Today I’m continuing my look back at the actors with the most Academy Award nominations in my lead-up to the Oscars ceremony toward the end of the month, this time in the leading category. This list is much longer than the supporting one, so I’m splitting the list into two parts. So for this post, the actors listed have received four to five acting nominations, with more or all performances for a lead role.
Note: This list is in descending order, ending with the actor who’s received the most nominations. Titles that are italicized designate the movies they won an Oscar for and titles marked with an asterisk are for supporting role nominations.
WARREN BEATTY (4 nominations):
Bonnie and Clyde
Heaven Can Wait
Reds
Bugsy
CHARLES BOYER (4 nominations):
Conquest
Algiers
Gaslight
Fanny
MONTGOMERY CLIFT (4 nominations):
The Search
A Place in the Sun
From Here to Eternity
Judgment at Nuremberg*
BRADLEY COOPER (4 nominations):
Silver Linings Playbook
American Hustle*
American Sniper
A Star Is Born
GEORGE CLOONEY (4 nominations, 1 win):
Syriana*
Michael Clayton
Up in the Air
The Descendants
RONALD COLMAN (4 nominations, 1 win):
Condemned!
Bulldog Drummond
Random Harvest
A Double Life
ALEC GUINNESS (4 nominations, 1 win):
The Lavender Hill Mob
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Star Wars*
Little Dorrit*
ANTHONY HOPKINS (4 nominations, 1 win):
The Silence of the Lambs
The Remains of the Day
Nixon
Amistad*
WILLIAM HURT (4 nominations, 1 win):
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Children of a Lesser God
Broadcast News
A History of Violence*
BEN KINGSLEY (4 nominations, 1 win):
Gandhi
Bugsy*
Sexy Beast*
House of Sand and Fog
BURT LANCASTER (4 nominations, 1 win):
From Here to Eternity
Elmer Gantry
Birdman of Alcatraz
Atlantic City
GEOFFREY RUSH (4 nominations, 1 win):
Shine
Shakespeare in Love*
Quills
The King’s Speech*
GEORGE C. SCOTT (4 nominations, 1 win):
Anatomy of a Murder*
The Hustler*
Patton
The Hospital
JON VOIGHT (4 nominations, 1 win):
Midnight Cowboy
Coming Home
Runaway Train
Ali*
ROBIN WILLIAMS (4 nominations, 1 win):
Good Morning, Vietnam
Dead Poets Society
The Fisher King
Good Will Hunting*
ALBERT FINNEY (5 nominations):
Tom Jones
Murder on the Orient Express
The Dresser
Under the Volcano
Erin Brockovich*
LEONARDO DICAPRIO (5 nominations, 1 win):
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape*
The Aviator
Blood Diamond
The Wolf of Wall Street
The Revenant
MORGAN FREEMAN (5 nominations, 1 win):
Street Smart*
Driving Miss Daisy
The Shawshank Redemption
Million Dollar Baby*
Invictus
GREGORY PECK (5 nominations, 1 win):
The Keys of the Kingdom
The Yearling
Gentleman’s Agreement
Twelve O’Clock High
To Kill a Mockingbird
JAMES STEWART (5 nominations, 1 win):
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
The Philadelphia Story
It’s a Wonderful Life
Harvey
Anatomy of a Murder
GARY COOPER (5 nominations, 2 wins):
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Sergeant York
The Pride of the Yankees
For Whom the Bell Tolls
High Noon
TOM HANKS (5 nominations, 2 wins):
Big
Philadelphia
Forrest Gump
Saving Private Ryan
Cast Away
FREDRIC MARCH (5 nominations, 2 wins):
The Royal Family of Broadway
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
A Star Is Born
The Best Years of Our Lives
Death of a Salesman
SEAN PENN (5 nominations, 2 wins):
Dead Man Walking
Sweet and Lowdown
I Am Sam
Mystic River
Milk
Awesome! I feel like Jimmy Stewart should have been nominated more times.
Definitely! 5 nominations doesn’t seem like enough for him, but fortunately in his case they were some of his very best performances.