Who Should've Won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role
by Raff_Stardust | created - 01 Oct 2015 | updated - 1 month ago | PublicMy personal choices for who should've won the Oscar in the category, the other nominees are ranked in order of preference
A *** denotes the actual winners.
Haven't seen every single nominated performance, it will be updated from time to time, just like my other lists.
My ranking is based on what the performance entails, not the Oscar favourite of a certain year, or the overdue or anything else, is just based on its own merits.
1. 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, ...
1940.
01. HENRY FONDA, THE GRAPES OF WRATH
02. LAURENCE OLIVIER, REBECCA
03. JAMES STEWART, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (OSCAR WINNER) ***
04. CHARLIE CHAPLIN, THE GREAT DICTATOR
2. 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 ...
1951.
01. MARLON BRANDO, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
02. MONTGOMERY CLIFT, A PLACE IN THE SUN
03. HUMPHREY BOGART, THE AFRICAN QUEEN (OSCAR WINNER) ***
3. 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...
1952.
01. ALEC GUINNESS, THE LAVENDER HILL MOB
02. GARY COOPER, HIGH NOON (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. KIRK DOUGLAS, THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
4. Montgomery Clift
Actor | From Here to Eternity
Edward Montgomery Clift (nicknamed 'Monty' his entire life) was born on October 17, 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska, just after his twin sister Roberta (1920-2014) and eighteen months after his brother Brooks Clift. He was the son of Ethel "Sunny" Anderson (Fogg; 1888-1988) and William Brooks Clift (1886-...
1953.
01. MONTGOMERY CLIFT, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY
02. MARLON BRANDO, JULIUS CAESAR
03. BURT LANCASTER, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY
5. 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.
01. MARLON BRANDO, ON THE WATERFRONT (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. JAMES MASON, A STAR IS BORN
03. BING CROSBY, THE COUNTRY GIRL
6. Spencer Tracy
Actor | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
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...
1955.
01. SPENCER TRACY, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK
02. JAMES DEAN, EAST OF EDEN
03. ERNEST BORGNINE, MARTY (OSCAR WINNER) ***
7. 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 ...
1956.
01. LAURENCE OLIVIER, RICHARD III
02. JAMES DEAN, GIANT
03. ROCK HUDSON, GIANT
04. YUL BRYNNER, THE KING AND I (OSCAR WINNER) ***
8. 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 ...
1958.
01. SIDNEY POITER, THE DEFIANT ONES
02. TONY CURTIS, THE DEFIANT ONES
03. DAVID NIVEN, SEPARATE TABLES (OSCAR WINNER) ***
04. PAUL NEWMAN, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF
9. 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 ...
1959.
01. JAMES STEWART, ANATOMY OF A MURDER
02. JACK LEMMON, SOME LIKE IT HOT
03. CHARLTON HESTON, BEN-HUR (OSCAR WINNR) ***
04. LAURENCE HARVEY, ROOM AT THE TOP
10. 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.
01. BURT LANCASTER, ELMER GANTRY (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. JACK LEMMON, THE APARTMENT
03. LAURENCE OLIVIER, THE ENTERTAINER
11. Peter O'Toole
Actor | Lawrence of Arabia
A leading man of prodigious talents, Peter O'Toole was born and raised in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, the son of Constance Jane Eliot (Ferguson), a Scottish nurse, and Patrick Joseph O'Toole, an Irish metal plater, football player and racecourse bookmaker. Upon leaving school, he decided to become a...
1962.
01. PETER O'TOOLE, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
02. JACK LEMMON, DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES
03. GREGORY PECK, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (OSCAR WINNER) ***
04. BURT LANCASTER, BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ
12. Richard Harris
Actor | Unforgiven
Richard St John Harris was born on October 1, 1930 in Limerick, Ireland, to a farming family, one of nine children born to Mildred (Harty) and Ivan Harris. He attended Crescent College, a Jesuit school, and was an excellent rugby player, with a strong passion for literature. Unfortunately, a bout ...
1963.
