OSCARS - My picks for best actor in leading role 1960-2015

Just my opinion...

1960 - Anthony Perkins in Psycho
1961 - Paul Newman in The Hustler
1962 - Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia
1963 - Marcello Mastroianni in 8½
1964 - Peter Sellers in Dr.Strangalove
1965 - Lee Van Cleef in For a Few Dollars More
1966 - Eli Wallach in The Good,the Bad and the Ugly
1967 - Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke
1968 - Richard Burton in Who's Afraid of Wirginia Woolf?
1969 - Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy
1970 - George C.Scott in Patton
1971 - Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange
1972 - Al Pacino in The Godfather
1973 - James Coburn in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
1974 - Gene Hackman in The Conversation
1975 - Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1976 - Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver
1977 - John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever
1978 - Robert De Niro in The Deer Hunter
1979 - Peter Sellers in Being There
1980 - Robert De Niro in Raging Bull
1981 - William Hurt in Body Heat
1982 - Ben Kingsley in Gandhi
1983 - Al Pacino in Scarface
1984 - F.Murray Abraham in Amadeus
1985 - Eric Stoltz in Mask
1986 - Gary Oldman in Sid and Nancy
1987 - Max Von Sydow in Pelle the Conquerer
1988 - Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers
1989 - Tom Cruise in Born on the Fourth of July
1990 - Robin Williams in Awakenings
1991 - Nick Nolte in Cape Fear
1992 - Harvey Keitel in Bad Liutenant
1993 - Michael Douglas in Fallung Down
1994 - Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump
1995 - Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects
1996 - William H.Macy in Fargo
1997 - Nick Nolte in The Affliction
1998 - Edward Norton in American History X
1999 - Kevin Spacey in American Beauty
2000 - Christian Bale in American Psycho
2001 - Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind
2002 - Ray Liotta in Narc
2003 - Min-Sik Choi in Oldboy
2004 - Kevin Bacon in The Woodsman
2005 - Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
2006 - Leonardo Di Caprio in The Departed
2007 - Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood
2008 - Tom Hardy in Bronson
2009 - Sam Rockwell in Moon
2010 - Jeff Bridges in True Grit
2011 - Ryan Gosling in Drive
2012 - Joaqim Phoenix in The Master
2013 - Leonardo Di Caprio in The Wolf From Wall Street
2014 - Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler
2015 - Leonardo Di Caprio in The Revenant


Some years are really tough.1989 it could be Cruise,Lewis and Willaims. All three are equally good performances. 1990's were hardest. Many great performances. And for me booth Hopkins in Silence and Day Lewis in Gangs are clearly supporting roles. While Spacey in The Usual Suspects is leading by any standards.

These are the ones from your list that really stand out for me. I haven't seen every film of course.

Just putting this out there, I don't agree with your list, but it's your opinion whatever.
1965, 1972, 1995, and, 1996, those are all supporting roles.

Interesting list...nice to see some love for Perkins, Sellers (both performances), Burton, Pacino in The Godfather, Hackman, Oldman, Bacon, Ledger, and Phoenix.

Disagree regarding The Godfather...Pacino's role was definitely the lead and I think the fact that he was submitted as supporting had a lot to do with why he didn't win.

Some good choices really great to see you pick Phoenix for The Master.

He has the most screen time and has the arc, yeah he's the lead. It should have never been a question.

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For 1965, Lee Van Cleef's character is essentially the main character, as it's his story of revenge on El Indio, the Mexican bandit who raped Mortimer's sister and caused her death (note that this is the only "final duel" in the Dollars Trilogy where Clint Eastwood is not a direct participant). For 1972, Al Pacino is the main character, he didn't get star billing. The story of The Usual Suspects revolves around Kevin Spacey's tale, where he receives the bulk of the screen and speaking time.

I understand all of you guys about The Godfather and For a Fe Dollars More you opinions..

But my opinion is that booth Pacino and Brando are leading roles. The Godfather is 3 hours movie, 1st half is about Brando ,2nd half about Pacino. Same for FAFDM, booth Eastwood and Van Cleef are leading roles. It was Eastwood movie,but Van Cleef story.

