ACADEMY AWARDS - BEST ACTOR

1. Emil Jannings

His real name was Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz, and in the early 1900s, he was already working in the theater under Max Reinhardt's company. Important movies where he defined himself as a convincing actor were Passion (1919) and Quo Vadis? (1924), followed by The Last Laugh (1924) (aka The Last ...

1927/28 The Last Command as Gen. Dolgorucki / Grand Duke Sergius Alexander and The Way of All Flesh as August Schilling

2. Warner Baxter

Actor | Penthouse

Warner Baxter claimed to have an early pre-disposition toward show business: "I discovered a boy a block away who would eat worms and swallow flies for a penny. For one-third of the profits, I exhibited him in a tent." When he was age 9, his widowed mother moved to San Francisco where, following ...

1928/29 In Old Arizona as The Cisco Kid

3. George Arliss

Actor | Disraeli

One of the oldest actors on the screen in the 1920s and 1930s, George Arliss starred on the London stage from an early age. He came to the United States and starred in several films, but it was his role as British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli in Disraeli (1929) that brought him his greatest ...

1929/30 Disraeli as Benjamin Disraeli

also nominated

1929/30 The Green Goddess as The Raja of Rukh

4. Lionel Barrymore

Actor | You Can't Take It with You

Famed actor, composer, artist, author and director. His talents extended to the authoring of the novel "Mr. Cartonwine: A Moral Tale" as well as his autobiography. In 1944, he joined ASCAP, and composed "Russian Dances", "Partita", "Ballet Viennois", "The Woodman and the Elves", "Behind the Horizon...

1930/31 A Free Soul as Stephen Ashe

also nominated

Best Director

1928/29 Madame X

5. Fredric March

Actor | Inherit the Wind

Fredric March began a career in banking but in 1920 found himself cast as an extra in films being produced in New York. He starred on the Broadway stage first in 1926 and would return there between screen appearances later on. He won plaudits (and an Academy Award nomination) for his send-up of ...

1931/32 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as Dr. Henry L. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde (tied with Wallace Beery) 1946 The Best Years of Our Lives as Al Stephenson

also nominated

1930/31 The Royal Family of Broadway as Tony Cavendish 1936 A Star is Born as Norman Maine 1951 Death of a Salesman as Willy Loman

6. Wallace Beery

Actor | A Date with Judy

In 1902, 16-year-old Wallace Beery joined the Ringling Brothers Circus as an assistant to the elephant trainer. He left two years later after a leopard clawed his arm. Beery next went to New York, where he found work in musical variety shows. He became a leading man in musicals and appeared on ...

1931/32 The Champ as Andy "Champ" Purcell (tied with Fredric March)

also nominated

1929/30 The Big House as 'Machine Gun' Butch Schmidt

7. Charles Laughton

Actor | Witness for the Prosecution

Charles Laughton was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, to Eliza (Conlon) and Robert Laughton, hotel keepers of Irish and English descent, respectively. He was educated at Stonyhurst (a highly esteemed Jesuit college in England) and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (received gold medal). ...

1932/33 The Private Life of Henry VIII as King Henry VIII

also nominated

1935 Mutiny on the Bounty as Captain Bligh 1958 Witness for the Prosecution as Sir Wilfred Robarts

8. Clark Gable

Actor | It Happened One Night

William Clark Gable was born on February 1, 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio, to Adeline (Hershelman) and William Henry Gable, an oil-well driller. He was of German, Irish, and Swiss-German descent. When he was seven months old, his mother died, and his father sent him to live with his maternal aunt and uncle ...

1934 It Happened One Night as Peter Warne

also nominated

1935 Mutiny on the Bounty as Fletcher Christian 1939 Gone with the Wind as Rhett Butler

9. Victor McLaglen

Actor | The Quiet Man

Rambunctious British leading man (contrary to popular belief, he was of Scottish ancestry, not Irish) and later character actor primarily in American films, Victor McLaglen was a vital presence in a number of great motion pictures, especially those of director John Ford. McLaglen (pronounced ...

1935 The Informer as Gypo Nolan

10. Paul Muni

Actor | Scarface

Paul Muni was born Sept. 22, 1895, in Lemberg, Austro-Hungarian Empire, to Salli and Phillip Weisenfreund, who were both professionals. His family was Jewish, and spoke Yiddish. Paul was educated in New York and Cleveland public schools. He was described as 5 feet 10 inches, with black hair and ...

1936 The Story of Louis Pasteur as Louis Pasteur

also nominated

1928/29 The Valiant as James Dyke 1932/33 I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang as James Allen 1935 Black Fury as Joe Radek 1937 The Life of Emile Zola as Émile Zola 1959 The Last Angry Man as Dr. Sam Abelman

11. Spencer Tracy

Actor | Judgment at Nuremberg

Spencer Tracy was the second son born on April 5, 1900, to truck salesman John Edward and Caroline Brown Tracy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While attending Marquette Academy, he and classmate Pat O'Brien quit school to enlist in the Navy at the start of World War I. Tracy was still at Norfolk Navy Yard...

1937 Captains Courageous as Manuel 1938 Boys Town as Father Flanagan

also nominated

1936 San Francisco as Father Mullin 1950 Father of the Bride as Stanley T. Banks 1955 Bad Day at Black Rock as John J. Macreedy 1958 The Old Man and the Sea as The Old Man/Narrator 1960 Inherit the Wind as Henry Drummond 1961 Judgment at Nuremberg as Chief Judge Dan Haywood 1967 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? as Matt Drayton

12. Robert Donat

Actor | The 39 Steps

Robert Donat's pleasant voice and somewhat neutral English accent were carefully honed as a boy because he had a stammer and took elocution lessons starting at age 11 to overcome the impediment. It was not too surprising that freedom from such a vocal embarrassment was encouragement to act. His ...

