Research in progress, March 15, 2025
It includes Brandon Fraser (teacher), Cillian Murphy (scientist), Brody (designer-architect)
BEST ACTOR WINNERS:
85 actors (Last Name, A to Z)
96 performances (roles; 1 tie)
My Oscar Book
Professions
AIDS Activists
Hanks, Tom, Philadelphia, 1993
Penn, Sean, Milk, 2008
McConaughey, Matthew, Dallas Buyers Club, 2014
Crime:
Baxter, Warner, Mexican bandit, In Old Arizona, 1928
Marvin, Lee, Cat Ballou, 1965, ex-gunslinger
Brando, Marlon, The Godfather, 1972
Nicholson, Jack, One Flew Over Cuckoo’s Nest, 1975
Executives
Lemon, Jack, Save the Tiger, 1973
Hoffman, Dustin, Kramer Vs Kramer, 1979
Spacey, Kevin, American Beauty, 1999
Gay
Hurt, William, drag queen, Kiss of Spider Woman, 1985
Hanks, Tom, Philadelphia, 1993
Penn, Sean, Milk, 2008
Brendan Fraser, The Whale, 2022
Sports/Boxing:
Beery, Wallace, The Champ, 1931/2
Brando, Marlon, On Waterfront, 1954
De Niro, Raging Bull, 1980
Smith, Will, King Richard, 2021
Captains:
Tracy, Spencer, Captains Courageous, 1938
Bogart, Humphrey, The African Queen, 1951
Policemen/Detectives: 2
Steiger, Rod, In the Heat, 1967
Hackman, Gene, French Connection, 1971
Legal (Attorneys, Lawyers): 4
Barrymore, Lionel,
Schell, Maxmillian, Judgment at Nuremberg, 1961
Peck, Gregory, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962
Hanks, Tom, Philadelphia, 1993
Medical
Military: Generals, Marshals: 9
Jannings, Emil, The Last Command, 1927/8
Cooper, Gary, Sergeant York, 1942
March, Fredric, Best Years, 1946
Cooper, Gary, High Noon, 1952
Niven, David, ex, Separate Tables, 1958
Wayne, John, True Grit, 1969
Scott, George C. Patton, 1971
Crowe, Russell, Gladiator, 2000
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland, Idi Amin, 2006
News Media: Reporters, Columnists
Gable, Clark, It Happened One Night, 1934
Stewart, Jimmy, The Philadelphia Story, 1940
Finch, Peter, Network, 1976
Politicians: 6
Arliss, George, Disraeli, 1930
Lukas, Paul, Nazi Fighter, Watch on Rhine, 1943
Crawford, Broderick, All the King’s, 1949
Kingsley, Ben, Gandhi, 1982
Penn, Sean, Gay Mayor, Milk, 2008
Day-Lewis, Daniel, Lincoln, 2012
Religion: Fathers/Priests
Tracy, Spencer, Boys Town, 1937
Crosby, Bing, Going My Way, 1944
Scofield, Paul, A Man for All Seasons, 1966
Royalty: Kings, Princes
Laughton, Charles, Private Life Henry VIII, 1933
Olivier, Laurence, Hamlet, 1948
Brynner, Yul, King and I, 1956
Heston, Charles, Ben Hur, 1959
Firth, Colin, King’s Speech, 2010
Science: 2
Muni, Paul. Chemist, The Story of Louis Pasteur, 1936
Eddie Redmayne, Theory of Everything, 2013
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer, 2023
Showbiz: Actors/Singers/Pianists: 13
Cagney, James, Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1943
Crosby, Bing, Singer/Priest, Going My Way, 1944
Colman, Ronald Double Life, 1947
Dreyfuss, Richard, Good Girl, 1977
Duvall, Robert, Tender Mercies, 1983
Day Lewis, My Left Foot, 1989
Bridges, Jeff, Crazy Heart, 2009
Rush, Geoffrey, Shine, 1996
Brody, Adrien, The Pianist, 2002
Jamie Foxx, Ray, 2004
Dujardin, Jean, The Artist, 2011
Malek, Rami, Bohemian Rhapsody, 2018
Phoenix, Juaquin, Joker, 2019
Teachers/Professors
Donat, Robert, Goodbye Mr, Chips, 1939
Fonda, Henry, On Golden Pond, 1981
Brendan Fraser, gay teacher, The Whale, 2022
Writers/Novelists:
Miland, Ray, The Lost Weekend, 1944
Ferrer, Jose, Cyrano, 1950
Hoffman, Seymour Philip, Capote, 2005
Disabled/Retarded: 2
Robertson, Cliff, Charley, 1968
Hoffman, Dustin, Rain Man, 1988
Old/Retired/Obese
Harry and Tonto, 1974
