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Best Actor Oscar Winners List (Photo Credit – Instagram/Wikipedia)

The Academy Awards have long vaunted acting titans, and a rare few male actors have commandeered the Best Actor statuette more than once, with Daniel Day-Lewis scaling the peak thrice. From living legends like Tom Hanks to recent winners such as Adrien Brody, 10 men are trailing Day-Lewis’ record. Here is every name with two or more wins in this hallowed category.

1. Daniel Day-Lewis

Sir Daniel Day-Lewis stands alone with three Best Actor Oscars, a feat no other man has matched. His wins were facilitated thanks to dramatic transformations for My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood, and Lincoln—roles that exhibit him as an unforgettable chameleon. The Irish actor has retired since 2017’s Phantom Thread, but his five nominations out of fewer than a couple dozen movies certainly make us wonder whether Day-Lewis could come back for that gold once again...

Mikey Madison is the latest in a line of actors dating back to Janet Gaynor to win Oscars depicting the sex trade. Why this is, and whether it lessens the stigma of such work, is an open question

Anora emerged triumphant from last week’s Academy Awards presentation, winning five Oscars including best actress for Mikey Madison for her performance as Ani, a sex worker who elopes with the feckless son of a Russian oligarch, only to find herself at odds with his powerful family and their henchmen. As in his previous films, writer-director Sean Baker shows generosity and affection for the marginalised characters, and especially for its heroine. Even when she gets roughed up, it’s played for laughs and you’re confident she won’t meet one of the sad fates of screen sex workers of yore, such as Louise Brooks as Lulu, stabbed to death in Pandora’s Box,...

Five minutes and 30 seconds was the former record for the longest acceptance speech in Academy Awards history, but Sunday night, a victorious Adrien Brody surpassed even that.

While accepting his award for Best Actor at the 97th Oscars ceremony, Brody — who was accepting for his portrayal as Hungarian-Jewish architect László Tóth in The Brutalist — ignored the 45-second time limit, standing at the microphone for a lengthy five minutes and 40 seconds, and beating the record previously held by Mrs. Miniver’s Greer Garson. (Garson received the Best Actress trophy for her title role at the 1942 ceremony held on March 4, 1943.)

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Adrien Brody Wins Best Actor Oscar! (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Adrien Brody has etched his name in Oscar history, securing his second Academy Award for Best Actor with his role in Brady Corbet’s sweeping post-war epic, ‘The Brutalist.’

Brody, even at 51, not only cements his status as a two-time winner but also holds onto a record he first set over two decades ago, still being the youngest actor to ever claim the prize, a title he earned in 2003 with ‘The Pianist’ at 29 years and 343 days old.

The Oscar for Best Actor goes to Adrien Brody! #Oscars pic.twitter.com/O95NtIsleQ

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 3, 2025

Adrien Brody Holding Onto a Historic Record

Brody’s competition this year came in the form of Timothée Chalamet, who, at 29, could have snatched that record away had he triumphed for his turn as Bob Dylan in ‘A Complete Unknown.’

Trending Oscars 2025: Host...

The Academy Awards have been handing out a Best Actress trophy since the very first ceremony in 1928. Janet Gaynor for a combo of 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans was the first recipient for his leading roles.

Since then, only one woman has won the category four times: Katharine Hepburn for Morning Glory, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Lion in Winter, and On Golden Pond. Next with three is Frances McDormand. The ladies with two lead wins have included Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Jodie Foster, Glenda Jackson, Vivien Leigh, Luise Rainer, Emma Stone, Meryl Streep, and Hilary Swank. Streep holds the record of most lead nominations at 17.

The oldest winner was Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy) at age 80. The oldest nominee was Emmanuelle Riva (Amour) at age 85. The youngest winner was Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser...

The 2025 Best Actress Oscar race was one for the ages. Mikey Madison won the award Sunday night for Anora to enter the Oscar annals as one of the youngest champs in the category ever.