01. RICHARD HARRIS, THIS SPORTING LIFE
02. SIDNEY POITER, LILIES OF THE FIELD (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. PAUL NEWMAN, HUD
04. ALBERT FINNEY, TOM JONES
13. Peter Sellers
Actor | Being There
Often credited as the greatest comedian of all time, Peter Sellers was born Richard Henry Sellers to a well-off acting family in 1925 in Southsea, a suburb of Portsmouth. He was the son of Agnes Doreen "Peg" (Marks) and William "Bill" Sellers. His parents worked in an acting company run by his ...
1964.
01. PETER SELLERS, DR. STRANGELOVE OR HOW I LEARNED STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB
02. PETER O'TOOLE, BECKET
03. RICHARD BURTON, BECKET
04. ANTHONY QUINN, ZORBA THE GREEK
14. Richard Burton
Actor | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Probably best-remembered for his turbulent personal life with Elizabeth Taylor (whom he married twice), Richard Burton was nonetheless also regarded as an often brilliant British actor of the post-WWII period.
Burton was born Richard Walter Jenkins in 1925 into a Welsh (Cymraeg)-speaking family in ...
1965.
01. RICHARD BURTON, THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROMTHE COLD
02. LEE MARVIN, CAT BALLOU (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. OSKAR WERNER, SHIP OF FOOLS
15. 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.
01. PAUL SCOFIELD, A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. RICHARD BURTON, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
03. MICHAEL CAINE, ALFIE
16. 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, ...
1967.
01. DUSTIN HOFFMAN, THE GRADUATE
02. ROD STEIGER, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. WARREN BEATTY, BONNIE AND CLYDE
04. SPENCER TRACY, GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
17. 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 ...
1971.
01. PETER FINCH, SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY
02. GENE HACKMAN, THE FRENCH CONNECTION (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. GEORGE C. SCOTT, THE HOSPITAL
18. 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 ...
1973.
01. MARLON BRANDO, LAST TANGO IN PARIS
02. JACK NICHOLSON, THE LAST DETAIL
03. ROBERT REDFORD, THE STING
19. 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, ...
1974.
01. DUSTIN HOFFMAN, LENNY
02. AL PACINO, THE GODFATHER PART II
03. JACK NICHOLSON, CHINATOWN
04. ALBERT FINNEY, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
20. 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 ...
1976.
01. WILLIAM HOLDEN, NETWORK
02. ROBERT DE NIRO, TAXI DRIVER
03. PETER FINCH, NETWORK (OSCAR WINNER) ***
04. SYLVESTER STALLONE, ROCKY
21. Marcello Mastroianni
Actor | La dolce vita
Marcello Mastroianni was born in Fontana Liri, Italy in 1924, but soon his family moved to Turin and then Rome. During WW2 he was sent to a German prison camp, but he managed to escape and hide in Venice. He debuted in films as an extra in Marionette (1939), then started working for the Italian ...
1977.
01. MARCELLO MASTROIANNI, A SPECIAL DAY
02. WOODY ALLEN, ANNIE HALL
03. JOHN TRAVOLTA, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER
04. RICHAR DREYFUSS, THE GOODBYE GIRL (OSCAR WINNER) ***
22. 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 ...
1978.
01. ROBERT DE NIRO, THE DEER HUNTER
02. JON VOIGHT, COMING HOME (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. WARREN BEATTY, HEAVEN CAN WAIT
23. Roy Scheider
Actor | Jaws
Lean, angular-faced and authoritatively spoken lead / supporting actor Roy Scheider obviously never heard the old actor's axiom about "never appearing with kids or animals" lest they overshadow your performance. Breaking that rule did him no harm, though, as he achieved pop cult status by finding, ...
1979.
01. ROY SCHEIDER, ALL THAT JAZZ
02. PETER SELLERS, BEING THERE
03. DUSTIN HOFFMAN, KRAMER V KRAMER (OSCAR WINNER) ***
24. 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.
01. ROBERT DE NIRO, RAGING BULL (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. PETER O'TOOLE, THE STUNT MAN
03. JOHN HURT, THE ELEPHANT MAN
25. 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 ...
1981.
01. BURT LANCASTER, ATLATIC CITY
02. WARREN BEATTY, REDS
03. HENRY FONDA, ON GOLDEN POND (OSCAR WINNER) ***
26. 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, ...
1982.
