Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor

The Best Actor Award (French: Prix d'interprétation masculine) is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival since 1946. It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and chosen by the jury from the films in official competition slate at the festival.

Best Actor Award
Prix d'interprétation masculine (French)
2024 recipient: Jesse Plemons
Awarded forBest Performance by an Actor
Presented byCannes Film Festival
First awarded1946
Currently held byJesse Plemons
Kinds of Kindness (2024)
Websitewww.festival-cannes.com/en/

At the 1st Cannes Film Festival held in 1946, Ray Milland was the first winner of this award for his performance in The Lost Weekend, and Jesse Plemons is the most recent winner in this category for his role in Kinds of Kindness at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in 2024.

History

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The award was first presented in 1946. The prize was not awarded on five occasions (1947, 1953–54, 1956, and 1960). The festival was not held at all in 1948, 1950, and 2020. In 1968, no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the May 1968 events in France. The award can be for lead or supporting roles, with the exception of the period from 1979 to 1981, and in 1991, when the festival used to award a separate "Best Supporting Actor" prize. The jury also, on occasion, cites actors with a special citation that is separate from the main award.

On four occasions, the jury has awarded multiple men (more than 2) the prize for one film. The four films were: A Big Family (1955), Compulsion (1959), Long Day's Journey into Night (1962), and Days of Glory (2006).

Dean Stockwell, Jack Lemmon, and Marcello Mastroianni have won the most awards in this category, each winning twice.

Winners

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Table key
Indicates the Best Supporting Actor winner
Year Actor Role English Title Original Title Ref.
1940s
1946   /   Ray Milland Don Birnam The Lost Weekend [1]
1949   Edward G. Robinson Gino Monetti House of Strangers [2]
1950s
1951   Michael Redgrave Andrew Crocker-Harris The Browning Version [3]
1952   Marlon Brando Emiliano Zapata Viva Zapata! [4]
1955
[A][B]
  Spencer Tracy John J. Macreedy Bad Day at Black Rock [5]
  Sergei Lukyanov Matvei Zhurbin A Big Family Большая семья
  Boris Andreyev Ilya Matveyevich Zhurbin
  Aleksey Batalov Aleksei Zhurbin
  Sergei Kurilov Viktor Zhurbin
  Vadim Medvedev Anton Zhurbin
  Boris Bityukov Kostya Zhurbin
  Nikolai Gritsenko Club Manager
  Pavel Kadochnikov Skobolev
  Boris Kokovkin Shipyard Director
  Nikolay Sergeev Basmanov
1957   John Kitzmiller Sgt. Jim Valley of Peace [6]
1958   Paul Newman Ben Quick The Long, Hot Summer [7][8]
1959   Bradford Dillman Artie Strauss Compulsion [9]
  Dean Stockwell Judd Steiner
  Orson Welles Jonathan Wilk
1960s
1961   Anthony Perkins Philip Van Der Besh Goodbye Again [10]
1962 [C]   Murray Melvin Geoffrey Inghman A Taste of Honey [11]
[12]
  Ralph Richardson James Tyrone Sr. Long Day's Journey into Night
  Jason Robards James Tyrone Jr.
  Dean Stockwell Edmund Tyrone
1963   Richard Harris Frank Machin This Sporting Life [13]
1964   Antal Páger Vajkay Ákos Drama of the Lark Pacsirta [14]
  Saro Urzì Don Vincenzo Ascalone Seduced and Abandoned Sedotta e abbandonata
1965   Terence Stamp Freddie Clegg The Collector [15]
1966   Per Oscarsson Pontus Hunger Sult [16]
1967   Oded Kotler Eli Three Days and a Child שלושה ימים וילד [17]
1969   Jean-Louis Trintignant The Examining Magistrate Z [18]
1970s
1970   Marcello Mastroianni Oreste Nardi The Pizza Triangle Dramma della gelosia (tutti i particolari in cronaca) [19]
1971   Riccardo Cucciolla Nicola Sacco Sacco & Vanzetti Sacco e Vanzetti [20]
1972   Jean Yanne Jean We Won't Grow Old Together Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble [21]
1973   Giancarlo Giannini Antonio Soffiantini Love and Anarchy Film d'amore e d'anarchia, ovvero: stamattina alle 10, in via dei Fiori, nella nota casa di tolleranza... [22]
1974   Jack Nicholson Billy L. Buddusky The Last Detail [23]
1975   Vittorio Gassman Fausto Consolo Scent of a Woman Profumo di donna [24]
1976   José Luis Gómez Pascual Duarte Pascual Duarte [25]
1977   Fernando Rey Luis Elisa, vida mía [26]
1978   Jon Voight Luke Martin Coming Home [27]
1979   Jack Lemmon Jack Godell The China Syndrome [28]
[29]
  Stefano Madia Marco Millozza Dear Father Caro papà
1980s
1980   Michel Piccoli Mauro Ponticelli A Leap in the Dark Salto nel vuoto [30]
[31]
  Jack Thompson Major J.F. Thomas Breaker Morant
1981   Ugo Tognazzi Primo Spaggiari Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo [32]
[33]
  Ian Holm Sam Mussabini Chariots of Fire
1982   Jack Lemmon Edmund Horman Missing [34]
1983   Gian Maria Volonté Bernard Fontana The Death of Mario Ricci La mort de Mario Ricci [35]
1984   Alfredo Landa Paco el Bajo The Holy Innocents Los santos inocentes [36]
  Francisco Rabal Azarías
1985   William Hurt Luis Molina Kiss of the Spider Woman [37]
1986   Michel Blanc Antoine Tenue de soirée [38]
  Bob Hoskins George Mona Lisa
1987   Marcello Mastroianni Romano Dark Eyes Oci ciornie [39]
1988   Forest Whitaker Charlie "Bird" Parker Bird [40]
1989   James Spader Graham Dalton Sex, Lies, and Videotape [41]
1990s
1990   Gérard Depardieu Cyrano de Bergerac Cyrano de Bergerac [42]
1991   John Turturro Barton Fink Barton Fink [43]
  Samuel L. Jackson Gator Purify Jungle Fever
1992   Tim Robbins Griffin Mill The Player [44]
1993   David Thewlis Johnny Naked [45]
1994   Ge You Xu Fugui To Live 活着 [46]
1995   Jonathan Pryce Lytton Strachey Carrington [47]
1996   Daniel Auteuil Harry The Eighth Day Le huitième jour [48]
  Pascal Duquenne Georges
1997   Sean Penn Eddie Quinn She's So Lovely [49]
1998   Peter Mullan Joe Kavanagh My Name Is Joe [50]
1999   Emmanuel Schotté Pharaon de Winter Humanité L'humanité [51]
2000s
2000   Tony Leung Chiu-wai Chow Mo-wan In the Mood for Love 花樣年華 [52]
2001   Benoît Magimel Walter Klemmer The Piano Teacher La Pianiste [53]
2002   Olivier Gourmet Olivier The Son Le Fils [54]
2003   Muzaffer Özdemir Mahmut Uzak [55]
  Mehmet Emin Toprak Yusuf
2004   Yūya Yagira Akira Fukushima Nobody Knows 誰も知らない [56]
2005   Tommy Lee Jones Pete Perkins The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada [57]
2006   Roschdy Zem Messaoud Souni Days of Glory Indigènes [58]
  Bernard Blancan Sergent Roger Martinez
  /   Jamel Debbouze Saïd Otmari
  Samy Naceri Yassir
  /   Sami Bouajila Abdelkader
2007   Konstantin Lavronenko Alex The Banishment Изгнание [59]
2008   Benicio del Toro Ernesto "Che" Guevara Che [60]
2009   /   Christoph Waltz Col. Hans Landa Inglourious Basterds [61]
2010s
2010   Javier Bardem Uxbal Biutiful [62]
  Elio Germano Claudio La nostra vita
2011   Jean Dujardin George Valentin The Artist [63]
2012   Mads Mikkelsen Lucas The Hunt Jagten [64]
2013   Bruce Dern Woody Grant Nebraska [65]
2014   Timothy Spall J. M. W. Turner Mr. Turner [66]
2015   Vincent Lindon Thierry Taugourdeau The Measure of a Man La Loi du marché [67]
2016   Shahab Hosseini Emad The Salesman فروشنده [68]
2017   Joaquin Phoenix Joe You Were Never Really Here [69]
2018   Marcello Fonte Marcello Dogman [70]
2019   Antonio Banderas Salvador Mallo Pain and Glory Dolor y gloria [71]
2020s
2021   Caleb Landry Jones Martin Bryant Nitram [72]
2022   Song Kang-ho Sang-hyeon Broker 브로커 [73]
2023   Koji Yakusho Hirayama Perfect Days
2024   Jesse Plemons Robert / Daniel / Andrew Kinds of Kindness