Who is leading character in The Usual Suspects? It was Verbal story from begining, his version from his angle.

And finally Fargo? I believe William H.Macy has most screen time,and whole kidnapping was HID idea. WITHOUT his idea Fargo wouldn't even exist.

I agree that he's a lead role. He's a co-lead with Brando, whom I feel like had less of an arc/major role than Pacino. Having said that, I don't think Pacino would've had a better chance in the lead category either, going up against Brando.

I don't think Brando's role was a lead...he should have been in the supporting category and he and Pacino would have both won, but because Pacino was in the wrong category, Joel Grey won.

My own picks:

1960 Marcello Mastroianni, La Dolce Vita
1961 Paul Newman, The Hustler
1962 Peter O'Toole, Lawrence of Arabia
1963 Stathis Giallelis, America America
1964 Peter Sellers, Dr. Strangelove
1965 Steve McQueen, The Cincinnati Kid
1966 Richard Burton, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1967 Paul Newman, Cool Hand Luke
1968 Boris Karloff, Targets
1969 Michael Caine, The Italian Job
1970 Jack Nicholson, Five Easy Pieces
1971 Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange
1972 Al Pacino, The Godfather
1973 Robert Redford, The Sting
1974 Al Pacino, The Godfather Part II
1975 Jack Nicholson, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1976 Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver
1977 Woody Allen, Annie Hall
1978 Richard Gere, Days of Heaven
1979 Roy Scheider, All That Jazz
1980 Robert De Niro, Raging Bull
1981 Henry Fonda, On Golden Pond
1982 Ben Kingsley, Gandhi
1983 Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies
1984 Tom Hulce, Amadeus
1985 Jeff Daniels, The Purple Rose of Cairo
1986 Paul Newman, The Color of Money
1987 Michael Douglas, Wall Street
1988 Eric Bogosian, Talk Radio
1989 Martin Landau, Crimes and Misdemeanors
1990 Johnny Depp, Edward Scissorhands
1991 John Turturro, Barton Fink
1992 Denzel Washington, Malcolm X
1993 Liam Neeson, Schindler's List
1994 Morgan Freeman, The Shawshank Redemption
1995 Sean Penn, Dead Man Walking
1996 Philip Baker Hall, Hard Eight
1997 Matt Damon, Good Will Hunting
1998 Jeff Bridges, The Big Lebowski
1999 Jim Carrey, Man on the Moon
2000 Christian Bale, American Psycho
2001 Russell Crowe, A Beautiful Mind
2002 Adrien Brody, The Pianist
2003 Bill Murray, Lost in Translation
2004 Javier Bardem, The Sea Inside
2005 Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
2006 Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
2007 Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
2008 Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
2009 Tom Hardy, Bronson
2010 Stephen Dorff, Somewhere
2011 Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
2012 Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
2013 Bruce Dern, Nebraska
2014 Tom Hardy, Locke
2015 Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