01. DUSTIN HOFFMAN, TOOTSIE
02. PAUL NEWMAN, THE VERDICT
03. JACK LEMMON, MISSING
27. Tom Courtenay
Actor | 45 Years
Acting chameleon Sir Tom Courtenay, along with Sir Alan Bates and Albert Finney, became a front-runner in an up-and-coming company of rebel upstarts who created quite a stir in British "kitchen sink" cinema during the early '60s. An undying love for the theatre, however, had Courtenay channeling a ...
1983.
01. TOM COURTENEY, THE DRESSER
02. ALBERT FINNEY, THE DRESSER
03. MICHAEL CAINE, EDUCATING RITA
28. 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.
01. F. MURRAY ABRAHAM, AMADEUS (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. TOM HULCE, AMADEUS
03. ALBERT FINNEY, UNDER THE VOLCANO
04. SAM WATERSTON, THE KILLING FIELDS
29. 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 ...
1985.
01. JON VOIGHT, RUNAWAY TRAIN
02. WILLIAM HURT, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. HARRISON FORD, WITNESS
04. JACK NICHOLSON, PRIZZI'S HONOR
30. 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.
01. MICHAEL DOUGLAS, WALL STREET (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. WILLIAM HURT, BROADAST NEWS
03. JACK NICHOLSON, IRONWEED
31. 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 ...
1988.
01. TOM HANKS, BIG
02. MAX VON SYDOW, PELLE THE CONQUEROR
03. GENE HACKMAN, MISSISSIPPI BURNING
04. DUSTIN HOFFMAN, RAIN MAN (OSCAR WINNER) ***
32. 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.
01. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, MY LEFT FOOT (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. KENNETH BRANAGH, HENRY V
03. MORGAN FREEMAN, DRIVING MISS DAISY
33. 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.
01. JEREMY IRONS, REVERSAL OF FORTUNE (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. GÉRARD DEPARDIEU, CYRANO DE BERGERAC
03. KEVIN COSTNER, DANCES WITH WOLVES
34. Nick Nolte
Actor | Warrior
Nick Nolte was born in Omaha, Nebraska and began his career on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse and in regional theatre productions. His breakthrough role was in the TV miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), playing the role of "Tom/Tommy Jordache". Nick Nolte said that when he played a young man in ...
1991.
01. NICK NOLTE, THE PRINCE OF TIDES
02. ANTHONY HOPKINS, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. ROBIN WILLIAMS, THE FISHER KING
04. ROBERT DE NIRO, CAPE FEAR
05. WARREN BEATTY, BUGSY
35. 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 ...
1992.
01. DENZEL WASHINGTON, MALCOLM X
02. AL PACINO, SCENT OF A WOMAN (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. STEPHEN REA, THE CRYING GAME
04. ROBERT DOWNEY JR., CHAPLIN
05. CLINT EASTWOOD, UNFORGIVEN
36. 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, ...
1993.
01. ANTHONY HOPKINS, THE REMAINS OF THE DAY
02. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER
03. TOM HANKS, PHILADELPHIA (OSCAR WINNER) ***
04. LAURENCE FISHBURNE, WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT
05. LIAM NEESON, SCHINDLER'S LIST
37. Nigel Hawthorne
Actor | The Madness of King George
Widely regarded as one of the greatest stage and screen actors both in his native UK and internationally, the unparalleled Nigel Hawthorne was born in Coventry, England on 5 April 1929, raised in South Africa and returned to the UK in the 1950s with his extensive work as a great gentleman of acting...
1994.
01. NIGEL HAWTHORNE, THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE
02. TOM HANKS, FORREST GUMP (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. PAUL NEWMAN, NOBODY'S FOOL
04. MORGAN FREEMAN, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
05. JOHN TRAVOLTA, PULP FICTION
38. 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.
01. NICOLAS CAGE, LEAVING LAS VEGAS (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. ANTHONY HOPKINS, NIXON
03. SEAN PENN, DEAD MAN WALKING
39. Tom Cruise
Actor | Top Gun
In 1976, if you had told fourteen-year-old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be Tom Cruise, one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to join the priesthood. ...
1996.
