Academy Award for Best Actor winners
# On the Waterfront
Jahr: 1954 | Land: United States of America
Regisseur: Elia Kazan
Besetzung: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning
Synopsis
Terry Malloy dreams about being a prize fighter, while tending his pigeons and running errands at the docks for Johnny Friendly, the corrupt boss of the dockers union. Terry witnesses a murder by two
# Ben-Hur
Jahr: 1959 | Land: US
Regisseur: William Wyler
Besetzung: Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet
Synopsis
In 25 AD, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners.
# Judgment at Nuremberg
Jahr: 1961 | Land: United States of America
Regisseur: Stanley Kramer
Besetzung: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell
Synopsis
In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood hears evidence and testimony not
# To Kill a Mockingbird
Jahr: 1962 | Land: US
Regisseur: Robert Mulligan
Besetzung: Mary Badham, Gregory Peck, Phillip Alford, John Megna, Frank Overton
Synopsis
Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.
# True Grit
Jahr: 2010 | Land: US
Regisseur: Ethan Coen
Besetzung: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper
Synopsis
Following the murder of her father by a hired hand, a 14-year-old farm girl sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find—a man with 'true grit'—Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn.
# The Godfather
Jahr: 1972 | Land: United States of America
Regisseur:
Besetzung:
Synopsis
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his y
# One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Jahr: 1975 | Land: US
Regisseur: Miloš Forman
Besetzung: Jack Nicholson, Brad Dourif, Louise Fletcher, Danny DeVito, William Redfield
Synopsis
A petty criminal fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse who runs the ward.
# Raging Bull
Jahr: 1980 | Land: United States of America
Regisseur: Martin Scorsese
Besetzung:
Synopsis
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
# Gandhi
Jahr: 1982 | Land: IN
Regisseur: Richard Attenborough
Besetzung: Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard
Synopsis
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of 'passive resistance', endeavouring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed.
# Amadeus
Jahr: 1984 | Land: US
Regisseur: Miloš Forman
Besetzung: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Simon Callow, Roy Dotrice
Synopsis
Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Viennese composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
# Rain Man
Jahr: 1988 | Land: US
Regisseur: Barry Levinson
Besetzung: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen, Jack Murdock
Synopsis
When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond and that his father's $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father's money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers' cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.
# Scent of a Woman
Jahr: 1992 | Land: US
Regisseur: Martin Brest
Besetzung: Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Gabrielle Anwar, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Synopsis
Charlie Simms is a student at a private preparatory school who comes from a poor family. To earn the money for his flight home to Gresham, Oregon for Christmas, Charlie takes a job over Thanksgiving looking after retired U.S. Army officer Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, a cantankerous middle-aged man who lives with his niece and her family.
# Philadelphia
Jahr: 1993 | Land: US
Regisseur: Jonathan Demme
Besetzung: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas
Synopsis
Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.
# Forrest Gump
Jahr: 1994 | Land: United States of America
Regisseur: Robert Zemeckis
Besetzung: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, Sally Field
Synopsis
A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has
# Leaving Las Vegas
Jahr: 1995 | Land: France, United Kingdom, United States of America
Regisseur: Mike Figgis
Besetzung: Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands, Richard Lewis, Steven Weber
Synopsis
Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-i
# As Good as It Gets
Jahr: 1997 | Land: United States of America
Regisseur: James L. Brooks
Besetzung: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr., Skeet Ulrich
Synopsis
Melvin Udall, a cranky, bigoted, obsessive-compulsive writer of romantic fiction, is rude to everyone he meets, including his gay neighbor, Simon. After Simon is hospitalized, Melvin finds his life tu
# Life Is Beautiful
Jahr: 1997 | Land: IT
Regisseur: Roberto Benigni
Besetzung: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano, Sergio Bini Bustric
Synopsis
A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.
# American Beauty
Jahr: 1999 | Land: US
Regisseur: Sam Mendes
Besetzung: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari
Synopsis
Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.
# Gladiator
Jahr: 2000 | Land: United Kingdom, United States of America
Regisseur: Ridley Scott
Besetzung: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris
Synopsis
In the year 180, the death of emperor Marcus Aurelius throws the Roman Empire into chaos. Maximus is one of the Roman army's most capable and trusted generals and a key advisor to the emperor. As Ma
# Training Day
Jahr: 2001 | Land: United States of America
Regisseur: Antoine Fuqua
Besetzung: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Harris Yulin
Synopsis
On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears.
