Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

The Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture (formerly Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role) is an award presented annually by the Screen Actors Guild. It has been presented since the 1st Screen Actors Guild Awards in 1995 to a male actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year.

The award has been presented 30 times, and 28 actors have won the award. Tom Hanks was the award's first winner for Forrest Gump (1994). The most recent winner is Michael B. Jordan who won for his dual role as the Smokestack Twins in Sinners (2025). Daniel Day-Lewis has won the award three times; no other actor has won it more than once. Denzel Washington and Leonardo DiCaprio have the most nominations with six. TimothÃÂ©e Chalamet and Denzel Washington are the youngest and oldest winners of this category, respectively.

Winners and nominees

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Superlatives

Multiple winners

Three wins

Daniel Day-Lewis (2002, 2007, 2012)

Multiple nominees

Note: Winners are indicated in bold type.

Two nominations

Christian Bale (Vice (2018), Ford v Ferrari (2019))
Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart (2009), True Grit (2010))
Adrien Brody (The Pianist (2002), The Brutalist (2024))
Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas (1995), Adaptation. (2002))
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game (2014), The Power of the Dog (2021))
Colman Domingo (Rustin (2023), Sing Sing (2024))
Robert Duvall (The Apostle (1997), Get Low (2010))
Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient (1996), Conclave (2024))
Colin Firth (A Single Man (2009), The King's Speech (2010))
James Franco (127 Hours (2010), The Disaster Artist (2017))
Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Invictus (2009))
Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge (2016), Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021))
Paul Giamatti (Sideways (2004), The Holdovers (2023))
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Flawless (1999), Capote (2005))
Anthony Hopkins (Nixon (1995), The Father (2020))
Jack Nicholson (As Good as It Gets (1997), About Schmidt (2002))
Gary Oldman (The Darkest Hour (2017), Mank (2020))
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything (2014), The Danish Girl (2015))
Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line (2005), Joker (2019))
Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Moneyball (2011))
Geoffrey Rush (Shine (1996), Quills (2000))
Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), King Richard (2021))
Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland (2006), The Butler (2013))

Three nominations

TimothÃÂ©e Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name (2017), A Complete Unknown (2024), Marty Supreme (2025))
George Clooney (Michael Clayton (2007), Up in the Air (2009), The Descendants (2011))
Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook (2012), A Star is Born (2018), Maestro (2023))
Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York (2002), There Will Be Blood (2007), Lincoln (2012))
Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Finding Neverland (2004), Black Mass (2015))
Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson (2006), Lars and the Real Girl (2007), La La Land (2016))
Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises (2007), Captain Fantastic (2016), Green Book (2018))

Four nominations

Russell Crowe (The Insider (1999), Gladiator (2000), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Cinderella Man (2005))
Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump (1994), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Cast Away (2000), Captain Phillips (2013))
Sean Penn (Dead Man Walking (1995), I Am Sam (2001), Mystic River (2003), Milk (2008))

Six nominations

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator (2004), Blood Diamond (2006), J. Edgar (2011), The Revenant (2015), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), One Battle After Another (2025))
Denzel Washington (The Hurricane (1999), Training Day (2001), Flight (2012), Fences (2016), Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017), The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021))

References

External links

SAG Awards official site