1939 Goodbye, Mr. Chips as Arthur Chipping

also nominated

1938 The Citadel as Dr. Andrew Manson

13. James Stewart

Actor | Vertigo

James Maitland Stewart was born on May 20, 1908, in Indiana, Pennsylvania, to Elizabeth Ruth (Johnson) and Alexander Maitland Stewart, who owned a hardware store. He was of Scottish, Ulster-Scots, and some English descent. Stewart was educated at a local prep school, Mercersburg Academy, where he ...

1940 The Philadelphia Story as Macaulay Connor

also nominated

1939 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as Jefferson Smith 1946 It's a Wonderful Life as George Bailey 1950 Harvey as Elwood P. Dowd 1959 Anatomy of a Murder as Paul Biegler

1985 Honorary Award 'For his fifty years of memorable performances,, for his high ideals both on and off the screen, with respect and affection of his colleagues.'

14. Gary Cooper

Actor | High Noon

Born to Alice Cooper and Charles Cooper. Gary attended school at Dunstable school England, Helena Montana and Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa (then called Iowa College). His first stage experience was during high school and college. Afterwards, he worked as an extra for one year before getting a ...

1941 Sergeant York as Alvin C. York 1952 High Noon as Marshal Will Kane

also nominated

1936 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town as Longfellow Deeds 1942 The Pride of the Yankees as Lou Gehrig 1943 For Whom the Bell Tolls as Robert Jordan

1961 Honorary Award 'For his many memorable screen performances and the international recognition he, as an individual, has gained for the motion picture industry'

15. James Cagney

Actor | Angels with Dirty Faces

One of Hollywood's preeminent male stars of all time, James Cagney was also an accomplished dancer and easily played light comedy. James Francis Cagney was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, to Carolyn (Nelson) and James Francis Cagney, Sr., who was a bartender and amateur ...

1942 Yankee Doodle Dandy as George M. Cohan

also nominated

1938 Angels with Dirty Faces as Rocky Sullivan 1955 Love Me or Leave Me as Martin Snyder

16. Paul Lukas

Actor | Watch on the Rhine

Oscar-winning actor Paul Lukas was born in Hungary and graduated from the School for Dramatic Arts. In 1916 he went to Kosice (Kassa) to be an actor; in 1918 he became an actor specializing in comedy. For ten years he was the most popular character player and romantic lead of the company. In 1918 ...

1943 Watch on the Rhine as Kurt Muller

17. Bing Crosby

Actor | White Christmas

Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr. in Tacoma, Washington, the fourth of seven children of Catherine (Harrigan) and Harry Lincoln Crosby, a brewery bookkeeper. He was of English and Irish descent. Crosby studied law at Gonzaga University in Spokane but was more interested in playing the ...

1944 Going My Way as Father Chuck O'Malley

also nominated

1945 The Bells of St. Mary's as Father Chuck O'Malley 1954 The Country Girl as Frank Elgin

18. Ray Milland

Actor | The Lost Weekend

Ray Milland became one of Paramount's most bankable and durable stars, under contract from 1934 to 1948, yet little in his early life suggested a career as a motion picture actor.

Milland was born Alfred Reginald Jones in the Welsh town of Neath, Glamorgan, to Elizabeth Annie (Truscott) and Alfred ...

1945 The Lost Weekend as Don Birnam

19. Ronald Colman

Actor | A Double Life

British leading man of primarily American films, one of the great stars of the Golden Age. Raised in Ealing, the son of a successful silk merchant, he attended boarding school in Sussex, where he discovered amateur theatre. He intended to attend Cambridge and become an engineer, but his father's ...

1947 A Double Life as Anthony John

also nominated

1929/30 Bulldog Drummond as Capt. Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond 1929/30 Condemned as Michael 1942 Random Harvest as Charles Rainier

20. Laurence Olivier

Actor | Sleuth

Laurence Olivier could speak William Shakespeare's lines as naturally as if he were "actually thinking them", said English playwright Charles Bennett, who met Olivier in 1927. Laurence Kerr Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, England, to Agnes Louise (Crookenden) and Gerard Kerr Olivier, a High ...

1948 Hamlet as Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

also nominated

1939 Wuthering Heights as Heathcliff 1940 Rebecca as Maxim de Winter 1946 Henry V as King Henry V of England 1956 Richard III as King Richard III of England 1960 The Entertainer as Archie Rice 1965 Othello as Othello 1972 Sleuth as Andrew Wyke 1978 The Boys from Brazil as Ezra Lieberman

also nominated

Best Director

1948 Hamlet

also nominated

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1976 Marathon Man as Dr. Christian Szell

Academy Honorary Award

1946 "for his outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen."

1978 "for the full body of his work, for the unique achievements of his entire career and his lifetime of contribution to the art of film."

21. Broderick Crawford

Actor | All the King's Men

Broderick Crawford is best remembered for two roles: his Oscar-winning turn as Willie Stark in All the King's Men (1949) and as Chief Dan Mathews on the syndicated TV series Highway Patrol (1955). He was also memorable as Judy Holliday's vulgar partner in Born Yesterday (1950), roles both actors ...