At 25 years and 342 days old, Madison is the ninth youngest Best Actress winner. She displaces Vivien Leigh from the top 10 youngest list. Leigh was 26 years and 116 days old when she won her first Oscar for 1939's Gone with the Wind. Here is the new youngest top 10 (their ages calculated at the time of the award):

1. Marlee Matlin, Children of a Lesser God (1986): 21 years, 218 days

2. Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (2012): 22 years, 193 days

3. Janet Gaynor, 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise (1927/28): 22 years, 222 days

4. Joan Fontaine, Suspicion (1941): 24 years, 127 days

5. Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday (1953): 24 years, 325 days

6. Jennifer Jones, The Song of Bernadette (1943): 25 years, 0 days

7. Grace Kelly, The Country Girl (1954): 25 years, 138 days

8. Hilary Swank,...

Earning his second Best Actor Oscar 22 years after his first, Adrien Brody entered the history books as the first leading actor to win two statuettes on his first two attempts on Sunday.

He won for his role as an ingenious, haunted architect in Brady Corbet’s epic, following his win in 2003 for Roman Polanski’s biographical World War II drama “The Pianist.”

And by wining Best Actor on Sunday, Brody not only made history but also preserved his place among Oscar milestones. Had 29-year-old Timothée Chalamet won in the category for “A Complete Unknown,” he would have become the youngest Best Actor victor ever, beating Brody’s own record from 2003.

Brody is the 11th leading actor to win twice in the top category.

“Acting is a very fragile profession,” Brody opened his acceptance speech. “It looks very glamorous, and certain moments it is, but the one thing that I’ve...

Adrien Brody took home his second Oscar on Sunday — Best Actor for The Brutalist — putting him in rarefied air: He is the eighth performer to boast a perfect 2-for-2 record at the Oscars.

The first seven to achieve this are:

1. Luise Rainer: Best Actress for The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and The Good Earth (1937)

2. Vivien Leigh: Best Actress for Gone with the Wind (1939) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

3. Helen Hayes: Best Actress for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932) and Best Supporting Actress for Airport (1970)

4. Kevin Spacey: Best Supporting Actor for The Usual Suspects (1995) and Best Actor for American Beauty (1999)

5. Hilary Swank: Best Actress for Boys Don’t Cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004)

6. Christoph Waltz: Best Supporting Actor for Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Django Unchained (2012)

7. Mahershala Ali: Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight (2016) and Green Book (2018)

See The complete list of Oscar winners

Brody nabbed his first Best Actor Oscar for...

Clark Gable was the Oscar-winning matinee idol who starred in dozens of films before his untimely death in 1960. Let’s take a look back at 12 of Gable’s greatest movies, ranked worst to best.

After appearing in bit parts in a number of films, Gable shot to stardom with his performance in “A Free Soul” (1931) as a gangster who bewitches a young woman (Norma Shearer) whose attorney father (Lionel Barrymore) helped him beat a murder rap. From there forward, the actor’s persona as a raffish leading man who’s every guy’s best friend and every gal’s dream became cemented in a number of subsequent roles.

He won an Oscar just three years later for Frank Capra‘s screwball classic “It Happened One Night” (1934), in which he played a newspaper reporter traveling with a spoiled socialite (Claudette Colbert). The film became the first to sweep the five major Oscars,...

For the first time in 47 years, all five Best Actress Oscar nominees hail from Best Picture nominees.

The Best Actress lineup was the top five in the odds: Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez), Mikey Madison (Anora), Demi Moore (The Substance), and Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here). Four of those films were widely predicted to score Best Picture nominations except for I’m Still Here, which was in 13th place in the odds; but in the biggest surprise of the day, the Brazilian feature made the cut on Thursday. The other Best Picture nominees are The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, and Nickel Boys.

The last time the Best Actress and Best Picture lineups aligned was during the 1977-78 season when Diane Keaton (Annie Hall) won Best Actress over Jane Fonda (Julia), Marsha Mason (The Goodbye Girl), and The Turning Point stars Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine.

Stage and screen legend Joan Plowright has passed away.