Fonda, Henry, Retired, On Golden Pond, 1981
Hopkins, Anthony, Dementia, The Father, 2020
Fraser, Brendan, The Whale, 2022
A to Z
(including Hopkins, 2020 and Will Smith, so22)
Abraham, Murray F. composer
Affleck, Casey, janitor
Arliss, George, politician
Barrymore, Lionel, lawyer
Baxter, Warner, bandit
Beery, Wallace, boxer
Benigni, Robert, store owner
Bogart, Humphrey, boat skipper
Borgnine, Ernest, butcher
10. Brando, Marlon, worker and Mafia Don (2 Best Actor, 1954, 1972)
Bridges, Jeff, singer
Brody, Adrien, pianist, architect (2 Best Actors, 2002, 2024)
Brynner, Yul, king
Cage, Nicolas, writer
Cagney, James, showman
Carney, Art, retired
Colman, Ronald, actor
Cooper, Gary, soldier, marshal (2 Best Actor, 1941, 1952)
Crawford, Broderick, politician
20. Crowe, Russell, soldier
Crosby, Bing, priest/singer
Day-Lewis, Daniel, writer, oil prospector, president (3 Best Actor, 1989, 2007, 2012)
De Niro, Robert, boxer
DiCaprio, Leonardo, trapper
Donat, Robert, teacher
Douglas, Michael, exec, raider
Dreyfuss, Richard, actor
Dujardin, Jean, actor
Duvall, Robert, singer
30. Ferrer, Jose, writer
Finch, Peter, anchorman
Firth, Colin, king
Fonda, Henry, retired profess0r
Foxx, Jamie, singer (Ray)
Fraser, Brendan (The Whale), 2022
Gable, Clark, reporter
Guinness, Alec, General
Hackman, Gene
Hanks, Tom lawyer/AIDS activist, autist (2 Best Actor, 1993, 1994)
40. Harrison, Rex, professor
Heston, Charlton, prince
Hoffman, Dustin ad exec, autistic (2 Best Actor, 1979, 1988)
Hoffman, Philip Seymour, writer
Holden, William, soldier-prisoner
Hopkins, Anthony, serial killer, aged dementia (2 Best Actor, 1991, 2020)
Hurt, William, drag queen
Irons, Jeremy, aristocrat
Jannings, Emil,
Kingsley, Ben, politician
50. Lancaster, Burt
Laughton, Charles, king
Lemmon, Jack, exec
Lukas, Paul, Nazi fighter
McConoughey, Matthew, AIDS activist
McLaglen, Victor, politics/informer
Malek, Rami, singer (Queen)
March, Fredric, war vet (2 Best Actor, 1930, 1946)
Marvin, Lee, ex-gunslinger
Miland, Ray, writer
60. Muni, Paul, scientist
61. Murphy, Cillian, scientist
Newman, Paul, store owner
Nicholson, Jack, (2 Best Actor, 1975, 1997)
Niven, David, ex-officer
Oldman, Gary, politician
Olivier, Laurence, prince
Pacino, Al, ex-general
Peck, Gregory, lawyer
Penn, Sean, storeowner, Mayor (2 Best Actor, 2003, 2008)
70. Phoenix, Joaquin, criminal, showman
Poitier, Sidney, handyman
Redmayne, Eddie, scientist
Robertson, Cliff, disabled
Rush, Geoffrey, pianist
Schell, Maximillian, lawyer
Scofield, Paul, Sir religion
Scott, George C., General
Smith, Will, sports
Spacey, Kevin, exec
80. Steiger, Rod, detective
Stewart, Jimmy, reporter
Tracy, Spencer, priest (2 Best Actor, 1936, 1937)
Voight, Jon, war vet
Washington, Denzel, police detective
Wayne, John, marshal
86. Whitaker, Forest, politician
NOMINEES (Last Name, A to Z)
Allen, Woody
Arkin, Alan
Ayres, Lew
Bale, Christian
Banderas, Antonio
Bancroft, George
Bardem, Xavier
Barthelmes, Richard
Bates, Alan
Beatty, Warren
Begnini, Roberto
Boseman, Chadwick
Boyer, Charles
Branagh, Kenneth
Burton, Richard
Busey, Gary
Caine, Michael
Carell, Steve
Calhern, Lewis
Chalamet, Timothee
Chaplin, Charlie
Cheadle, Done
Chevalier, Maurice
Clift, Monty
Clooney, George
Conti, Tom
Cooper, Bradley
Cooper, Jackie
Costner, Kevin
Courtenay, Tom
Cranston, Bryan
Cruise, Tom
Cumberbatch, Benedict
Curtis, Tony
Dailey, Dan
Damon, Matt
Dean, James
Depardieu, Gerard
Depp, Johnny
Dern, Bruce
Dexter, Gordon
Dix, Richard
Douglas, Kirk
Douglas, Melvyn
Downey, Robert Jr.