1949 All the King's Men as Willie Stark

22. José Ferrer

Actor | The Caine Mutiny

José Ferrer was a Puerto Rican actor and film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for playing the title character in Cyrano de Bergerac (1950). Ferrer was the first Puerto Rican actor to win an Academy Award, and also the first Hispanic actor to win an Academy Award.

In 1912, Ferrer was...

1950 Cyrano de Bergerac as Cyrano de Bergerac

also nominated

1952 Moulin Rouge as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

also nominated

for Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1948 Joan of Arc as The Dauphin, Charles VII, later King of France

23. Humphrey Bogart

Actor | Casablanca

Humphrey DeForest Bogart was born in New York City, New York, to Maud Humphrey, a famed magazine illustrator and suffragette, and Belmont DeForest Bogart, a moderately wealthy surgeon (who was secretly addicted to opium). Bogart was educated at Trinity School, NYC, and was sent to Phillips Academy ...

1951 The African Queen as Charlie Allnut

also nominated

1943 Casablanca as Rick Blaine 1954 The Caine Mutiny as Lt. Cmdr. Philip Francis Queeg

24. William Holden

Actor | Stalag 17

Billy Wilder proclaimed William Holden to be "the ideal motion picture actor". For almost four decades, the handsome, affable 'Golden Holden' was among Hollywood's most durable and engaging stars. He was born William Franklin Beedle Jr., one of three sons to a high school English teacher, Mary ...

1953 Stalag 17 as Sgt. J.J. Sefton

also nominated

1950 Sunset Boulevard as Joe Gillis 1976 Network as Max Schumacher

25. Marlon Brando

Actor | Apocalypse Now

Marlon Brando is widely considered the greatest movie actor of all time, rivaled only by the more theatrically oriented Laurence Olivier in terms of esteem. Unlike Olivier, who preferred the stage to the screen, Brando concentrated his talents on movies after bidding the Broadway stage adieu in ...

1954 On the Waterfront as Terry Malloy 1972 The Godfather as Vito Corleone

also nominated

1951 A Streetcar Named Desire as Stanley Kowalski 1952 Viva Zapata! as Emiliano Zapata 1953 Julius Caesar as Mark Antony 1957 Sayonara as Maj. Lloyd 'Ace' Gruver 1973 Last Tango in Paris as Paul

also nominated

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1989 A Dry White Season as Ian Mackenzie

26. Ernest Borgnine

Actor | Marty

Ernest Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino on January 24, 1917 in Hamden, Connecticut. His parents were Anna (Boselli), who had emigrated from Carpi (MO), Italy, and Camillo Borgnino, who had emigrated from Ottiglio (AL), Italy. As an only child, Ernest enjoyed most sports, especially boxing, ...

1955 Marty as Marty Piletti

27. Yul Brynner

Actor | The King and I

Exotic leading man of American films, famed as much for his completely bald head as for his performances, Yul Brynner masked much of his life in mystery and outright lies designed to tease people he considered gullible. It was not until the publication of the books "Yul: The Man Who Would Be King" ...

1956 The King and I as King Mongkut of Siam

28. Alec Guinness

Actor | Star Wars

Alec Guinness was an English actor. He is known for his six collaborations with David Lean: Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations (1946), Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948), Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor), Prince Faisal in Lawrence...

1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai as Colonel Nicholson

also nominated

1952 The Lavender Hill Mob as Henry Holland

also nominated

for Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1977 Star Wars as Obi-Wan Kenobi 1988 Little Dorrit as William Dorrit

also nominated

for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

1958 The Horse's Mouth (from the novel by Joyce Cary)

Honorary Award

1980 "For advancing the art of screen acting through a host of memorable and distinguished performances"

29. David Niven

Actor | Murder by Death

His mother was the French Lady Comynyplatt Henrietta de Gacher, his father was the British Lieutenant William Graham Niven, who died in the war when David was six years old. Niven was considered a difficult child to educate and had to change schools often until he finally went to Sandhurst Military...

1958 Separate Tables as Major Angus Pollock

30. Charlton Heston

Actor | Ben-Hur

With features chiseled in stone, and renowned for playing a long list of historical figures, particularly in Biblical epics, the tall, well-built and ruggedly handsome Charlton Heston was one of Hollywood's top leading men of his prime and remained active in front of movie cameras for over sixty ...

1959 Ben-Hur as Judah Ben-Hur

1978 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

31. Burt Lancaster

Actor | From Here to Eternity

Burt Lancaster, one of five children, was born in Manhattan, to Elizabeth (Roberts) and James Henry Lancaster, a postal worker. All his grandparents were immigrants from the north of Ireland. He was a tough street kid who took an early interest in gymnastics. He joined the circus as an acrobat and ...

1960 Elmer Gantry as Elmer Gantry

also nominated

1953 From Here to Eternity as 1st Sgt. Milton Warden 1962 Birdman of Alcatraz as Robert Stroud 1981 Atlantic City as Lou Pascal

32. Maximilian Schell

Actor | Judgment at Nuremberg

Maximilian Schell was the most successful German-speaking actor in English-language films since Emil Jannings, the winner of the first Best Actor Academy Award. Like Jannings, Schell won the Oscar, but unlike him, he was a dedicated anti-Nazi. Indeed, with the exception of Maurice Chevalier and ...

1961 Judgment at Nuremberg as Hans Rolfe

also nominated

1975 The Man in the Glass Booth as Arthur Goldman

also nominated

for Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1977 Julia as Johann

33. Gregory Peck

Actor | To Kill a Mockingbird

Eldred Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916 in La Jolla, California, to Bernice Mae (Ayres) and Gregory Pearl Peck, a chemist and druggist in San Diego. He had Irish (from his paternal grandmother), English, and some German, ancestry. His parents divorced when he was five years old. An only child...

