Oscar für den besten Hauptdarsteller
| Jahr | Hauptdarsteller | Originaltitel Film | Deutscher Titel |
| 2016 | Casey Affleck | Manchester by the Sea | Manchester by the Sea |
| 2015 | Leonardo DiCaprio | The Revenant | The Revenant – Der Rückkehrer |
| 2014 | Eddie Redmayne | The Theory of Everything | Die Entdeckung der Unendlichkeit |
| 2013 | Matthew McConaughey | Dallas Buyers Club | Dallas Buyers Club |
| 2012 | Daniel Day-Lewis | Lincoln | Lincoln |
| 2011 | Jean Dujardin | The Artist | The Artist |
| 2010 | Colin Firth | The King’s Speech | The King’s Speech |
| 2009 | Jeff Bridges | Crazy Heart | Crazy Heart |
| 2008 | Sean Penn | Milk | Milk |
| 2007 | Daniel Day-Lewis | There Will Be Blood | There Will Be Blood |
| 2006 | Forest Whitaker | The Last King of Scotland | Der letzte König von Schottland |
| 2005 | Philip S. Hoffman | Capote | Capote |
| 2004 | Jamie Foxx | Ray | Ray |
| 2003 | Sean Penn | Mystic River | Mystic River |
| 2002 | Adrien Brody | The Pianist | Der Pianist |
| 2001 | Denzel Washington | Training Day | Training Day |
| 2000 | Russell Crowe | Gladiator | Gladiator |
| 1999 | Kevin Spacey | American Beauty | American Beauty |
| 1998 | Robert Benigni | La vita e‘ bella | Das Leben ist schön |
| 1997 | Jack Nicholson | As Good As It Gets | Besser geht’s nicht |
| 1996 | Geoffrey Rush | Shine | Shine – Der Weg zum Licht |
| 1995 | Nicolas Cage | Leaving Las Vegas | Leaving Las Vegas |
| 1994 | Tom Hanks | Forrest Gump | Forrest Gump |
| 1993 | Tom Hanks | Philadelphia | Philadelphia |
| 1992 | Al Pacino | Scent of a Woman | Der Duft der Frauen |
| 1991 | Anthony Hopkins | The Silence of the Lambs | Das Schweigen der Lämmer |
| 1990 | Jeremy Irons | Reversal of Fortune | Die Affäre der Sunny von B. |
| 1989 | Daniel Day-Lewis | My Left Foot | Mein linker Fuss |
| 1988 | Dustin Hoffman | Rain Man | Rain Man |
| 1987 | Michael Douglas | Wall Street | Wall Street |
| 1986 | Paul Newman | The Color of Money | Die Farbe des Geldes |
| 1985 | William Hurt | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Der Kuss der Spinnenfrau |
| 1984 | F. Murray Abraham | Amadeus | Amadeus |
| 1983 | Robert Duvall | Tender Mercies | Comeback der Liebe |
| 1982 | Beng Kingsley | Gandhi | Gandhi |
| 1981 | Henry Fonda | On Golden Pond | Am goldenen See |
| 1980 | Robert de Niro | Raging Bull | Wie ein wilder Stier |
| 1979 | Dustin Hoffman | Kramer vs. Kramer | Kramer gegen Kramer |
| 1978 | Jon Voight | Coming Home | Coming Home – Sie kehren heim |
| 1977 | Richard Dreyfus | The Goodbye Girl | Der Untermieter |
| 1976 | Peter Finch | Network | Network |
| 1975 | Jack Nicholson | One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest | Einer flog über das Kuckucksnest |
| 1974 | Art Carney | Harry and Tonto | Harry und Tonto |
| 1973 | Jack Lemmon | Save the Tiger | Rettet den Tiger |
| 1972 | Marlon Brando | The Godfather, Part I | Der Pate, Teil 1 |
| 1971 | Gene Hackman | French Connection | Brennpunkt Brooklyn |
| 1970 | George C. Scott | Patton | Patton – Rebell in Uniform |
| 1969 | John Wayne | True Grit | Der Marshal |
| 1968 | Cliff Robertson | Charly | Charly |
| 1967 | Rod Steiger | In the Heat of the Night | In der Hitze der Nacht |
| 1966 | Paul Scofield | A Man for All Seasons | Ein Mann zu jeder Jahreszeit |
| 1965 | Lee Marvin | Cat Ballou | Hängen sollst du in Wyoming |
| 1964 | Rex Harrison | My Fair Lady | My Fair Lady |
| 1963 | Sidney Poitier | Lilies of the Field | Lilien auf dem Felde |
| 1962 | Gregory Peck | To Kill a Mockingbird | Wer die Nachtigall stört |
| 1961 | Maximilian Schell | Judgment at Nuremberg | Urteil von Nürnberg |
| 1960 | Burt Lancaster | Elmer Gantry | Elmer Gantry |
| 1959 | Charlton Heston | Ben Hur | Ben Hur |
| 1958 | David Niven | Separate Tables | Getrennt von Tisch und Bett |
| 1957 | Alec Guiness | The Bridge on the River Kwai | Die Brücke am Kwai |
| 1956 | Yul Brynner | The King and I | Der König und ich |
| 1955 | Ernest Borgnine | Marty | Marty |
| 1954 | Marlon Brando | On the Waterfront | Die Faust im Nacken |
| 1953 | William Holden | Stalag 17 | Stalat 17 |
| 1952 | Gary Cooper | High Noon | 12 Uhr Mittags |
| 1951 | Humphrey Bogart | African Queen | African Queen |
| 1950 | Jose Ferrer | Cyrano de Bergerac | Der letzte Musketier |
| 1949 | Broderick Crawford | All the King’s Men | Der Mann, der herrschen wollte |
| 1948 | Laurence Olivier | Hamlet | Hamlet |
| 1947 | Ronald Colman | A Double Life | Ein doppeltes Leben |
| 1946 | Fredric March | The Best Years of Our Lives | Die besten Jahre unseres Lebens |
| 1945 | Ray Milland | The Lost Weekend | Das verlorene Wochenende |
| 1944 | Bing Crosby | Going My Way | Der Weg zum Glück |
| 1943 | Paul Lukas | Watch on the Rhine | Die Wacht am Rhein |
| 1942 | James Cagney | Yankee Doodle Dandy | Yankee Doodle Dandy |
| 1941 | Gary Cooper | Sergeant York | Sergeant York |
| 1940 | James Stewart | The Philadelphia Story | Die Nacht vor der Hochzeit |
| 1939 | Robert Donat | Goodbye, Mr. Chips | Leben Sie wohl, Mr. Chips |
| 1938 | Spencer Tracy | Boy’s Town | Teufelskerle |
| 1937 | Spencer Tracy | Captains Courageous | Manuel |
| 1936 | Paul Muni | The Story of Louis Pasteur | Louis Pasteur |
| 1935 | Victor McLaglen | The Informer | Der Verräter |
| 1934 | Clark Gable | It Happened One Night | Es geschah in einer Nacht |
| 1933 | Charles Laughton | The Private Life of Henry VIII | Das Privatleben Heinrich VIII |
| 1932 | Wallace Beery
Fredric March |
The Champ | Der Champ
Dr. Jekyll und Mr. Hyde |
| 1931 | Lionel Barrymore | A Free Soul | Der Mut zum Glück |
| 1930 | George Arliss | Disraeli | Disraeli |
| 1929 | Warner Baxter | In Old Arizona | Im alten Arizona |
| 1928 | Emil Jannings | The Last Command | Sein letzter Befehl |