She was 95 years.

News of Plowright’s death comes courtesy of a statement from her family.

English actress Joan Plowright, UK, 17th October 1975. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Joan Plowright’s Cause of Death

The statement revealed that Joan passed away at a retirement home for actors in southern England. She was surrounded by her loved ones as she breathed her last breaths.

“She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire,” the family said (via ABC News).

“We are so proud of all Joan did and who she was as a loving and deeply inclusive human being.”

No cause of death was revealed, but it seems that the passing was not unexpected.

English actress Joan Plowright at the South Bank in London, UK, 4th May 1973. (Photo...

Joan Plowright, the heralded actress of stage and screen who was also the widow to Laurence Olivier, has passed away. Dame Joan Plowright was 95.

A native of Lincolnshire, England, Joan Plowright – who studied at the famed Bristol Old Vic Theatre School – first made her London stage debut in the mid-’50s. Soon after, she was working alongside Laurence Olivier, then already a well-established icon of the stage and screen himself, having combined these talents in an almost unprecedented way with Henry V and Hamlet. (He was also fresh off of his divorce from Vivien Leigh.)

The month after Joan Plowright married Olivier, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for A Taste of Honey. Plowright remained committed to the stage, steadily appearing in productions into the early ‘90s. Some key productions include The Crucible; Uncle Vanya; Three Sisters; Saturday, Sunday, Monday; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?...

Joan Plowright, UK star of stage and screen and widow of Laurence Olivier, has died aged 95.

Her 60-year spanning career included a Bafta-nominated role in 1960 film The Entertainer, an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe win for 1991 comedy drama Enchanted April and a Bafta nomination for a 1977 film version of Equus.

Stage roles included George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan in 1963 and 1977’s Filumena.

Plowright had been retired for 10 years, having lost her eyesight, but in 2018, appeared in Roger Michell’s film Nothing Like a Dame, looking back on her career alongside Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, her co-stars in 1999 comedy drama Tea With Mussolini.

Joan Plowright, UK star of stage and screen and widow of Laurence Olivier, has died aged 95.

Her 60-year spanning career included a Bafta-nominated role in 1960 film The Entertainer, an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe win for 1991 comedy drama Enchanted April and a Bafta nomination for a 1977 film version of Equus.

Stage roles included George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan in 1963 and 1977’s Filumena.

Plowright had been retired for 10 years, having lost her eyesight, but in 2018, appeared in Roger Michell’s film Nothing Like a Dame, looking back on her career alongside Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, her co-stars in 1999 comedy drama Tea With Mussolini.

Joan Plowright, the distinguished actress of the post-war British stage whose considerable skill as a performer was at times eclipsed by her fame as the third and last wife of Laurence Olivier, has died. She was 95.

Plowright died on Jan. 16 surrounded by family in her native U.K. A statement from the family released on Friday to the BBC said: “It is with great sadness that the family of Dame Joan Plowright, the Lady Olivier, inform you that she passed away peacefully on January 16 2025 surrounded by her family at Denville Hall aged 95.”

It added: “She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire. She cherished her last 10 years in Sussex with constant visits from friends and family, filled with much laughter and fond memories. The family are deeply grateful to Jean Wilson and all those involved in her personal care over many years.

Joan Plowright, perhaps the greatest Anglophone actor of the 20th century and the widow of Laurence Oliver, died on Thursday. She was 95.

Plowright was a prominent actress of stage and screen in her own right, especially in her native England, and was a Tony winner for “A Taste of Honey.” The actress had retired in 2014 after going blind due to macular degeneration.

Her family confirmed the news of her death to The Guardian on Friday, writing: “It is with great sadness that the family of Dame Joan Plowright, the Lady Olivier, inform you that she passed away peacefully on January 16 2025 surrounded by her family at Denville Hall aged 95. She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire. She cherished her last 10 years in Sussex with constant visits from friends and family, filled with much laughter and fond memories. The...

