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Every Oscars Best Actor winner

26 ceremonies, 2000–2025. 23 different winners.

Adrien Brody ×2Daniel Day-Lewis ×2Sean Penn ×2
One band per year, because no winner here has ever gone back-to-back. 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
Wins by distributor
Universal9Warner Bros.420th Century2A242Searchlight2Sony2Other5

Who kept losing

Counting nominations in this category only, 2000–2025.

Most nominated, never won

  • Bradley Cooper4 noms
  • George Clooney3 noms
  • Javier Bardem3 noms
  • Johnny Depp3 noms
  • Viggo Mortensen3 noms
  • Andrew Garfield2 noms

Most losses

  • Denzel Washington5L · 1W
  • Bradley Cooper4L · 0W
  • Leonardo DiCaprio4L · 1W
  • George Clooney3L · 0W
  • Javier Bardem3L · 0W
  • Johnny Depp3L · 0W

The full list

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

More Oscars categories

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