Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, or more commonly known as Best Actor, is an award category during the Academy Awards. The nominees and chosen winner is elected by votes from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The prior name to the category was Academy Award of Merit for Performance by an Actor and was later changed in 1977.
For the 2010 Oscars, the five fine actors competed for the honor including Jeff Bridges, for Crazy Heart, George Clooney, for Up in the Air, Colin Firth, for A Single Man, Morgan Freeman, for Invictus and Jeremy Renner, for The Hurt Locker. The winner, Jeff Bridges, was announced at the 82nd Academy Awards on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California.
Recent Winners
- 2010: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
- 2009: Sean Penn for Milk
- 2008: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood
- 2007: Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland
- 2006: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote
- 2005: Jamie Foxx for Ray
- 2004: Sean Penn for Mystic River
- 2003: Adrien Brody for The Pianist
- 2002: Denzel Washington for Training Day
- 2001: Russell Crowe for Gladiator
- 2001: Kevin Spacey for American Beauty
References
Fast Facts
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Fact:
Best Actor one of 24 Oscar categories
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Fact:
Accompanied by Best Supporting Actor
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Full Name
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
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Fact:
Previously known as Academy Award of Merit for Performance by an Actor
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Fact:
Most Best Actor awards to one actor is 2
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Fact:
Spencer Tracy and Laurence Olivier both earned 9 nominations each
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Fact:
Peter O'Toole was nominated eight times without winning
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Fact:
Henry Fonda won Best Actor at age 76
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Fact:
Richard Farnsworth nominated at age 79
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Fact:
Adrien Brody won Best Actor at age 29
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Fact:
Jackie Cooper nominated at age 9