Claude Jarman Jr., who received a Juvenile Academy Award for his heart-tugging performance as the boy who adopts an orphaned fawn in the 1946 MGM classic The Yearling, died Sunday. He was 90.

Jarman died in his sleep of natural causes at his Marin County home in Kentfield, California, his wife of 38 years, Katie, told THR’s Scott Feinberg.

In films released in 1949, Jarman starred with Jeanette MacDonald in the Lassie movie The Sun Comes Up, played the brother of a rancher on the run (Robert Sterling) in Roughshod and reteamed with Yearling director Clarence Brown to portray a youngster out to prove the innocence of a Black man in Intruder in the Dust, based on the William Faulkner novel and filmed in Oxford, Mississippi.

A year later, he played the son of a cavalry officer (John Wayne) in John Ford’s Rio Grande (1950).

Born on Sept. 27, 1934, Jarman was the 10-year-old son...

Meryl Streep is the best of the best.

Her performance in Sophie’s Choice (1982) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Actress winner ever, according to a Gold Derby ballot cast by 21 of our film experts, critics, and editors, who ranked all 97 movie champs.

Diane Keaton ranked second for Annie Hall (1977), with Jodie Foster following in third for The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Liza Minnelli for Cabaret (1972) and Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) rounded out the top five.

At the bottom of the list of the Best Actress winners is Mary Pickford for Coquette (1929). Just above that film in the rankings are Luise Rainer for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Helen Hayes for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932), Loretta Young for The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), and Marie Dressler for Min and Bill (1931).

Another recent Gold Derby poll of cinema experts declared The Godfather (1972) as the greatest Best Picture Oscar winner of all...

The performance by Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice (1982) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Actress winner ever. The results are from a recent Gold Derby ballot cast by 21 of our film experts and editors, who ranked all 97 movie champs.

Ranking in second place is Diane Keaton for Annie Hall (1977). Following in third place is Jodie Foster for The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Rounding out the top five are Liza Minnelli for Cabaret (1972), and Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).

At the bottom of the list of the Best Actress winners is Mary Pickford for Coquette (1929). Just above that film in the rankings are Luise Rainer for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Helen Hayes for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932), Loretta Young for The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), and Marie Dressler for Min and Bill (1931).

Another recent poll had The Godfather (1972) declared as the greatest Best Picture Oscar winner of all time (view...

[Editor’s note: For this article, The Hollywood Reporter only looked at the shortest and longest screen times in the lead acting categories. Best supporting actor and actress were not included.]

Longest Screen Times Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind (1939)

Movie Length 3 hrs 58 mins

Time Onscreen 2 hrs 23 mins

Percent of Run Time 60 Percent

Vivien Leigh holds the record for the longest performance to win an Oscar, though the work took a deep physical and mental toll on her. The film itself is also the longest to win best picture. At the 12th Academy Awards, Victor Fleming’s Gone With the Wind also won best supporting actress for Hattie McDaniel, who became the first African American to win an Oscar. Leigh was nominated alongside Bette Davis (Dark Victory), Irene Dunne (Love Affair), Greta Garbo (Ninotchka) and Greer Garson (Goodbye, Mr. Chips).

Charlton Heston, Ben-Hur (1959)

Movie Length 3 hrs 32 mins

Time Onscreen 2 hrs 1 min

Percent of Run Time 57.1 Percent...

Vivien Leigh was the two-time Oscar winner who made only a handful of films before her untimely death in 1967 at the age of 53. Yet several of those titles remain classics. Let’s take a look back at 10 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in British India, Leigh appeared in a number of roles on both the stage and screen in England, including a production of “Hamlet” opposite her husband, Laurence Olivier.

She came to international attention after landing the coveted role of Scarlet O’Hara in David O. Selznick’s massive adaptation of Margaret Mitchell‘s bestseller “Gone with the Wind” (1939). Leigh was far from the first choice to embody the headstrong Southern belle who pines after a married man (Leslie Howard) while wedding another (Clark Gable) against the backdrop of the Civil War. Yet the relatively unknown thespian beat out the likes of Bette Davis, Claudette Colbert,...