01. TOM CRUISE, JERRY MAGUIRE
02. GEOFFREY RUSH, SHINE (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. WOODY HARRELSON, TH PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT
04. RALPH FIENNES, THE ENGLISH PATIENT
40. Ian McKellen
Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Widely regarded as one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native Great Britain and internationally, twice nominated for the Oscar and recipient of every major theatrical award in the UK and US, Ian Murray McKellen was born on May 25, 1939 in Burnley, Lancashire, England, to Margery ...
1998.
01. IAN MCKELLEN, GODS AND MONSTERS
02. NICK NOLTE, AFFLICTION
03. ROBERTO BENIGNI, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (OSCAR WINNER) ***
04. TOM HANKS, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
41. 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 ...
1999.
01. SEAN PENN, SWEET AND LOWDOWN
02. RUSSELL CROWE, THE INSIDER
03. RICHARD FARNSWORTH, THE STRAIGHT STORY
04. KEVIN SPACEY, AMERICAN BEAUTY (OSCAR WINNER) ***
42. Javier Bardem
Actor | Skyfall
Javier Bardem belongs to a family of actors that have been working on films since the early days of Spanish cinema.
He was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, to actress Pilar Bardem (María del Pilar Bardem Muñoz) and businessman José Carlos Encinas Doussinague. His maternal grandparents were...
2000.
01. JAVIER BARDEM, BEFORE NIGHT FALLS
02. RUSSELL CROWE, GLADIATOR (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. GEOFFREY RUSH, QUILLS
04. TOM HANKS, CAST AWAY
05. ED HARRIS, POLLOCK
43. 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 ...
2002.
01. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, GANGS OF NEW YORK
02. NICOLAS CAGE, ADAPTATION
03. ADRIEN BRODY, THE PIANIST (OSCAR WINNER) ***
04. JACK NICHOLSON, ABOUT SCHMIDT
05. MICHAEL CAINE, THE QUIET AMERICAN
44. Johnny Depp
Actor | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, to Betty Sue Palmer (née Wells), a waitress, and John Christopher Depp, a civil engineer. He was raised in Florida. He dropped out of school when he was 15, and fronted a series of music-garage bands, including one ...
2003.
01. JOHNNY DEPP, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
02. BILL MURRAY, LOST IN TRANSLATION
03. SEAN PENN, MYSTIC RIVER (OSCAR WINNER) ***
04. BEN KINGSLEY, HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
05. JUDE LAW, COLD MOUNTAIN
45. 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,...
2004.
01. LEONARDO DICAPRIO, THE AVIATOR
02. DON CHEADLE, HOTEL RWANDA
03. CLINT EASTWOOD, MILLION DOLLAR BABY
04. JOHNNY DEPP, FINDING NEVERLAND
46. Heath Ledger
Actor | Brokeback Mountain
When hunky, twenty-year-old heart-throb Heath Ledger first came to the attention of the public in 1999, it was all too easy to tag him as a "pretty boy" and an actor of little depth. He spent several years trying desperately to sway this image, but this was a double-edged sword. His work comprised ...
2005.
01. HEATH LEDGER, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
02. PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, CAPOTE (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. DAVID STRATHAIRN, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
04. TERRENCE HOWARD, HUSTLE & FLOW
05. JOAQUIN PHOENIX, WALK THE LINE
47. 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.
01. FOREST WHITAKER, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. RYAN GOSLING, HALF NELSON
03. WILL SMITH, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
04. PETER O'TOOLE, VENUS
05. LEONARDO DICAPRIO, BLOOD DIAMOND
48. 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 ...
2007.
01. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, THERE WILL BE BLOOD (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. VIGGO MORTENSEN, EASTERN PROMISES
03. TOMMY LEE JONES, IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH
04. GEORGE CLOONEY, MICHAEL CLAYTON
05. JOHNNY DEPP, SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
49. 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 ...
2008.
01. SEAN PENN, MILK (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. RICHARD JENKINS, THE VISITOR
03. MICKEY ROURKE, THE WRESTLER
04. FRANK LANGELLA, FROST/NIXON
05. BRAD PITT, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
50. 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...
2009.
01. COLIN FIRTH, A SINGLE MAN
02. GEORGE CLOONEY, UP IN THE AIR
03. JEREMY RENNER, THE HURT LOCKER
04. JEFF BRDIGES, CRAZY HEART (OSCAR WINNER) ***
05. MORGAN FREEMAN, INVICTUS
51. 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 ...