Multiple Winners

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The following individuals have received multiple Best Actor awards:

Number of Wins Actors Nationality Films
2 Dean Stockwell United States Compulsion (1959),
Long Day's Journey into Night (1962)
Jack Lemmon The China Syndrome (1979),
Missing (1982)
Marcello Mastroianni Italy The Pizza Triangle (1970),
Dark Eyes (1987)

See also

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The following individuals have also received Best Actor award(s) at Venice or Berlin Film Festival.

Winning Year at Cannes Actors Festival Year English Title Nationality
1958 Paul Newman Berlin 1995 Nobody's Fool United States
1969 Jean-Louis Trintignant Berlin 1968 The Man Who Lies France
1970
1987
Marcello Mastroianni Venice 1989 What Time Is It? Italy
1993 1, 2, 3, Sun
1979
1982
Jack Lemmon Berlin 1981 Tribute United States
Venice 1992 Glengarry Glen Ross
1980 Michel Piccoli Berlin 1982 Strange Affair France
1983 Gian Maria Volonté Berlin 1987 The Moro Affair Italy
1990 Gérard Depardieu Venice 1985 Police France
1991 Samuel L. Jackson Berlin 1998 Jackie Brown United States
1997 Sean Penn Berlin 1996 Dead Man Walking
Venice 1998 Hurlyburly
2003 21 Grams
2008 Benicio del Toro Berlin 2001 Traffic Puerto Rico
2010 Javier Bardem Venice 2000 Before Night Falls Spain
2004 The Sea Inside
Elio Germano Berlin 2020 Hidden Away Italy
2013 Bruce Dern Berlin 1983 That Championship Season United States
2016 Shahab Hosseini Berlin 2011 A Separation Iran
2017 Joaquin Phoenix Venice 2012 The Master United States

Notes

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A^ : This year the award was changed to Prix d'Interpretation (Acting Award), without gender differentiation.
B^ : The entire male and female cast of A Big Family (Больша́я семья́) was recipient of this award in a tie with Spencer Tracy for Bad Day at Black Rock.
C^ : This year award was given as Prix Le Premier Regard Un Certain Regard (Premiere Award - Un Certain Regard) to the lead male and female cast of Long Day's Journey into Night and A Taste of Honey (ex aequo).

References

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