Marlon Brando is largely considered an actor who changed Hollywood forever, thanks to his contributions to film and performances in some of the best movies of all time. Throughout his career, it seemed that Brando understood what made a good script and what directors he would best work with, as the projects he sought out almost always garnered significant attention and accolades. Though there's much more to a performer's legacy than how many awards they win, Brando was consistently recognized for his work and is frequently singled out as one of the greatest actors of his generation.

Much of his early acting work and training took place on stage in the theater, which informed much of Brando's success. Several of his early projects were film adaptations of stage plays, easing the transition from theater to the movies. Many of Marlon Brando's best movies feature him in classic roles that highlight...

Adrien Brody won an Oscar at the 2003 ceremony for his performance in “The Pianist.” Despite his impressive career, that film has brought him his only nomination. Things could change in early 2025 now that his latest film “The Brutalist” has him competing for Best Actor. An Oscars victory would add him into an exclusive club that currently just has seven members: performers to win two Academy Awards for their only two nominations.

Our Gold Derby odds for Best Actor currently have Brody tied for second place with Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”) at 9/2 odds. Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”) is out front in first place at 4/1 odds. We then have Timothee Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”) at 6/1, Daniel Craig (“Queer”) at 21/2, Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”) at 16/1, and John David Washington (“The Piano Lesson”) at 30/1.

SEEOscar flashback 20 years ago to 2003: Adrien Brody, Nicole Kidman, Eminem and a ‘Chicago’ domination

Let’s take a look at...

With Gladiator II thrusting into cinematic arenas next month, we hand out laurels to the greatest sword-and-sandal movies of them all

In this heavy-going British Technicolor adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s play, Claude Rains’s oddly relaxed Julius Caesar plays father figure to Vivien Leigh’s implausibly girlish Cleopatra, schooling her in the art of power with just a hint of May to December flirtation. The two leads are just about charismatic enough to compel interest despite Shaw’s ponderous dialogue.

“The Piano Lesson” is a showcase for Samuel L. Jackson and Danielle Deadwyler. This upcoming Netflix flick is adapted from August Wilson’s 1987 Pulitzer Prize winner. The story is centered on the Charles family, who have to decide what to do with a great family heirloom — a piano. Jackson plays the patriarch, Doaker Charle, who acts as a storyteller in the play and recounts detailed stories about the piano’s history. And Deadwyler plays his niece Berniece, who is a strong advocate for keeping the piano.

Jackson has a long history with this piece. He originated the role of Boy Willie at the Yale Repertory Theater in 1987 and reaped a Tony bid for his performance as Doaker in the acclaimed 2022 Broadway revival directed by his wife, Latanya Richardson Jackson. John David Washington, who played Boy Willie in that production, reprises his role here, with his brother Malcolm Washington handling helming.

If you had to pinpoint the start of the 1960s — that is, the counterculture revolution — two events are almost universally agreed on as the era’s formative earthquakes. One was the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The other (the real spark to the tinderbox) was the first appearance of the Beatles on “Ed Sullivan,” which happened only 11 weeks later, and which all but answered the assassination by saying, “Here is joy. Here is hope. Here’s a new way to be.”

Yet there was another global media phenomenon that took place over a slightly longer period of time, and it was one that was just as defining of the era’s new energy. That was the scandalous romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. We tend to think of that saga as, simply, the apotheosis of celebrity gossip. Yet as it plays out in Nanette Burstein’s luscious and enveloping...

Victor Fleming's Gone with the Wind is an award-winning film, but it is also a controversial one due to its depiction of enslaved people and the Civil War. Adapted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell, the film stars Vivien Leigh as Scarlett OHara, Hattie McDaniel as Mammy, Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, Thomas Mitchell as George OHara, and Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes.

