Every Golden Globes Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy winner

26 ceremonies, 2000–2025. 23 different winners.

Colin Farrell ×2Paul Giamatti ×2Sacha Baron Cohen ×2

One band per year, because no winner here has ever gone back-to-back. Colored by network / distributor; scroll sideways for the full run.

Jim Carrey'00

George Clooney'01

Gene Hackman'02

Richard Gere'03

Bill Murray'04

Jamie Foxx'05

Joaquin Phoenix'06

Sacha Baron Cohen'07

Johnny Depp'08

Colin Farrell'09

Robert Downey Jr.'10

Paul Giamatti'11

Jean Dujardin'12

Hugh Jackman'13

Leonardo DiCaprio'14

Michael Keaton'15

Matt Damon'16

Ryan Gosling'17

James Franco'18

Christian Bale'19

Taron Egerton'20

Sacha Baron Cohen'21

Andrew Garfield'22

Colin Farrell'23

Paul Giamatti'24

Sebastian Stan'25

Wins by network / distributor

Universal720th Century3A242Disney2Paramount2Searchlight2Other8

Who kept losing

Counting nominations in this category only, 2000–2025.

Most nominated, never won

Hugh Grant4 noms
Billy Bob Thornton2 noms
Brendan Gleeson2 noms
Daniel Craig2 noms
Ewan McGregor2 noms
Jack Black2 noms

Most losses

Johnny Depp5L · 1W
Hugh Grant4L · 0W
Joaquin Phoenix3L · 1W
Bill Murray2L · 1W
Billy Bob Thornton2L · 0W
Brendan Gleeson2L · 0W

The full list

Year	Winner	Network / Distributor
2025	Sebastian Stan (A Different Man) beat 5 others Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain) Hugh Grant (Heretic) Gabriel LaBelle (Saturday Night) Jesse Plemons (Kinds of Kindness) Glen Powell (Hit Man)	A24
2024	Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers) beat 5 others Nicolas Cage (Dream Scenario) Timothée Chalamet (Wonka) Matt Damon (Air) Joaquin Phoenix (Beau Is Afraid) Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)	Focus Features
2023	Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin) beat 4 others Diego Calva (Babylon) Daniel Craig (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) Adam Driver (White Noise) Ralph Fiennes (The Menu)	Searchlight Pictures
2022	Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick... Boom!) beat 4 others Leonardo DiCaprio (Don't Look Up) Peter Dinklage (Cyrano) Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza) Anthony Ramos (In the Heights)	Netflix
2021	Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) beat 4 others James Corden (The Prom) Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) Dev Patel (The Personal History of David Copperfield) Andy Samberg (Palm Springs)	Amazon Studios
2020	Taron Egerton (Rocketman) beat 4 others Daniel Craig (Knives Out) Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit) Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name)	Paramount
2019	Christian Bale (Vice) beat 4 others Lin-Manuel Miranda (Mary Poppins Returns) Viggo Mortensen (Green Book) Robert Redford (The Old Man & the Gun) John C. Reilly (Stan & Ollie)	Annapurna Pictures
2018	James Franco (The Disaster Artist) beat 4 others Steve Carell (Battle of the Sexes) Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver) Hugh Jackman (The Greatest Showman) Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out)	A24
2017	Ryan Gosling (La La Land) beat 4 others Colin Farrell (The Lobster) Hugh Grant (Florence Foster Jenkins) Jonah Hill (War Dogs) Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool)	Lionsgate
2016	Matt Damon (The Martian) beat 4 others Christian Bale (The Big Short) Steve Carell (The Big Short) Al Pacino (Danny Collins) Mark Ruffalo (Infinitely Polar Bear)	20th Century Fox
2015	Michael Keaton (Birdman) beat 4 others Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel) Bill Murray (St. Vincent) Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice) Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes)	Fox Searchlight
2014	Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street) beat 4 others Christian Bale (American Hustle) Bruce Dern (Nebraska) Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) Joaquin Phoenix (Her)	Paramount
2013	Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables) beat 4 others Jack Black (Bernie) Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) Ewan McGregor (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) Bill Murray (Hyde Park on Hudson)	Universal
2012	Jean Dujardin (The Artist) beat 4 others Brendan Gleeson (The Guard) Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50) Ryan Gosling (Crazy, Stupid, Love.) Owen Wilson (Midnight in Paris)	The Weinstein Company
2011	Paul Giamatti (Barney's Version) beat 4 others Johnny Depp (Alice in Wonderland) Johnny Depp (The Tourist) Jake Gyllenhaal (Love & Other Drugs) Kevin Spacey (Casino Jack)	Sony Pictures Classics
2010	Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes) beat 4 others Matt Damon (The Informant!) Daniel Day-Lewis (Nine) Joseph Gordon-Levitt ((500) Days of Summer) Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man)	Warner Bros.
2009	Colin Farrell (In Bruges) beat 4 others Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) James Franco (Pineapple Express) Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) Dustin Hoffman (Last Chance Harvey)	Focus Features
2008	Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) beat 4 others Ryan Gosling (Lars and the Real Girl) Tom Hanks (Charlie Wilson's War) Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Savages) John C. Reilly (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story)	DreamWorks/Warner Bros.
2007	Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) beat 4 others Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) Aaron Eckhart (Thank You for Smoking) Chiwetel Ejiofor (Kinky Boots) Will Ferrell (Stranger than Fiction)	20th Century Fox
2006	Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line) beat 5 others Pierce Brosnan (The Matador) Jeff Daniels (The Squid and the Whale) Johnny Depp (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) Nathan Lane (The Producers) Cillian Murphy (Breakfast on Pluto)	20th Century Fox
2005	Jamie Foxx (Ray) beat 4 others Jim Carrey (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) Paul Giamatti (Sideways) Kevin Kline (De-Lovely) Kevin Spacey (Beyond the Sea)	Universal
2004	Bill Murray (Lost in Translation) beat 4 others Jack Black (School of Rock) Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) Jack Nicholson (Something's Gotta Give) Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa)	Focus Features
2003	Richard Gere (Chicago) beat 4 others Nicolas Cage (Adaptation.) Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down) Hugh Grant (About a Boy) Adam Sandler (Punch-Drunk Love)	Miramax
2002	Gene Hackman (The Royal Tenenbaums) beat 4 others Hugh Jackman (Kate & Leopold) Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge!) John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) Billy Bob Thornton (Bandits)	Buena Vista/Touchstone
2001	George Clooney (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) beat 4 others Jim Carrey (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) John Cusack (High Fidelity) Robert De Niro (Meet the Parents) Mel Gibson (What Women Want)	Buena Vista/Touchstone
2000	Jim Carrey (Man on the Moon) beat 4 others Robert De Niro (Analyze This) Rupert Everett (An Ideal Husband) Hugh Grant (Notting Hill) Sean Penn (Sweet and Lowdown)	Universal

More Golden Globes categories

Film (Drama)Film (Comedy)TV (Drama)TV (Comedy)Director Film Actor (Drama)Film Actress (Drama)Film Actress (Comedy)Browse the full show

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