1962 To Kill a Mockingbird as Atticus Finch

also nominated

1945 The Keys of the Kingdom as Father Francis 1946 The Yearling as Ezra 'Penny' Baxter 1947 Gentleman's Agreement as Philip Schuyler Green 1949 Twelve O'Clock High as General Savage

1968 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

34. Sidney Poitier

Actor | In the Heat of the Night

Sidney Poitier was a native of Cat Island, Bahamas, although born, two months prematurely, in Miami during a visit by his parents, Evelyn (Outten) and Reginald James Poitier. He grew up in poverty as the son of farmers, with his father also driving a cab in Nassau. Sidney had little formal ...

1963 Lilies of the Field as Homer Smith

also nominated

1958 The Defiant Ones as Noah Cullen

2002 Honorary Award "For his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence."

35. Rex Harrison

Actor | My Fair Lady

Rex Harrison was born Reginald Carey Harrison in Huyton, Lancashire, England, to Edith Mary (Carey) and William Reginald Harrison, a cotton broker. He changed his name to Rex as a young boy, knowing it was the Latin word for "King". Starting out on his theater career at age 18, his first job at the ...

1964 My Fair Lady as Professor Henry Higgins

also nominated

1963 Cleopatra as Julius Caesar

36. Lee Marvin

Actor | Paint Your Wagon

American actor Lee Marvin was born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr. in New York City. After leaving school aged 18, Marvin enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in August 1942. He served with the 4th Marine Division in the Pacific Theater during World War II and after being wounded in action ...

1965 Cat Ballou as Kid Shelleen/Tim Strawn

37. Paul Scofield

Actor | A Man for All Seasons

Though his number of film roles amount to a bit over 30, Paul Scofield has cast a giant shadow in the world of stage and film acting. He grew up in West Sussex, the son of a schoolmaster. He attended the Varndean School for Boys in Brighton. The love of acting came early. While still high school ...

1966 A Man for All Seasons as Sir Thomas More

also nominated

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1994 Quiz Show as Mark Van Doren

38. Rod Steiger

Actor | In the Heat of the Night

Rodney Stephen Steiger was born in Westhampton, New York, to Augusta Amelia (Driver) and Frederick Jacob Steiger, both vaudevillians. He was of German and Austrian ancestry. After his parents' divorce, Steiger was raised by his mother in Newark, New Jersey. He dropped out of Westside High school at...

1967 In the Heat of the Night as Police Chief Bill Gillespie

also nominated

1965 The Pawnbroker as Sol Nazerman

also nominated

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1954 On the Waterfront as Charley "The Gent" Malloy

39. Cliff Robertson

Actor | Spider-Man

Clifford Parker Robertson III became a fairly successful leading man through most of his career without ever becoming a major star. Following strong stage and television experience, he made an interesting film debut in a supporting role in Picnic (1955). He then played Joan Crawford's deranged ...

1968 Charly as Charly Gordon

40. John Wayne

Actor | True Grit

John Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison in Iowa, to Mary Alberta (Brown) and Clyde Leonard Morrison, a pharmacist. He was of English, Scottish, Ulster-Scots, and Irish ancestry.

Clyde developed a lung condition that required him to move his family from Iowa to the warmer climate of southern ...

1969 True Grit as Rooster Cogburn

also nominated

1949 Sands of Iwo Jima as Sgt. John M. Stryker

also nominated

Best Picture

1960 The Alamo

41. George C. Scott

Actor | Patton

George C. Scott was an immensely talented actor, a star of the big screen, stage and television. He was born on October 18, 1927 in Wise, Virginia, to Helena Agnes (Slemp) and George Dewey Scott. At the age of eight, his mother died, and his father, an executive at Buick, raised him. In 1945, he ...

1970 Patton as Gen. George S. Patton

Scott became the first actor to refuse the Academy Award, stating that he was not in competition with his fellow actors.

also nominated

1971 The Hospital as Doctor Herbert Bock

also nominated

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1959 Anatomy of a Murder as Asst. State Atty. Gen. Claude Dancer 1961 The Hustler as Bert Gordon

42. Gene Hackman

Actor | The French Connection

Eugene Allen Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, the son of Anna Lyda Elizabeth (Gray) and Eugene Ezra Hackman, who operated a newspaper printing press. He is of Pennsylvania Dutch (German), English, and Scottish ancestry, partly by way of Canada, where his mother was born. After ...

1971 The French Connection as "Popeye" Doyle

also nominated

1988 Mississippi Burning as Agent Rupert Anderson

also won

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1992 Unforgiven as Little Bill Daggett

also nominated

1967 Bonnie and Clyde as Buck Barrow 1970 I Never Sang for My Father as Gene Garrison

43. Jack Lemmon

Actor | The Apartment

Jack Lemmon was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Mildred Lankford Noel and John Uhler Lemmon, Jr., the president of a doughnut company. His ancestry included Irish (from his paternal grandmother) and English. Jack attended Ward Elementary near his Newton, MA home. At age 9 he was sent to Rivers ...