“X,” the first movie in Ti West’s grungy but elevated artisanal-trash horror franchise (it’s been billed as a trilogy but may yet produce further installments), was an unusually effective stab at recreating the ’70s farmhouse-turned-charnel-house vibe of “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” spiced with the fleshpot voyeurism of ’70s porn. For a retro slasher movie, it was a novelty and a curio. The insane killer was an old farm wife suffering from erotic frustration — played, under a ton of make-up, by Mia Goth, the same actress who played one of the film’s porn performers. The movie was leagues better than your average “Chain Saw” knockoff, yet it never quite transcended the slasher formula. It was a psycho thriller crafted with a fanboy filmmaker’s encyclopedic rigor.

But “Pearl,” a prequel that West shot directly after “X” (it was released just six months later in 2022), took a startling leap.

Explore ‘The Golden Girls’ Cast and Legacy Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux Betty White as Rose Nylund Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo “Thank you for being a friend.”

Airing from 1985 to 1992, with seven seasons in total, The Golden Girls was a smash hit during its entire run. It was popular for addressing a demographic that rarely saw the spotlight on television or in Hollywood: senior women.

Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak, Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo, Betty White as Rose Nylund, and Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux in the 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls (Credit: NBC)

The sitcom was conceptualized by writer Susan Harris. Before The Golden Girls, she was most renowned for creating the series Soap, which parodied daytime soap operas such as The Young and the Restless.

Soap lasted for four seasons and was marred by controversy due to Harris’s insistence on including...

When it comes to the Golden Age of Hollywood, the only thing more iconic than the films it created are the behind-the-scenes stories and dramas that have survived generations. Whether it be the myths that surround The Wizard of Oz, or the troubling effects A Streetcar Named Desire had on Vivien Leigh, tales from Tinsletown's glory days continue to intrigue cinephiles. Out of all the speculation, there is one feud so legendary that it has not only outlived those involved, it is well known by those who have not even seen the film from which it stemmed.

Carla Gugino has found her next project, and it will allow the actress to step into the shoes of one of the biggest performers in the history of the industry. According to Variety, the Fall of the House of Usher star has been hired to play Vivien Leigh in an upcoming biopic titled The Florist, directed by Nick Sandow and written by Jayce Bartok. The project will focus on a particular moment from Leigh's life, back when the star was working in the Broadway production of Ivanov. Throughout her acclaimed career, Leigh struggled with her bipolar disorder, an aspect of her life that will be tackled in the movie.

Carla Gugino has been tapped to play Hollywood screen legend Vivien Leigh in the forthcoming biopic “The Florist.”

The film is directed by Nick Sandow (star of “Orange is the New Black”) and will explore Leigh’s struggle with bipolar disorder in the 1960s, as she prepares to lead the Broadway production of John Gielgud’s Chekhov adaptation of “Ivanov.” Screenwriter Jayce Bartok (“The Cake Eaters”) put the script together based on a box of love letters.

Leigh earned her place in cinema history as Scarlett O’Hara, the central character in 1939’s “Gone With the Wind,” opposite Clark Gable. Leigh also played the landmark role of Blanche DuBois opposite Marlon Brando in 1951’s “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

“I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to excavate a woman as complex, contradictory, and compelling as Vivien. From the moment I read the script, I knew ‘The Florist’ was a journey I had to pursue,...

In Tennessee Williams' play "A Streetcar Named Desire," Blanche DuBois desperately clings to certain beliefs. She is keenly intent on reinforcing the societal values and morals inherent in her aristocratic lineage, shunning realism for the magic of a nostalgic past that hides something darker, and repressing her guilt with the help of self-soothing mechanisms. When faced with the terrible nature of reality, which culminates in the character of her brother-in-law Stanley, Blanche is forced to reckon with the cycles of the violence that mark her existence, along with the precious fantasies woven to protect herself from true growth or healing. When she smashes a mirror, the delusions also shatter, with fantasy having no hold on her perception of reality anymore.

The mirror-smashing scene is seminal to understanding Blanche in Williams' play, and "On the Waterfront" director Elia Kazan's film adaptation of the story also dramatizes this to chilling effect,...