Driver, Adam
Eastwood, Clint
Ejiofor, Chiwetel
Farnsworth, Richard
Fassbender, Michael
Fienes, Ralph
Finney, Albert
Fishburne, Lawrence
Fitzgerald, Barry
Fonda, Peter
Ford, Harrison
Franciosa, Anthony
Freeman, Morgan
Garfield, Andrew
Garfield, John
Garner, James
Giannini, Giancarlo
Goslin, Ryan
Grant, Cary
Harrelson, Woody
Harris, Ed
Harris, Richard
Harvey, Lawrence
Hawthorne, Nigel
Hoskins, Bob
Howard, Leslie
Howard, Terrence
Howard, Trevor
Hudson, Rock
Hulce, Tom
Hurt, John
Huston, Walter
Jenkins, Richard
Jones, James Earl
Jones, Tommy Lee
Kaluuya, Daniel
Keaton, Michael
Kelly, Gene
Kennedy, Arthur
Knox, Alexander
Langella, Frank
Ledger, Heath
Lunt, Alfred
McKellen, Ian
McQueen, Steve
Mason, James
Massey, Raymond
Mastroiann, Marcello
Matthau, Walter
Menjou, Adolph
Montgomery, Robert
Moody, Ron
Moore, Dudley
Morgan, Frank
Morris, Chester
Mortensen, Viggo
Murray, Bill
Neeson, Liam
Nolte, Nick
Norton, Edward
O’Herlihy, Dan
O’Neal, Ryan
O’Toole, Peter
Parks, Larry
Pidgeon, Walter
Pitt, Brad
Powell, William
Pryce, Jonathan
Quinn, Anthony
Rea, Stephen
Redford, Robert
Redgrave, Michael
Renner, Jeremy
Rooney, Mickey
Rourke, Mickey
Scheider, Roy
Sellers, Peter
Sinatra, Frank
Smith, Will
Stallone, Sylvester
Stone, Lewis
Strathairn, David
Thornton, Billy Bob
Tibbett, Lawrence
Todd, Richard
Tone, Franchot
Topol
Travolta, John
Troisi, Massimo
Von Sydow, Max
Watrston, Sam
Webb, Clifton
Welles, Orson
Werner, Oskar
Whitman, Stuart
Whitmore, James
Wilde, Cornell
Wilkinson, Tom
Winfield, Paul
Williams, Robin
Woods, James
Wooley, Monty
Emil Jannings was the first winner of this category for his roles in “The Last Command” (1928) and “The Way of All Flesh” (1927).
Fredric March won two Best Actors, for his roles in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).
Clark Gable won for his performance in It Happened One Night (1934).
Paul Muni won for his portrayal of Louis Pasteur in The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936).
Spencer Tracy was the first actor to win this award over two consecutive years for his roles in Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938) (and received seven other nominations).
James Stewart won for his performance in The Philadelphia Story (1940).
Gary Cooper won twice for his roles in Sergeant York (1941) and High Noon (1952).
James Cagney won for his portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942).
Bing Crosby won for his performance in Going My Way (1944).
Laurence Olivier won for his performance as the title role in Hamlet (1948), a film which he directed himself.
Humphrey Bogart won for his performance in The African Queen (1951).
William Holden won for his performance in Stalag 17 (1953).
Burt Lancaster won for his performance in Elmer Gantry (1960).
Gregory Peck won for his performance as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).
Sidney Poitier won for his performance in Lilies of the Field (1963), becoming the first black actor to win this category.
John Wayne won for his performance as Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn in True Grit (1969).
Jack Lemmon was nominated seven times, winning for his performance in Save the Tiger (1973).
Jack Nicholson won twice from eight nominations for his roles in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and As Good as It Gets (1997).
Dustin Hoffman won twice from seven nominations for his roles in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Rain Man (1988).
Robert De Niro won once from five nominations for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980).
Ben Kingsley won for his portrayal of the title role in Gandhi (1982).
Paul Newman won for his performance in The Color of Money (1986).
Daniel Day-Lewis is the first and only actor to win this award three times for his roles in My Left Foot (1989), There Will Be Blood (2007), and Lincoln (2012).
Anthony Hopkins won once from three nominations for his performance as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
Al Pacino won once from five nominations for his performance in Scent of a Woman (1992).
Tom Hanks won two consecutive times for his roles in Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994) (and received three other nominations).
Geoffrey Rush won for his portrayal of David Helfgott in Shine (1996).
By virtue of his win for Life Is Beautiful (1998), Roberto Benigni became the second actor to win this award for a role in a film he directed himself (the first being Laurence Olivier).
Russell Crowe won for his performance in Gladiator (2000).
Denzel Washington won for his performance in Training Day (2001).
At age 29, Adrien Brody became the youngest actor to win this award for his portrayal of Władysław Szpilman in The Pianist (2002).
Sean Penn won twice from five nominations for his roles in Mystic River (2003) and Milk (2008).
Forest Whitaker won for his portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006).
Jeff Bridges won for his performance in Crazy Heart (2009).
Colin Firth won for his portrayal of King George VI in The King’s Speech (2010).
Jean Dujardin became the first French actor to win this award for his performance in The Artist (2011).
Eddie Redmayne won for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014).
Leonardo DiCaprio won for his portrayal of Hugh Glass in The Revenant (2015).
Casey Affleck won for his performance in Manchester by the Sea (2016).
Gary Oldman won for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour (2017).
Rami Malek won for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018); the first Arab to win the award.
