra

    93

  • Hamlet

    94

  • Johnny Belinda

    95

  • The Search

    96

  • Sitting Pretty

    97

  • When My Baby Smiles at Me

    98

  • All the King's Men

    99

  • Twelve O'Clock High

    100