On what would be his 100th birthday, Marlon Brando remains synonymous not with acting, but great acting — even if this ranked list of all his performances represents what may be the most wildly uneven filmography for any talent of his caliber. But that’s the power of Brando: A handful of his performances are so great and influential they shook up the art of acting forever. Even among his lesser performances, there’s compelling work deserving of rediscovery.

In order to best exemplify what made him such a singular onscreen presence, we ranked all 39 of his films (and one TV appearance), reflecting a spectrum as wide as the man’s broad shoulders. Based on the quality of Brando’s performances rather than the overall films themselves, there are some placements that may surprise you; for example, as great as Brando is in “The Godfather,” it’s still just the fourth-best...

Since the inception of the Academy Awards, the U.S.-based organization behind them has always strived to honor worldwide film achievements. Their extensive roster of competitive acting winners alone consists of artists from 30 unique countries, three of which first gained representation during the 2020s. The last full decade’s worth of triumphant performers hail from eight countries, while 42.1% of the individual actors nominated during that time originate from outside of America.

The academy’s history of recognizing acting talent on a global scale dates all the way back to the inaugural Oscars ceremony in 1929, when Swiss-born Emil Jannings (who was of German and American parentage) won Best Actor for his work in both “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh.” Over the next three years, the Best Actress prize was exclusively awarded to Canadians: Mary Pickford (“Coquette”), Norma Shearer (“The Divorcee”), and Marie Dressler (“Min and Bill...

By delivering performances that add up to almost four and a half hours, the four acting Oscar winners of 2024 came within six minutes of setting a new academy record for highest single-year screen time average. Ultimately, they landed in fifth place with a mean of one hour, four minutes, and 57 seconds, thus becoming only the 12th winning quartet (and sixth in 10 years) to exceed 60 minutes.

Newly crowned Best Actor and Actress champs Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”) and Emma Stone (“Poor Things”) are credited with a whopping 81% of their foursome’s screen time total, respectively clocking in at 1:53:10 and 1:37:19 and outpacing all of the 2024 nominees by at least four minutes. Supporting honorees Robert Downey Jr. (“Oppenheimer”) and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”) gave the fourth and sixth shortest nominated performances of the year, reaching individual screen times of 23:50 and 25:29.

Considering this group’s screen time percentages,...

Since 1940, the record for highest average screen time between same-year lead acting Oscar winners has been held by Robert Donat and Vivien Leigh (“Gone with the Wind”), whose mean of one hour, 54 minutes, and 43 seconds will likely never be surpassed. Nonetheless, there is a brand new pair in second place, as 2024 Best Actor and Actress champs Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”) and Emma Stone (“Poor Things”) came within 10 minutes of dethroning the long-reigning duo. Indeed, both together and separately, their especially lengthy performances inspired several brushes with Oscars screen time history.

Murphy was specifically awarded for one hour, 53 minutes, and 10 seconds of acting work, while Stone clocked in slightly lower at one hour, 37 minutes, and 19 seconds. Understandably, each far outpaced all of their fellow nominees, respectively landing 27 and 22 minutes above their lineups’ averages. Their own average of one hour, 45 minutes, and 15 seconds makes them only the second pair of lead victors to exceed 100 minutes.

Profanity in film has never been without controversy. Even today, some films are explicitly known for their highly excessive use of strong language. Few of them have been as rhetorically powerful as Gone With the Wind, and its iconic line: “Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.” Delivered as the final remark by Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) to Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) in the closing scene of the film, the moment has since become a legendary quote in popular culture, so imagine if the scene had been changed and "I don't give a whoop" was used instead. Not only would it have robbed us of the novelty of such a line at the time it was made, but it would have sounded underwhelming and dated by comparison. Knowing its importance from the book on which it was based, the producers engaged in an intensive fight against the Hays Code...

From A Streetcar Named Desire to Gone With the Wind, Vivien Leigh captivated audiences with her iconic performances in classic movies. Known for her talent and beauty, Leigh's personal struggles and reputation often overshadowed her professional achievements. Despite complications behind the scenes, Leigh's filmography remains a testament to her remarkable talent and star quality.