1973 Save the Tiger as Harry Stoner

also nominated

1959 Some Like It Hot as Jerry 1960 The Apartment as C. C. 'Bud' Baxter 1962 Days of Wine and Roses as Joe Clay 1979 The China Syndrome as Jack Godell 1980 Tribute as Scottie Templeton 1982 Missing as Ed Horman

also won

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1955 Mister Roberts as Ens. Pulver

44. Art Carney

Actor | Harry and Tonto

Art Carney was an American actor with a lengthy career but is primarily remembered for two roles. In television, Carney played municipal sewer worker Ed Norton in the influential sitcom "The Honeymooners" (1955-1956). In film, Carney played senior citizen Harry Coombes in the road movie "Harry and ...

1974 Harry and Tonto as Harry Coombes

45. Jack Nicholson

Actor | Chinatown

Jack Nicholson, an American actor, producer, director and screenwriter, is a three-time Academy Award winner and twelve-time nominee. Nicholson is also notable for being one of two actors - the other being Michael Caine - who have received an Oscar nomination in every decade from the '60s through ...

1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as Randle Patrick McMurphy 1997 As Good as It Gets as Melvin Udall

also nominated

1970 Five Easy Pieces as Robert Eroica Dupea 1973 The Last Detail as Billy Buddusky 1974 Chinatown as Jake 'J.J.' Gittes 1985 Prizzi's Honor as Charley Partanna 1987 Ironweed as Francis Phelan 2002 About Schmidt as Warren R. Schmidt

also won

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1983 Terms of Endearment as Garrett Breedlove

also nominated

1969 Easy Rider as George Hanson 1981 Reds as Eugene O'Neill 1992 A Few Good Men as Colonel Nathan R. Jessep

46. Peter Finch

Actor | Network

Despite being one of the finest actors of his generation, Peter Finch will be remembered as much for his reputation as a hard-drinking, hell-raising womanizer as for his performances on the screen. He was born in London in 1916 and went to live in Sydney, Australia, at the age of ten. There, he ...

1976 Network as Howard Beale (first actor to be awarded posthumously)

47. Richard Dreyfuss

Actor | The Goodbye Girl

Richard Dreyfuss is an American leading man, who has played his fair share of irritating pests and brash, ambitious hustlers.

He was born Richard Stephen Dreyfus in Brooklyn, New York, to Geraldine (Robbins), an activist, and Norman Dreyfus, a restaurateur and attorney. His paternal grandparents ...

1977 The Goodbye Girl as Elliot Garfield

also nominated

1995 Mr. Holland's Opus as Glenn Holland

48. Jon Voight

Actor | Midnight Cowboy

Jon Voight is an American actor of German and Slovak descent. He has won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as paraplegic Vietnam War veteran Luke Martin in the war film "Coming Home" (1978). He has also been nominated for the same award other two times. He was first ...

1978 Coming Home as Luke Martin

also nominated

1969 Midnight Cowboy as Joe Buck 1985 Runaway Train as Oscar 'Manny' Manheim

also nominated

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

2001 Ali as Howard Cosell

49. Dustin Hoffman

Actor | Tootsie

Dustin Lee Hoffman was born in Los Angeles, California, to Lillian (Gold) and Harry Hoffman, who was a furniture salesman and prop supervisor for Columbia Pictures. He was raised in a Jewish family (from Ukraine, Russia-Poland, and Romania). Hoffman graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1955, ...

1979 Kramer vs. Kramer as Ted Kramer 1988 Rain Man as Raymond Babbitt

also nominated

1967 The Graduate as Benjamin Braddock 1969 Midnight Cowboy as Ratso 1974 Lenny as Lenny Bruce 1982 Tootsie as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels 1997 Wag the Dog as Stanley Motss

50. Robert De Niro

Actor | Cape Fear

One of the greatest actors of all time, Robert De Niro was born on August 17, 1943 in Manhattan, New York City, to artists Virginia (Admiral) and Robert De Niro Sr. His paternal grandfather was of Italian descent, and his other ancestry is Irish, English, Dutch, German, and French. He was trained ...

1980 Raging Bull as Jake LaMotta

also nominated

1976 Taxi Driver as Travis Bickle 1978 The Deer Hunter as Michael Vronsky 1990 Awakenings as Leonard Lowe 1991 Cape Fear as Max Cady

also won

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1974 The Godfather: Part II as Vito Corleone

also nominated

2012 Silver Linings Playbook as Pat Sr.

also nominated

Best Motion Picture of the Year

2019: The Irishman (with Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Jane Rosenthal, Martin Scorsese)

51. Henry Fonda

Actor | 12 Angry Men

This remarkable, soft-spoken American began in films as a diffident juvenile. With passing years, he matured into a star character actor who exemplified not only integrity and strength, but an ideal of the common man fighting against social injustice and oppression. He was born in Grand Island, ...

1981 On Golden Pond as Norman Thayer

also nominated

1940 The Grapes of Wrath as Tom Joad

also nominated (with Reginald Rose)

Best Picture

1957 12 Angry Men

1981 Honorary Award 'The consummate actor, in recognition of his brilliant accomplishments and enduring contribution to the art of motion pictures.'

52. Ben Kingsley

Actor | Sexy Beast

Ben Kingsley was born Krishna Bhanji on December 31, 1943 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England. His father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, was a Kenyan-born medical doctor, of Gujarati Indian descent, and his mother, Anna Lyna Mary (Goodman), was an English actress. Ben began to act in stage plays during ...

1982 Gandhi as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

also nominated

2003 House of Sand and Fog as Massoud Amir Behrani

also nominated

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1991 Bugsy as Meyer Lansky 2001 Sexy Beast as Don Logan

53. Robert Duvall

Actor | The Apostle

Veteran actor and director Robert Selden Duvall was born on January 5, 1931, in San Diego, CA, to Mildred Virginia (Hart), an amateur actress, and William Howard Duvall, a career military officer who later became an admiral. Duvall majored in drama at Principia College (Elsah, IL), then served a ...

