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A visual history · Oscars

The winners who defined Actor.

97 ceremonies, 1929–2025. 87 different winners. The longest run belongs to Spencer Tracy, with 2 straight wins.

Who won most recently?
Adrien Brody in 2025 for The Brutalist.
Who has won the most?
Daniel Day-Lewis, 3 wins (1990, 2008, 2013).
  1. The BrutalistAdrien Brody
  2. OppenheimerCillian Murphy
  3. The WhaleBrendan Fraser
  4. King RichardWill Smith
  5. The FatherAnthony Hopkins
  6. JokerJoaquin Phoenix
Years explored
1929–2025
Different winners
87
Category leader
Daniel Day-Lewis · 3

2000–2025

26 ceremonies

19292025

01 / The reigns

23 winners shaped this category.

The timeline turns the 2000–2025 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited distributor.

  1. 01
    Adrien Brody2 wins
  2. 02
    Daniel Day-Lewis2 wins
  3. 03
    Sean Penn2 wins
One band per year, because no winner has gone back-to-back in the years on record. Colored by distributor; scroll sideways for the full run.
Kevin Spacey'00
Russell Crowe'01
Denzel Washington'02
Adrien Brody'03
Sean Penn'04
Jamie Foxx'05
Philip Seymour Hoffman'06
Forest Whitaker'07
Daniel Day-Lewis'08
Sean Penn'09
Jeff Bridges'10
Colin Firth'11
Jean Dujardin'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
Anthony Hopkins'21
Will Smith'22
Brendan Fraser'23
Cillian Murphy'24
Adrien Brody'25

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

Universal leads the recorded distributor credits with 9 wins, 2000–2025. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

Universal9 wins
Warner Bros.4 wins
20th Century2 wins
A242 wins
Searchlight2 wins
Sony2 wins
Wins by distributor
  1. Universal935%
  2. Warner Bros.415%
  3. 20th Century28%
  4. A2428%
  5. Searchlight28%
  6. Sony28%
  7. Other519%

03 / The near misses

The names that kept coming back without the ending they wanted.

Counting nominations in this category only, 2000–2025.

Most nominated, never won this award

  1. 01
    Bradley Cooper
    4 noms
  2. 02
    George Clooney
    3 noms
  3. 03
    Javier Bardem
    3 noms
  4. 04
    Johnny Depp
    3 noms
  5. 05
    Viggo Mortensen
    3 noms
  6. 06
    Andrew Garfield
    2 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    Denzel Washington
    5L · 1W
  2. 02
    Bradley Cooper
    4L · 0W
  3. 03
    Leonardo DiCaprio
    4L · 1W
  4. 04
    George Clooney
    3L · 0W
  5. 05
    Javier Bardem
    3L · 0W
  6. 06
    Johnny Depp
    3L · 0W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2000–2025. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerDistributor
2025Adrien Brody (The Brutalist)
beat 4 others
  • Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)
  • Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)
  • Ralph Fiennes (Conclave)
  • Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice)
A24
2024Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)
beat 4 others
  • Bradley Cooper (Maestro)
  • Colman Domingo (Rustin)
  • Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)
  • Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)
Universal Pictures
2023Brendan Fraser (The Whale)
beat 4 others
  • Austin Butler (Elvis)
  • Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin)
  • Paul Mescal (Aftersun)
  • Bill Nighy (Living)
A24
2022Will Smith (King Richard)
beat 4 others
  • Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos)
  • Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog)
  • Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick... Boom!)
  • Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth)
Warner Bros.
2021Anthony Hopkins (The Father)
beat 4 others
  • Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal)
  • Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom)
  • Gary Oldman (Mank)
  • Steven Yeun (Minari)
Sony Pictures Classics
2020Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
beat 4 others
  • Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory)
  • Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
  • Adam Driver (Marriage Story)
  • Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)
Warner Bros.
2019Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)
beat 4 others
  • Christian Bale (Vice)
  • Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born)
  • Willem Dafoe (At Eternity's Gate)
  • Viggo Mortensen (Green Book)
20th Century Fox
2018Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)
beat 4 others
  • Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name)
  • Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread)
  • Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out)
  • Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.)
Focus Features
2017Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
beat 4 others
  • Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)
  • Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
  • Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)
  • Denzel Washington (Fences)
Amazon Studios
2016Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
beat 4 others
  • Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
  • Matt Damon (The Martian)
  • Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
  • Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)
20th Century Fox
2015Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
beat 4 others
  • Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
  • Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)
  • Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
  • Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Focus Features
2014Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
beat 4 others
  • Christian Bale (American Hustle)
  • Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
  • Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
  • Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Focus Features
2013Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
beat 4 others
  • Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)
  • Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables)
  • Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)
  • Denzel Washington (Flight)
Touchstone Pictures
2012Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
beat 4 others
  • Demián Bichir (A Better Life)
  • George Clooney (The Descendants)
  • Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
  • Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
The Weinstein Company
2011Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
beat 4 others
  • Javier Bardem (Biutiful)
  • Jeff Bridges (True Grit)
  • Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
  • James Franco (127 Hours)
The Weinstein Company
2010Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
beat 4 others
  • George Clooney (Up in the Air)
  • Colin Firth (A Single Man)
  • Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
  • Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
Fox Searchlight Pictures
2009Sean Penn (Milk)
beat 4 others
  • Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
  • Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
  • Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
  • Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Focus Features
2008Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
beat 4 others
  • George Clooney (Michael Clayton)
  • Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street)
  • Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah)
  • Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises)
Paramount Vantage
2007Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)
beat 4 others
  • Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond)
  • Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson)
  • Peter O'Toole (Venus)
  • Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)
Fox Searchlight Pictures
2006Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
beat 4 others
  • Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow)
  • Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain)
  • Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line)
  • David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck)
Sony Pictures Classics
2005Jamie Foxx (Ray)
beat 4 others
  • Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda)
  • Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland)
  • Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator)
  • Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby)
Universal Pictures
2004Sean Penn (Mystic River)
beat 4 others
  • Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
  • Ben Kingsley (House of Sand and Fog)
  • Jude Law (Cold Mountain)
  • Bill Murray (Lost in Translation)
Warner Bros.
2003Adrien Brody (The Pianist)
beat 4 others
  • Nicolas Cage (Adaptation.)
  • Michael Caine (The Quiet American)
  • Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York)
  • Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt)
Focus Features
2002Denzel Washington (Training Day)
beat 4 others
  • Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind)
  • Sean Penn (I Am Sam)
  • Will Smith (Ali)
  • Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom)
Warner Bros.
2001Russell Crowe (Gladiator)
beat 4 others
  • Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls)
  • Tom Hanks (Cast Away)
  • Ed Harris (Pollock)
  • Geoffrey Rush (Quills)
DreamWorks Pictures
2000Kevin Spacey (American Beauty)
beat 4 others
  • Russell Crowe (The Insider)
  • Richard Farnsworth (The Straight Story)
  • Sean Penn (Sweet and Lowdown)
  • Denzel Washington (The Hurricane)
DreamWorks Pictures