2011- George Clooney- The Descendants

1960- Anthony Perkins- Psycho
1961- Paul Newman - The Hustler
1962- Gregory Peck- To Kill a Mocking Bird
1963- Sydney Poitier- Lilies of the Field
1964- Peter Sellers- Doctor Strangelove
1965- Jack Lemmon- The Great Race
1966- Richard Burton- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
1967- Rod Steiger- In the Heat of the Night
1968- Peter O' Toole- The Lion in Winter
1969- Dustin Hoffman- Midnight Cowboy
1970- George C.c Scott- Patton
1971- Malcolm Macdowell- Clockwork Orange
1972- Marlon Brando- The Godfather
1973- Robert Redford- The Sting
1974- Al Pachino- The Godfather part II
1975- Jack Nicholson- One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
1976- Peter Finch- Network
1977- Marcello Mastroianni- A Special Day
1978- Jon Voight- Coming Home
1979- Roy Scheider- All That Jazz
1980- Robert DeNiro- Raging Bull
1981- Warren Beatty- Reds
1982- Ben Kingsley Ghandi
1983- Robert Duvall- Tender Mercies
1984- F. Murray Abraham- Amadeus, or, Jeff Bridges- Starman
1985- Harrison Ford- Witness
1986- Paul Newman- The Color of Money, or, Bob Hoskins- Mona Lisa
1987- Michael Douglas- Wall Street
1988- Dustin Hoffman- Rain Man
1989- Daniel Day Lewis- My Left Foot, or, Tom Cruise- Born on the Fourth of July
1990- Jeremy Irons- Reversal of Fortune
1991- Anthony Hopkins- Silence of the Lambs
1992- Denzel Washington- Malcolm X, or, Robert Downey Jr.- Chaplin
1993- Liam Neeson Schindlers List
1994- Tom Hanks- Forrest Gump
1995- Nicolas Cage- Leaving Las Vegas
1996- Tom Cruise- Jerry Maguire, or, Billy Bob Thorton, Sling Blade
1997- Jack Nicholson- As Good as it Gets.
1998- Edward Norton- American History X
1999- Kevin Spacey- American Beauty
2000- Russell Crowe- Gladiator
2001- Russell Crowe- Beautiful Mind
2002- Adrian Brody- The Pianist
2003- Bill Murray- Lost in Translation, or, Sean Penn Mystic River
2004- Jamie Foxx- Ray
2005- Philip Seymor Hoffman- Capote
2006- Forrest Whittaker- Last King of Scotland
2007- Daniel Day Lewis- There Will Be Blood
2008- Tom Hardy- Bronson, or, Sean Penn, Milk
2009- Jeff Bridges- Crazy Heart, or, Morgan Freeman Invictus
2010- Colin Firth- The Kings Speech
2011- Gary Oldman- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
2012- Joaquin Pheonix- The Master
2013- Matthew Mcconaghey- Dallas Buyers Club
2014- Jake Gyllenhaul- Nightcrawler, or, Michael Keaton- Birdman
2015- Leonardo DiCaprio- The Revenant.

How good was Joel Grey? I've never seen Cabaret.

Joel Grey was superb but he wasn't better than Brando.

Here's my picks:

1960 - Jack Lemmon in The Apartment
1961 - Paul Newman in The Hustler
1962 - Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia
1963 - Marcello Mastroianni in 8½
1964 - Peter Sellers in Dr.Strangalove
1965 - Rod Steiger in The Pawnbroker
1966 - Paul Scofield in A Man for All Seasons
1967 - Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke
1968 - Peter O'Toole in The Lion in Winter
1969 - Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy
1970 - George C.Scott in Patton
1971 - Gene Hackman in The French Connection
1972 - Marlon Brando in The Godfather
1973 - Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail
1974 - Al Pacino in The Godfather Part II
1975 - Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1976 - Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver
1977 - Richard Burton in Equus
1978 - Robert De Niro in The Deer Hunter
1979 - Peter Sellers in Being There
1980 - John Hurt in The Elephant Man
1981 - Treat Williams in Prince of the City
1982 - Jack Lemmon in Missing
1983 - Al Pacino in Scarface
1984 - F.Murray Abraham in Amadeus
1985 - Jon Voight in Runaway Train
1986 - William Hurt in Children of a Lesser God
1987 - Michael Douglas in Wall Street
1988 - Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man
1989 - Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot
1990 - Robin Williams in Awakenings
1991 - Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs
1992 - Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman
1993 - Tom Hanks in Philadelphia
1994 - Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump
1995 - Anthony Hopkins in Nixon
1996 - Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade
1997 - Daniel Day-Lewis in The Boxer
1998 - Edward Norton in American History X
1999 - Kevin Spacey in American Beauty
2000 - Russell Crowe in Gladiator
2001 - Denzel Washington in Training Day
2002 - Nicholas Cage in Adaptation
2003 - Sean Penn in Mystic River
2004 - Jamie Foxx in Ray
2005 - Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Capote
2006 - Leonardo Di Caprio in The Departed
2007 - Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood
2008 - Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler
2009 - Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker
2010 - Jeff Bridges in True Grit
2011 - Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
2012 - Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln
2013 - Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club
2014 - Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game
2015 - Leonardo Di Caprio in The Revenant

2011 - Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Finally someone who agrees with me on 2011