1983 Tender Mercies as Mac Sledge

also nominated

1980 The Great Santini as Lieutenant Colonel Bull Meechum 1997 The Apostle as The Apostle E.F.

also nominated

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1972 The Godfather as Tom Hagen 1979 Apocalypse Now as Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore 1998 A Civil Action as Jerome Facher 2014: The Judge as Joseph Palmer

54. F. Murray Abraham

Actor | The Grand Budapest Hotel

Academy Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham was born on October 24, 1939 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised in El Paso, Texas. His father, Fred Abraham, was a Syrian (Antiochian Orthodox Christian) immigrant. His mother, Josephine (Stello) Abraham, was the daughter of Italian immigrants. Born...

1984 Amadeus as Antonio Salieri

55. William Hurt

Actor | A History of Violence

William McChord Hurt was born in Washington, D.C., to Claire Isabel (McGill) and Alfred McChord Hurt, who worked at the State Department. He was trained at Tufts University and The Juilliard School and has been nominated for four Academy Awards, including the most recent nomination for his ...

1985 Kiss of the Spider Woman as Luis Molina

also nominated

1986 Children of a Lesser God as James Leeds 1987 Broadcast News as Tom Grunick

also nominated

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

2005 A History of Violence as Richie Cusack

56. Paul Newman

Actor | The Hustler

Screen legend, superstar, and the man with the most famous blue eyes in movie history, Paul Leonard Newman was born on January 26, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, the second son of Arthur Sigmund Newman (died 1950) and Theresa Fetsko (died 1982). His elder brother was Arthur S. Newman Jr., named for ...

1986 The Color of Money as Fast Eddie Felson

also nominated

1958 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as Brick Pollitt 1961 The Hustler as Eddie Felson 1963 Hud as Hud Bannon 1967 Cool Hand Luke as Luke Jackson 1981 Absence of Malice as Michael Colin Gallagher 1982 The Verdict as Frank Galvin 1994 Nobody's Fool as Donald "Sully" Sullivan

also nominated

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

2002 Road to Perdition as John Rooney

also nominated

Best Picture

1968 Rachel, Rachel

Honorary Award

1986 "In recognition of his many and memorable and compelling screen performances and for his personal integrity and dedication to his craft."

1994 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

57. Michael Douglas

Actor | Wall Street

A legendary actor with 50 celebrated years of film, television and producing experience, Michael Douglas is known for his era-defining roles and enduring cultural impact.

In addition to his career accomplishments, Douglas has remained a steadfast public servant, activist and philanthropist dedicated...

1987 Wall Street as Gordon Gekko

also won

Best Picture

1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (with Saul Zaentz)

58. Daniel Day-Lewis

Actor | There Will Be Blood

Born in London, England, Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is the second child of Cecil Day-Lewis, Poet Laureate of the U.K., and his second wife, actress Jill Balcon. His maternal grandfather was Sir Michael Balcon, an important figure in the history of British cinema and head of the famous Ealing ...

1989 My Left Foot as Christy Brown 2007 There Will Be Blood as Daniel Plainview 2012 Lincoln as Abraham Lincoln

also nominated

1993 In the Name of the Father as Gerry Conlon 2002 Gangs of New York as Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting

59. Jeremy Irons

Actor | Dead Ringers

British actor Jeremy Irons was born in Cowes, Isle of Wight, a small island off the south coast of England. He is the son of Barbara Anne Brereton (Sharpe) and Paul Dugan Irons, an accountant. Young Jeremy didn't prove very fond of figures. He visited mainland England only once a year. He wound up ...

1990 Reversal of Fortune as Claus von Bülow

60. Anthony Hopkins

Actor | The Silence of the Lambs

Anthony Hopkins was born on December 31, 1937, in Margam, Wales, to Muriel Anne (Yeats) and Richard Arthur Hopkins, a baker. His parents were both of half Welsh and half English descent. Influenced by Richard Burton, he decided to study at College of Music and Drama and graduated in 1957. In 1965, ...

1991 The Silence of the Lambs as Hannibal Lecter 2020: The Father as Anthony

also nominated

1993 The Remains of the Day as James Stevens 1995 Nixon as Richard Nixon

also nominated

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1997 Amistad as John Quincy Adams 2019: The Two Popes as Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict

61. Al Pacino

Actor | Serpico

Alfredo James "Al" 'Pacino established himself as a film actor during one of cinema's most vibrant decades, the 1970s, and has become an enduring and iconic figure in the world of American movies.

He was born April 25, 1940 in Manhattan, New York City, to Italian-American parents, Rose (nee Gerardi)...

1992 Scent of a Woman as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade

also nominated

1973 Serpico as Frank Serpico 1974 The Godfather Part II as Michael Corleone 1975 Dog Day Afternoon as Sonny Wortzik 1979 ...And Justice for All as Arthur Kirkland

also nominated

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1972 The Godfather as Michael Corleone 1990 Dick Tracy as Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice 1992 Glengarry Glen Ross as Ricky Roma 2019: The Irishman as Jimmy Hoffa

62. Tom Hanks

Producer | Cast Away

Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born in Concord, California, to Janet Marylyn (Frager), a hospital worker, and Amos Mefford Hanks, an itinerant cook. His mother's family, originally surnamed "Fraga", was entirely Portuguese, while his father was of mostly English ancestry. Tom grew up in what he has ...