2010.
01. JEFF BRIDGES, TRUE GRIT
02. JAVIER BARDEM, BIUTIFUL
03. JESSE EISENBERG, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
04. COLIN FIRTH, THE KING'S SPEECH (OSCAR WINNER) ***
05. JAMES FRANCO, 127 HOURS
52. 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), ...
2011.
01. GARY OLDMAN, TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
02. BRAD PITT, MONEYBALL
03. JEAN DUJARDIN, THE ARTIST (OSCAR WINNER) ***
04. DEMIAN BICHIR, A BETTER LIFE
05. GEORGE CLOONEY, THE DESCENDANTS
53. 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 ...
2012.
01. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, LINCOLN (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. JOAQUIN PHOENIX, THE MASTER
03. DENZEL WASHINGTON, FLIGHT
04. BRADLEY COOPER, SILVERLININGS PLAYBOOK
05. HUGH JACKMAN, LES MISÉRABLES
54. 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,...
2013.
01. LEONARDO DICAPRIO, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
02. BRUCE DERN, NEBRASKA
03. CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, 12 YEARS A SLAVE
04. CHRISTIAN BALE, AMERICAN HUSTLE
05. MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (OSCAR WINNER) ***
55. Steve Carell
Actor | The Office
Steve Carell, one of America's most versatile comics, was born Steven John Carell on August 16, 1962, in Concord, Massachusetts. He is the son of Harriet Theresa (Koch), a psychiatric nurse, and Edwin A. Carell, an electrical engineer. His mother was of Polish descent and his father of Italian and ...
2014.
01. STEVE CARELL, FOXCATCHER
02. MICHAEL KEATON, BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)
03. BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, THE IMITATION GAME
04. EDDIE REDMAYNE, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (OSCAR WINNER) ***
05. BRADLEY COOPER, AMERICAN SNIPER
56. Michael Fassbender
Actor | Shame
Michael Fassbender is an Irish actor who was born in Heidelberg, Germany, to a German father, Josef, and an Irish mother, Adele (originally from Larne, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland). Michael was raised in the town of Killarney, Co. Kerry, in south-west Ireland, where his family moved to when ...
2015.
01. MICHAEL FASSBENDER, STEVE JOBS
02. MATT DAMON, THE MARTIAN
03. LEONARDO DICAPRIO, THE REVENANT (OSCAR WINNER) ***
04. BRYAN CRANSTON, TRUMBO
05. EDDIE REDMAYNE, THE DANISH GIRL
57. 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.
01. CASEY AFFLECK, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA (OSCAR WINNER) ***
02. DENZEL WASHINGTON, FENCES
03. VIGGO MORTENSEN, CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
04. RYAN GOSLING, LA LA LAND
05. ANDREW GARFIELD, HACKSAW RIDGE
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 ...
2017.
01. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, PHANTOM THREAD
02. TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
03. DENZEL WASHINGTON, ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ. MANHATTAN NEW YORK DISTRICT 6.345
04. DANIEL KALUUYA, GET OUT
05. GARY OLDMAN, DARKEST HOUR (OSCAR WINNER) ***
59. Christian Bale
Actor | The Dark Knight
Christian Charles Philip Bale was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK on January 30, 1974, to English parents Jennifer "Jenny" (James) and David Bale. His mother was a circus performer and his father, who was born in South Africa, was a commercial pilot. The family lived in different countries ...
2018.
01. CHRISTIAN BALE, VICE
02. WILLEM DAFOE, AT ETERNITY'S GATE
03. VIGGO MORTENSEN, GREEN BOOK
04. BRADLEY COOPER, A STAR IS BORN
05. RAMI MALEK, SIMPLE JACK, sorry BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (OSCAR WINNER) ***
60. 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,...
2019.
01. LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD
Since he started doing comedy (just this decade btw), he's become one of my favourites, is not on the label of Wolf of Wall Street but damn, he's not afraid to appear ridiculous on screen.
02. JOAQUIN PHOENIX, JOKER (OSCAR WINNER) ***
Love his body language, how he relates to those around him. The movie takes itself way too serious but Phoenix brings gusto to what he does
03. ANTONIO BANDERAS, PAIN AND GLORY
Tender work, a nice tribute to his director but for the same reasons he just comes across as a cipher. And after a catalog that includes Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down or Skin I Live In, is quite underwhelming his nomination came from something so sappy.