# The Pianist
Jahr: 2002 | Land: FR
Regisseur: Roman Polanski
Besetzung: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Emilia Fox
Synopsis
The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.
# Mystic River
Jahr: 2003 | Land: United States of America
Regisseur: Clint Eastwood
Besetzung: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden
Synopsis
The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.
# Ray
Jahr: 2004 | Land: United States of America
Regisseur: Taylor Hackford
Besetzung: Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King, Harry Lennix, Clifton Powell
Synopsis
Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behi
# The Last King of Scotland
Jahr: 2006 | Land: United States of America, United Kingdom
Regisseur: Kevin Macdonald
Besetzung: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Simon McBurney, Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington
Synopsis
Young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan decides it's time for an adventure after he finishes his formal education, so he decides to try his luck in Uganda, and arrives during the downfall of Presiden
# There Will Be Blood
Jahr: 2007 | Land: US
Regisseur: Paul Thomas Anderson
Besetzung: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor, Ciarán Hinds, Dillon Freasier
Synopsis
Ruthless silver miner, turned oil prospector, Daniel Plainview, moves to oil-rich California. Using his son to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. However, local preacher Eli Sunday suspects Plainview's motives and intentions, starting a slow-burning feud that threatens both their lives.
# Milk
Jahr: 2008 | Land: United States of America
Regisseur:
Besetzung:
Synopsis
The true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office. In San Francisco in the late 1970s, Harvey Milk becomes an activist for gay rights and inspires others to join hi
# The King's Speech
Jahr: 2010 | Land: United Kingdom, United States of America
Regisseur: Tom Hooper
Besetzung: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall
Synopsis
The King's Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dr
# The Artist
Jahr: 2011 | Land: BE
Regisseur: Michel Hazanavicius
Besetzung: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller
Synopsis
Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break.
# Lincoln
Jahr: 2012 | Land: IN
Regisseur: Steven Spielberg
Besetzung: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader
Synopsis
The revealing story of the 16th US President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.
# Dallas Buyers Club
Jahr: 2013 | Land: United States of America
Regisseur: Jean-Marc Vallée
Besetzung: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto, Denis O'Hare, Steve Zahn
Synopsis
Loosely based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, a drug-taking, women-loving, homophobic man who in 1986 was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and given thirty days to live.
# The Theory of Everything
Jahr: 2014 | Land: United Kingdom
Regisseur: James Marsh
Besetzung: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney
Synopsis
The Theory of Everything is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student J
# The Revenant
Jahr: 2015 | Land: CA
Regisseur: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Besetzung: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck
Synopsis
In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.
# Manchester by the Sea
Jahr: 2016 | Land: US
Regisseur: Kenneth Lonergan
Besetzung: Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, C.J. Wilson
Synopsis
After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised.
# Darkest Hour
Jahr: 2017 | Land: GB
Regisseur: Joe Wright
Besetzung: Gary Oldman, Stephen Dillane, Lily James, Ronald Pickup, Ben Mendelsohn
Synopsis
In May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.
# Bohemian Rhapsody
Jahr: 2018 | Land: GB
Regisseur: Bryan Singer
Besetzung: Rami Malek, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Lucy Boynton
Synopsis
Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.
# Joker
Jahr: 2019 | Land: Canada, United States of America
Regisseur:
Besetzung:
Synopsis
During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
# The Father
Jahr: 2020 | Land: FR
Regisseur: Florian Zeller
Besetzung: Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Olivia Williams, Imogen Poots
Synopsis
A man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages and, as he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.
# King Richard
Jahr: 2021 | Land: US
Regisseur: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Besetzung: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Jon Bernthal
Synopsis
The story of how Richard Williams served as a coach to his daughters Venus and Serena, who will soon become two of the most legendary tennis players in history.
# The Whale
Jahr: 2022 | Land: US
Regisseur: Darren Aronofsky
Besetzung: Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins, Hong Chau, Samantha Morton
Synopsis
A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.
# Oppenheimer
Jahr: 2023 | Land: United Kingdom, United States of America
Regisseur:
Besetzung:
Synopsis
The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.