British and Commonwealth Academy Award Winners for Best Actor
The Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. This list is the winners and nominees from Great Britain, Republic of Ireland and the Commonwealth.
1930's
Nation |
Name |
Film |
Won |
|---|---|---|---|
England |
George Arliss |
Disraeli |
|
England |
George Arliss |
The Green Goddess |
|
England |
Ronald Colman |
Bulldog Drummond and Condemned |
|
England |
Charles Laughton |
The Private Life of Henry VIII |
|
England |
Leslie Howard |
Berkeley Square |
|
England |
Victor McLaglen |
The Informer |
|
England |
Charles Laughton |
Mutiny on the Bounty |
|
Canada |
Walter Huston |
Dodsworth |
|
England |
Robert Donat |
The Citadel |
|
England |
Leslie Howard |
Pygmalion |
|
England |
Robert Donat |
Goodbye, Mr. Chips |
|
England |
Baron Laurence Olivier, OM |
Wuthering Heights |
1940's
Nation |
Name |
Film |
Won |
|---|---|---|---|
England |
Sir Charlie Chaplin, KBE |
The Great Dictator |
|
Canada |
Raymond Massey |
Abe Lincoln in Illinois |
|
England |
Baron Laurence Olivier, OM |
Rebecca |
|
Canada |
Walter Huston |
The Devil and Daniel Webster |
|
England |
Ronald Colman |
Random Harvest |
|
Canada |
Walter Pidgeon |
Mrs. Miniver |
|
Canada |
Walter Pidgeon |
Madame Curie |
|
Ireland |
Barry Fitzgerald |
Going My Way |
|
Canada |
Alexander Knox |
Wilson |
|
Wales |
Ray Milland |
The Lost Weekend |
|
England |
Baron Laurence Olivier, OM |
Henry V |
|
England |
Ronald Colman |
A Double Life |
|
England |
Sir Michael Redgrave, CBE |
Mourning Becomes Electra |
|
England |
Baron Laurence Olivier, OM |
Hamlet |
|
England |
Richard Todd |
The Hasty Heart |
1950's
Nation |
Name |
Film |
Won |
|---|---|---|---|
England |
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE |
The Lavender Hill Mob |
|
Wales |
Richard Burton, CBE |
The Robe |
|
England |
James Mason |
A Star Is Born |
|
Ireland |
Dan O'Herlihy |
Robinson Crusoe |
|
England |
Baron Laurence Olivier, OM |
Richard III |
|
England |
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE |
The Bridge on the River Kwai |
|
England |
Charles Laughton |
Witness for the Prosecution |
|
England |
David Niven |
Separate Tables |
|
The Bahamas |
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE |
The Defiant Ones |
1960's
Nation |
Name |
Film |
Won |
|---|---|---|---|
England |
Trevor Howard, CBE |
Sons and Lovers |
|
England |
Baron Laurence Olivier, OM |
The Entertainer |
|
Ireland |
Peter O'Toole |
Lawrence of Arabia |
|
The Bahamas |
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE |
Lilies of the Field |
|
England |
Albert Finney |
Tom Jones |
|
Ireland |
Richard Harris |
This Sporting Life |
|
England |
Sir Rex Harrison |
Cleopatra |
|
England |
Sir Rex Harrison |
My Fair Lady |
|
Wales |
Richard Burton, CBE |
Becket |
|
Ireland |
Peter O'Toole |
Becket |
|
England |
Peter Sellers, CBE |
Dr. Strangelove |
|
Wales |
Richard Burton, CBE |
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold |
|
England |
Baron Laurence Olivier, OM |
Othello |
|
England |
Paul Scofield, CH, CBE |
A Man for All Seasons |
|
England |
Richard Burton, CBE |
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? |
|
England |
Sir Michael Caine, CBE |
Alfie |
|
England |
Sir Alan Bates, CBE |
The Fixer |
|
England |
Ron Moody |
Oliver! |
|
Ireland |
Peter O'Toole |
The Lion in Winter |
|
Wales |
Richard Burton, CBE |
Anne of the Thousand Days |
|
Ireland |
Peter O'Toole |
Goodbye, Mr. Chips |
1970's
Nation |
Name |
Film |
Won |
|---|---|---|---|
Australia |
Peter Finch |
Sunday Bloody Sunday |
|
England |
Sir Michael Caine, CBE |
Sleuth |
|
England |
Baron Laurence Olivier, OM |
Sleuth |
|
Ireland |
Peter O'Toole |
The Ruling Class |
|
England |
Albert Finney |
[...] on the Orient Express |
|
Australia |
Peter Finch |
Network |
|
Wales |
Richard Burton, CBE |
Equus |
|
England |
Baron Laurence Olivier, OM |
The Boys from Brazil |
|
England |
Peter Sellers, CBE |
Being There |
1980's
Nation |
Name |
Film |
Won |
|---|---|---|---|
England |
John Hurt, CBE |
The Elephant Man |
|
Ireland |
Peter O'Toole |
The Stunt Man |
|
England |
Dudley Moore, CBE |
Arthur |
|
England |
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE |
Gandhi |
|
Ireland |
Peter O'Toole |
My Favorite Year |
|
England |
Sir Michael Caine, CBE |
Educating Rita |
|
Scotland |
Tom Conti |
Reuben, Reuben |
|
England |
Sir Tom Courtenay |
The Dresser |
|
England |
Albert Finney |
The Dresser |
|
England |
Albert Finney |
Under the Volcano |
|
England |
Bob Hoskins |
Mona Lisa |
|
England |
Daniel Day-Lewis |
My Left Foot |
|
Northern Ireland |
Kenneth Branagh |
Henry V |
1990's
Nation |
Name |
Film |
Won |
|---|---|---|---|
England |
Jeremy Irons |
Reversal of Fortune |
|
Ireland |
Richard Harris |
The Field |
|
Wales |
Sir Anthony Hopkins, CBE |
The Silence of the Lambs |
|
Northern Ireland |
Stephen Rea |
The Crying Game |
|
England |
Sir Anthony Hopkins, CBE |
The Remains of the Day |
|
England |
Daniel Day-Lewis |
In the Name of the Father |
|
Northern Ireland |
Liam Neeson, OBE |
Schindler's List |
|
England |
Sir Nigel Hawthorne, CBE |
The Madness of King George |
|
Wales |
Sir Anthony Hopkins, CBE |
Nixon |
|
Australia |
Geoffrey Rush |
Shine |
|
England |
Ralph Fiennes |
The English Patient |
|
England |
Sir Ian McKellen, CH, CBE |
Gods and Monsters |
|
New Zealand |
Russell Crowe |
The Insider |
2000's
Nation |
Name |
Film |
Won |
|---|---|---|---|
New Zealand |
Russell Crowe |
Gladiator |
|
Australia |
Geoffrey Rush |
Quills |
|
New Zealand |
Russell Crowe |
A Beautiful Mind |
|
England |
Tom Wilkinson, OBE |
In the Bedroom |
|
England |
Sir Michael Caine, CBE |
The Quiet American |
|
England |
Daniel Day-Lewis |
Gangs of New York |
|
England |
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE |
House of Sand and Fog |
|
England |
Jude Law |
Cold Mountain |
|
Australia |
Heath Ledger |
Brokeback Mountain |
|
Canada |
Ryan Gosling |
Half Nelson |
|
Ireland |
Peter O'Toole |
Venus |
|
England |
Daniel Day-Lewis |
There Will Be Blood |