Every Best Actor Oscar: The Complete History of the Winners

In his second Best Actor nomination, Sidney Poitier became the first black actor to win the Academy Award for best actor. “It’s been a long journey to this point,” Poitier said, accepting his statue. A black actor would not win in this category again for nearly 40 years.

Gregory Peck – 1963
To kill a mockingbird (1962)

Mockingbird marks Peck’s fifth Oscar nomination. When asked how he felt about being nominated again — after failing to win four times — he replied “I feel like a Susan Hayward man,” Wiley and Bona wrote . Peck attended the ceremony wearing a pocket watch and necklace that inspired his work on Atticus Finch: the father of Mockingbird Author Harper Lee.

Maximillian Schell – 1962
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

Adapted from a CBS television episode Playhouse 90, Maximilian Schell reprized his role as defense attorney Rolfe, making him the first prominent actor to win a role that originated in television. “I know this award honors not only me but also the picture,” Schell said on stage, praising his co-star and fellow nominee, “the great old man” Spencer Tracy.

Burt Lancaster – 1961
Elmer Truss (1960)

“Some parts you fall into like an old glove,” Lancaster said of his role as a religious trickster, Wiley and Bona write in Inside Oscar. “Elmer isn’t really acting, it’s me!” After winning, Lancaster reportedly caught the best actress winner, Elizabeth Taylor, when she fainted in the press room while posing for photographers.

Charlton Heston – 1960
Ben-Hur (1959)

Big remake Ben-Hur matched its massive budget with the most Oscar wins of all time (which was achieved nearly 40 years later, when the Titanic matching its 11 wins). Naturally, frontman Charlton Heston was caught up in that wave, despite some middling reviews of his performance. When asked backstage after winning the Oscar what he liked most about filming, Heston replied: “I don’t like anything. It’s hard work.”

David Niven – 1959
Separate table (1958)

This may be a rare case of reverse category cheating: David Niven’s performance as a man accused of sexual harassment has a running time of under 24 minutes, making him the award-winning performance His best leading actor of all time. According to Wiley and Bona, Niven also partly self-financed his awards campaign, running commercials that modestly featured only his photo and advertised his win from the Film Critics Circle. New York.

Alec Guinness – 1958
Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

David Lean’s epic became the biggest box office hit of the year and made a big name for himself in Guinness as the haughty Colonel Nicholson. IN DiversityMike Kaplan wrote that “the film definitely has a Guinness record” and he was dubbed “Alec the Great” Life magazine. Perhaps the highest praise came from his fellow nominee and the actor originally considered for the role, Charles Laughton: In campaigning for Guinness to win, Laughton speak“I never understood that part until I saw Guinness play it.” Guinness did not attend the ceremony.

Yul Brynner – 1957
The king and me (1956)

Another actor awarded by the Academy for a role he created on stage, his portrayal of Russian-born Yul Brynner as King Mongut of Siam became his calling card. He would play the role more than 4,600 times in later tours and Broadway revivals. Although Brynner starred in two other Oscar-winning films that year (Ten Commandments And Anastasia), he said in his speech, “I hope this wasn’t a mistake, because I wouldn’t give it back for anything in the world.” James Dean was also nominated again this year, this time for Giantmaking him the only actor to ever receive multiple posthumous nominations.

Ernest Borgnine – 1956
Marty (1955)

Following critical acclaim and winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the film’s producers mounted a $400,000 Oscar campaign for the film—more than it cost. production of the film. Borgnine inherited the title role from Rod Steiger’s performance in the previous teleplay version of the film Marty, and he became a star in the process. Wiley and Bona recounted in Inside Oscar that, on his way up to the stage to accept his Oscar, Borgnine was seen handing something to Jerry Lewis. Lewis then allegedly joked: “$1.41 in a sock — we bet and he lost.” Elsewhere in the best actor list, James Dean became the first person to receive a posthumous acting nomination for his role in a film East of the Garden of Eden.

Marlon Brando – 1955
On the riverbank (1954)

After competing for best actor four times in a row, Marlon Brando finally won for his role as Terry Malloy, a longshore union worker who stands up against corruption. Today, his performance in On the riverbank Frequently considered one of the greatest of all time. Throughout the ceremony, Brando had been chewing gum but threw it away when he saw who would present the best actor award: a bald Bette Davis in a fashionable skull cap.

William Holden – 1954
Thach 17 (1953)

Billy Wilder struggled for the lead Thach 17solve his problem Sunset Boulevard Holden star. Life magazine it will eventually be revealed that “played by William Holden, Thach 17The heel hero emerged as the most memorable figure to come out of Hollywood this year.” Accepting his award while being hastily told by a producer that the ceremony was running overtime, Holden’s speech was simple: “Thank you, thank you.”

Gary Cooper – 1953
Noon (1952)

Bosley Crowther praised Cooper’s performance in New York Times, write“Grandfather. Cooper is at his peak in a role that has eluded him for years.” Such reviews helped the star become the third actor to win the Best Actor award twice. Cooper was unable to attend the ceremony and asked John Wayne (who was refuse Noon) to accept it on his behalf. After that dissipated interview, Wayne called Noon “the most un-American thing I have ever seen in my life.”

Humphrey Bogart – 1952
African Queen (1951)

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