1993 Philadelphia as Andrew Beckett 1994 Forrest Gump as Forrest Gump

also nominated

1988 Big as Josh Baskin 1998 Saving Private Ryan as Captain John Miller 2000 Cast Away as Chuck Noland

also nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

2019: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood as Fred Rogers

63. Nicolas Cage

Actor | Face/Off

Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola in Long Beach, California, the son of comparative literature professor August Coppola (whose brother is director Francis Ford Coppola) and dancer/choreographer Joy Vogelsang. He is of Italian (father) and Polish and German (mother) descent. Cage changed his...

1995 Leaving Las Vegas as Ben Sanderson

64. Geoffrey Rush

Actor | The King's Speech

Geoffrey Roy Rush was born on July 6, 1951, in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, to Merle (Bischof), a department store sales assistant, and Roy Baden Rush, an accountant for the Royal Australian Air Force. His mother was of German descent and his father had English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. ...

1996 Shine as David Helfgott

also nominated

also nominated

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

1998 Shakespeare in Love as Philip Henslowe 2010 The King's Speech as Lionel Logue

65. Roberto Benigni

Actor | La vita è bella

Roberto Benigni was born on October 27, 1952 in Manciano La Misericordia, Castiglion Fiorentino, Tuscany, Italy. He is an actor and writer, known for Life Is Beautiful (1997), The Tiger and the Snow (2005) and Down by Law (1986). He has been married to Nicoletta Braschi since December 26, 1991.

1998 Life Is Beautiful as Guido Orefice

66. Kevin Spacey

Actor | The Usual Suspects

Kevin Spacey Fowler, better known by his stage name Kevin Spacey, is an American actor of screen and stage, film director, producer, screenwriter and singer. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s before obtaining supporting roles in film and television. He gained critical acclaim in...

1999 American Beauty as Lester Burnham

also won

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1995 The Usual Suspects as Roger "Verbal" Kint

67. Russell Crowe

Actor | Les Misérables

Russell Ira Crowe was born in Wellington, New Zealand, to Jocelyn Yvonne (Wemyss) and John Alexander Crowe, both of whom catered movie sets. His maternal grandfather, Stanley Wemyss, was a cinematographer. Crowe's recent ancestry includes Welsh (where his paternal grandfather was born, in Wrexham),...

2000 Gladiator as Maximus Decimus Meridius

also nominated

1999 The Insider as Jeffrey Wigand 2001 A Beautiful Mind as John Nash

68. Denzel Washington

Actor | Fences

Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. was born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. He is the middle of three children of a beautician mother, Lennis, from Georgia, and a Pentecostal minister father, Denzel Washington, Sr., from Virginia. After graduating from high school, Denzel enrolled at ...

2001 Training Day as Alonzo Harris

also nominated

1992 Malcolm X as Malcolm X 1999 The Hurricane as Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter 2012 Flight as Whip Whitaker 2016: Fences as Troy Maxson 2021: The Tragedy of Macbeth as Macbeth

also won

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

1989 Glory as Pvt. Silas Trip

also nominated

1987 Cry Freedom as Steve Biko

also nominated

Best Motion Picture of the Year

2016: Fences (with Todd Black & Scott Rudin)

69. Adrien Brody

Actor | The Pianist

Adrien Nicholas Brody was born in Woodhaven, Queens, New York, the only child of retired history professor Elliot Brody and Hungarian-born photographer Sylvia Plachy. He accompanied his mother on assignments for the Village Voice, and credits her with making him feel comfortable in front of the ...

2002 The Pianist as Władysław Szpilman

70. Sean Penn

Actor | Mystic River

Sean Penn is a powerhouse film performer capable of intensely moving work, who has gone from strength to strength during a colourful film career, and who has drawn much media attention for his stormy private life and political viewpoints.

Sean Justin Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the ...

2003 Mystic River as Jimmy Markum 2008 Milk as Harvey Milk

also nominated

1995 Dead Man Walking as Matthew Poncelet 1999 Sweet and Lowdown as Emmet Ray 2001 I Am Sam as Sam Dawson

71. Jamie Foxx

Actor | Collateral

Jamie Foxx is an American actor, singer and comedian. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, for his work in the biographical film Ray (2004). The same year, he was nominated for the Academy...

2004 Ray as Ray Charles

also nominated

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

2004 Collateral as Max

72. Philip Seymour Hoffman

Actor | The Master

Film and stage actor and theater director Philip Seymour Hoffman was born in the Rochester, New York, suburb of Fairport to Marilyn (Loucks), a lawyer and judge, and Gordon Stowell Hoffman, a Xerox employee, and was mostly of German, Irish, English and Dutch ancestry. After becoming involved in ...

2005 Capote as Truman Capote

also nominated

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

2007 Charlie Wilson's War as Gust Avrakotos 2008 Doubt as Father Brendan Flynn 2012 The Master as Lancaster Dodd

73. Forest Whitaker

Actor | The Last King of Scotland

Forest Steven Whitaker has packaged a king-size talent into his hulking 6' 2", 220 lb. frame. He won an Academy Award for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the film The Last King of Scotland (2006), and has also won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. He is the fourth African-American male to...

2006 The Last King of Scotland as Idi Amin

74. Jeff Bridges

Actor | The Big Lebowski

Jeffrey Leon Bridges was born on December 4, 1949 in Los Angeles, California, the son of well-known film and TV star Lloyd Bridges and his long-time wife Dorothy Dean Bridges (née Simpson). He grew up amid the happening Hollywood scene with big brother Beau Bridges. Both boys popped up, without ...