04. ADAM DRIVER, MARRIAGE STORY
Annonymous work, nicely performed but dozens of actors could do more with it
05. JONATHAN PRYCE, THE TWO POPES
Hopkins devours him
61. 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, ...
2020.
01. ANTHONY HOPKINS, THE FATHER (OSCAR WINNER) ***
Titanic performance that deserves to win every award, an entire essay could be written about his performance, he's an old actor suggesting youth, at moments he becomes a charming young man, he's a rebel, doesn't like the old man in him and is aware that everyone around doesn't like it either, applaud the way he never makes it about the illness, he rages againts cruelty and humiliation. Truly a performance for the ages (don't think I've ever seen a performance by an octagenerian be this fascinating... ok the Amour actors come close)
02. RIZ AHMED, SOUND OF METAL
Smart performance, raw, trapped, felt with every viber, the movie for better or for worse, let him do all the work and thanks to him gives it emotional immediacy and tension. The annoyedness and anger within him is all believable, comes from a deeply felt, stablished place (unlike Boseman)
03. GARY OLDMAN, MANK
How engrossing, cynical and wit this film is comes from Oldman, How Mank (the movie) should have been is all in his performance, he gives it personality and attitude.
04. CHADWICK BOSEMAN, MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM
He has great moments, especially at the beginning but then he start to recite God and whole wide world with no tempo, lacks the gravitas to make it larger than life, becomes repetitive.
05. STEVEN YEUN, MINARI
I like his style of acting, Burning is a great example of how his subtlety suggest a vast sea of ideas and feelings, here, like everything in Minari, is all so modest that falls flat.
WHO WAS LEFT OUT?
Delroy Lindo and Mads Mikkelsen are sorely missed.
62. Benedict Cumberbatch
Actor | The Imitation Game
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch was born and raised in London, England. His parents, Wanda Ventham and Timothy Carlton (born Timothy Carlton Congdon Cumberbatch), are both actors. He is a grandson of submarine commander Henry Carlton Cumberbatch, and a great-grandson of diplomat Henry Arnold ...
fith2021.
01. BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, THE POWER OF THE DOG
This is the kind of performance that will age incredibly well, second, third, fourth viewing you will see new things in what he's doing.
02. WILL SMITH, KING RICHARD
His character has a complete arc in the first 30 minutes on the film, nice to see Smith doing something else than lazy blockbusters
03. DENZEL WASHINGTON, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
He only gets interesting in the second half, it should be legendary from the get-go... an old Macbeth, c'mon !
04. ANDREW GARFIELD, TICK, TICK... BOOM!
All his mannered and compulsive gesticulations made of him a third rate Jim Carrey
05. JAVIER BARDEM, BEING THE RICARDOS
American comedy is his fifth language, he only pronounced a word every now and then, it was all sounds
63. Colin Farrell
Actor | The Lobster
Colin Farrell is one of Ireland's biggest stars in Hollywood and abroad. His film presence has been filled with memorable roles that range from an inwardly tortured hit man, to an adventurous explorer, a determined-but-failing writer, and the greatest military leader in history.
Farrell was born on ...
2022.
01. COLIN FARRELL, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
02. BILL NIGHY, LIVING
03. PAUL MESCAL, AFTERSUN
04. BRENDAN FRASER, THE WHALE (OSCAR WINNER) ***
05. AUSTIN BUTLER, ELVIS
64. Paul Giamatti
Actor | Sideways
Paul Giamatti is an American actor who has worked steadily and prominently for over thirty years, and is best known for leading roles in the films American Splendor (2003), Sideways (2004), and Barney's Version (2010) (for which he won a Golden Globe), and supporting roles in the films Cinderella ...
2023.
01. PAUL GIAMATTI, THE HOLDOVERS
02. CILLIAN MURPHY, OPPENHEIMER (OSCAR WINNER) ***
03. JEFFREY WRIGHT, AMERICAN FICTION
04. BRADLEY COOPER, MAESTRO
05. COLMAN DOMINGO, RUSTIN
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