Every Golden Globes Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama winner

26 ceremonies, 2000–2025. 24 different winners.

Daniel Day-Lewis ×2Leonardo DiCaprio ×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.

Denzel Washington'00

Tom Hanks'01

Russell Crowe'02

Jack Nicholson'03

Sean Penn'04

Leonardo DiCaprio'05

Philip Seymour Hoffman'06

Forest Whitaker'07

Daniel Day-Lewis'08

Mickey Rourke'09

Jeff Bridges'10

Colin Firth'11

George Clooney'12

Daniel Day-Lewis'13

Matthew McConaughey'14

Eddie Redmayne'15

Leonardo DiCaprio'16

Casey Affleck'17

Gary Oldman'18

Rami Malek'19

Joaquin Phoenix'20

Chadwick Boseman'21

Will Smith'22

Austin Butler'23

Cillian Murphy'24

Adrien Brody'25

Wins by network / distributor

Universal6Warner Bros.5Searchlight420th Century3A241Disney1Other6

Who kept losing

Counting nominations in this category only, 2000–2025.

Most nominated, never won

Javier Bardem3 noms
Benedict Cumberbatch2 noms
Brad Pitt2 noms
Bradley Cooper2 noms
Colman Domingo2 noms
Kevin Spacey2 noms

Most losses

Denzel Washington6L · 1W
Leonardo DiCaprio6L · 2W
Russell Crowe4L · 1W
Javier Bardem3L · 0W
Will Smith3L · 1W
Benedict Cumberbatch2L · 0W

The full list

Year	Winner	Network / Distributor
2025	Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) beat 5 others Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown) Daniel Craig (Queer) Colman Domingo (Sing Sing) Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice)	A24
2024	Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) beat 5 others Bradley Cooper (Maestro) Leonardo DiCaprio (Killers of the Flower Moon) Colman Domingo (Rustin) Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers)	Universal
2023	Austin Butler (Elvis) beat 4 others Brendan Fraser (The Whale) Hugh Jackman (The Son) Bill Nighy (Living) Jeremy Pope (The Inspection)	Warner Bros.
2022	Will Smith (King Richard) beat 4 others Mahershala Ali (Swan Song) Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos) Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog) Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth)	Warner Bros.
2021	Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) beat 4 others Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) Anthony Hopkins (The Father) Gary Oldman (Mank) Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian)	Netflix
2020	Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) beat 4 others Christian Bale (Ford v. Ferrari) Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory) Adam Driver (Marriage Story) Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)	Warner Bros.
2019	Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) beat 4 others Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) Willem Dafoe (At Eternity's Gate) Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased) John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman)	20th Century Fox
2018	Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) beat 4 others Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name) Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread) Tom Hanks (The Post) Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.)	Focus Features
2017	Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea) beat 4 others Joel Edgerton (Loving) Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge) Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic) Denzel Washington (Fences)	Roadside Attractions/Amazon
2016	Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) beat 4 others Bryan Cranston (Trumbo) Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs) Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl) Will Smith (Concussion)	20th Century Fox
2015	Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) beat 4 others Steve Carell (Foxcatcher) Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) David Oyelowo (Selma)	Focus Features
2014	Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) beat 4 others Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) Robert Redford (All Is Lost)	Focus Features
2013	Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln) beat 4 others Richard Gere (Arbitrage) John Hawkes (The Sessions) Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) Denzel Washington (Flight)	Disney/Touchstone
2012	George Clooney (The Descendants) beat 4 others Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar) Michael Fassbender (Shame) Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March) Brad Pitt (Moneyball)	Fox Searchlight
2011	Colin Firth (The King's Speech) beat 4 others Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) James Franco (127 Hours) Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine) Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter)	The Weinstein Company
2010	Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) beat 4 others George Clooney (Up in the Air) Colin Firth (A Single Man) Morgan Freeman (Invictus) Tobey Maguire (Brothers)	Fox Searchlight
2009	Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) beat 4 others Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road) Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) Sean Penn (Milk) Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)	Fox Searchlight
2008	Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood) beat 4 others George Clooney (Michael Clayton) James McAvoy (Atonement) Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises) Denzel Washington (American Gangster)	Paramount Vantage/Miramax
2007	Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) beat 4 others Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond) Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed) Peter O'Toole (Venus) Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)	Fox Searchlight
2006	Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) beat 4 others Russell Crowe (Cinderella Man) Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow) Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain) David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck)	Sony Pictures Classics/UA
2005	Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator) beat 4 others Javier Bardem (The Sea Inside) Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland) Liam Neeson (Kinsey)	Miramax/Warner Bros.
2004	Sean Penn (Mystic River) beat 4 others Russell Crowe (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) Tom Cruise (The Last Samurai) Ben Kingsley (House of Sand and Fog) Jude Law (Cold Mountain)	Warner Bros.
2003	Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt) beat 4 others Adrien Brody (The Pianist) Michael Caine (The Quiet American) Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York) Leonardo DiCaprio (Catch Me If You Can)	New Line Cinema
2002	Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind) beat 4 others Will Smith (Ali) Kevin Spacey (The Shipping News) Billy Bob Thornton (The Man Who Wasn't There) Denzel Washington (Training Day)	Universal/DreamWorks
2001	Tom Hanks (Cast Away) beat 4 others Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls) Russell Crowe (Gladiator) Michael Douglas (Wonder Boys) Geoffrey Rush (Quills)	20th Century Fox/DreamWorks
2000	Denzel Washington (The Hurricane) beat 4 others Russell Crowe (The Insider) Matt Damon (The Talented Mr. Ripley) Richard Farnsworth (The Straight Story) Kevin Spacey (American Beauty)	Universal

More Golden Globes categories

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

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