2009 Crazy Heart as Bad Blake

also nominated

1984 Starman as Starman 2000 The Contender as President Jackson Evans 2010 True Grit as Rooster Cogburn

also nominated

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

1971 The Last Picture Show as Duane Jackson 1974 Thunderbolt and Lightfoot as Lightfoot 2016: Hell or High Water as Marcus Hamilton

75. Colin Firth

Actor | A Single Man

Colin Andrew Firth was born into an academic family in Grayshott, Hampshire, England. His mother, Shirley Jean (Rolles), was a comparative religion lecturer at the Open University, and his father, David Norman Lewis Firth, lectured on history at Winchester University College (formerly King Alfred's...

2010 The King's Speech as King George VI

also nominated

2009 A Single Man as George

76. Jean Dujardin

Actor | The Artist

In 1995 he began his first one man show, the same year he met Bruno Salomone, Eric Collado, Emmanuel Joucla and Eric Massot with whom he created the "Nous Ç Nous". In 1999, he became "Loulou" in Un gars, une fille (1999). This part permitted him to show his talent to a larger public. Since the end ...

2011 The Artist as George Valentin

77. Matthew McConaughey

Actor | Interstellar

American actor and producer Matthew David McConaughey was born in Uvalde, Texas. His mother, Mary Kathleen (McCabe), is a substitute school teacher originally from New Jersey. His father, James Donald McConaughey, was a Mississippi-born gas station owner who ran an oil pipe supply business. He is ...

2013 Dallas Buyers Club as Ron Woodroof

78. Eddie Redmayne

Actor | Les Misérables

British actor Eddie Redmayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor (for The Theory of Everything (2014)).

Edward John David Redmayne was born and raised in London, England, the son of Patricia (Burke) and Richard Charles Tunstall Redmayne, a businessman. His great-grandfather was Sir Richard ...

2014: The Theory of Everything as Stephen Hawking

also nominated

2015: The Danish Girl as Einar Wegener / Lili Elbe

79. Leonardo DiCaprio

Actor | Inception

Few actors in the world have had a career quite as diverse as Leonardo DiCaprio's. DiCaprio has gone from relatively humble beginnings, as a supporting cast member of the sitcom Growing Pains (1985) and low budget horror movies, such as Critters 3 (1991), to a major teenage heartthrob in the 1990s,...

2015: The Revenant as Hugh Glass

also nominated

2004:The Aviator as Howard Hughes 2006: Blood Diamond as Danny Archer 2013:The Wolf of Wall Street as Jordan Belfort 2019: Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood as Rick Dalton

also nominated

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

1993: What's Eating Gilbert Grape as Arnie Grape

also nominated

Best Motion Picture of the Year

2013: The Wolf of Wall Street (with Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Joey McFarland & Martin Scorsese)

80. Casey Affleck

Actor | Manchester by the Sea

An accomplished and striking performer, Academy Award® winner Casey Affleck has established himself as a powerful leading man with performances in multiple projects.

Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts. His mother, Chris Anne (née Boldt), is a school teacher, and ...

2016: Manchester by the Sea as Lee Chandler

also nominated

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

2007: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford as Robert Ford

81. Gary Oldman

Actor | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Gary Oldman is a talented English movie star and character actor, renowned for his expressive acting style. One of the most celebrated thespians of his generation, with a diverse career encompassing theatre, film and television, he is known for his roles as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy (1986), ...

2017 Darkest Hour as Winston Churchill

also nominated

2011 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as George Smiley 2020: Mank as Herman Mankiewicz

82. Rami Malek

Actor | Bohemian Rhapsody

Rami Said Malek (born May 12, 1981) is an American actor. He won a Critics' Choice Award and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his lead role as Elliot Alderson in the USA Network television series Mr. Robot. He also received Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors ...

2018 Bohemian Rhapsody as Freddie Mercury

83. Joaquin Phoenix

Actor | Walk the Line

Joaquin Phoenix was born Joaquin Rafael Bottom in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Arlyn (Dunetz) and John Bottom, and is the middle child in a brood of five. His parents, from the continental United States, were then serving as Children of God missionaries. His mother is from a Jewish family from New ...

2019: Joker as Arthur Fleck

also nominated

2005: Walk the Line as Johnny Cash 2012: The Master as Freddie Quell

also nominated

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

2000: Gladiator as Commodus

84. Will Smith

Producer | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Willard Carroll "Will" Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has enjoyed success in television, film, and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him "the most powerful actor in Hollywood". Smith has been nominated for five Golden ...

2021: King Richard as Richard Williams

also nominated

2001: Ali as Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali 2006: The Pursuit of Happiness as Chris Gardner

also nominated

Best Motion Picture

2021: King Richard (with Tim White, Trevor White)

85. Brendan Fraser

Actor | The Mummy

Brendan James Fraser was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Canadian parents Carol Mary (Genereux), a sales counselor, and Peter Fraser, a journalist and travel executive. He is of Irish, Scottish, German, Czech, and French-Canadian ancestry. As his parents frequently moved, Brendan can claim ...

2022: The Whale as Charlie

86. Cillian Murphy

Actor | 28 Days Later...

Striking Irish actor Cillian Murphy was born in Douglas, the oldest child of Brendan Murphy, who works for the Irish Department of Education, and a mother who is a teacher of French. He has three younger siblings. Murphy was educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork. He went on to study law ...

2023: Oppenheimer