Vivien Leigh is an icon of old Hollywood, and her best movies earned her a series of awards and millions of admirers. Leigh was born in India while it was under British colonial rule, and she began her career as an actor on stage. Soon after making her break into film, she began an affair with Laurence Olivier, and the two later divorced their spouses to be with one another. Although she was famous for her relationship with Olivier, she was just as professionally well-respected as he was. She won two Oscars and plenty of other...

Pageantry. Screw ups. Touching tributes. Private beefs made public. There are plenty of reasons to watch the Oscars. But they all amount to partaking in, witnessing, movie history in its many forms — the high art, the gossip, the record-breaking moments when an arthouse director becomes a household name.

However, there are a lot of ways to set a record. There are big moments like Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King tying the record with 11 trophies or Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite becoming the first film not in English (or silent) to win Best Picture. And then, beyond those sit the oddities and records that are nearly impossible to break. Give me records like Walter Brennan winning three Best Supporting Actor awards because, as a former extra, he was popular with the Union of Film Extras, who were allowed to vote. At least, the story goes, they were allowed...

Kirstie Alley left Star Trek due to a salary dispute with Paramount, resulting in her iconic character being recast for future films. Leonard Nimoy was impressed with Alley's portrayal of Lt. Saavik, but her agent's salary demands led to her departure from the franchise. Despite not returning to the role, Kirstie Alley's character Lt. Saavik achieved beloved status and was honored in Star Trek: Picard season 3.

There are conflicting accounts of why Kirstie Alley didn't return as Lieutenant Saavik in the third Star Trek: The Original Series movie, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was Alley's movie debut and Saavik was a major role opposite William Shatner's Admiral James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy's Captain Spock. In fact, Saavik was the first Vulcan female Starfleet character in Star Trek. However, Robin Curtis replaced Alley as Saavik in Star Trek III,...

By delivering performances that averaged out to 98 minutes in length, the five women who competed for the 2023 Best Actress Oscar achieved the category’s all-time highest screen time mean, shattering a record that had stood for over half a century. They will continue to hold that distinction until at least 2025, as the present lineup’s average falls below those of the last two groups. What’s more, this is the first year since 2020 that the lead actress contenders have less collective screen time than their male counterparts.

The 2024 Best Actress nominees have an average screen time of one hour, 14 minutes, and 33 seconds, or 52.18% of their respective films. Exactly 23 minutes and 24 seconds and 16.70 percentage points separate them from last year’s record-breaking group. In terms of actual time, their average is the 12th highest in the category’s 96-year history, while their percentage mean is the 32nd lowest.

The last 10 recipients...

David O. Selznick, one of the most famous producers in Hollywood history, almost passed on his most famous movie.

According to Time, Selznick's story editor, Kay Brown, found author Margaret Mitchell's novel "Gone with the Wind" and tried to convince the producer to adapt it into a movie. (You can read her actual note to him here.) But when Selznick first read the synopsis and realized it was a Civil War story, he passed on the project, reportedly because it was too similar to a movie he had recently made, 1935's "So Red the Rose," which was a financial disappointment. No trailers for "So Red the Rose" are available on YouTube or any other legal streaming platform, but this tribute video contains some footage from the film. Watching that, it's easy to see why Selznick may have been hesitant to greenlight "Gone with the Wind" -- there are plenty of surface-level similarities,...

Just 30 minutes after final voting for the Screen Actors Guild Awards wrapped up, I made a last-minute switch in my best actress prediction — from Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon” to Emma Stone in “Poor Things.” Let this be a lesson: Second-guessing yourself is seldom a good idea.

Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American and Indigenous person to clinch an individual SAG Award for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman, in Martin Scorsese’s gripping crime saga. With a lead actress (drama) Golden Globe and a SAG Award now under her belt, Gladstone’s award-season momentum continues to be formidable. Historically, only seven performers have failed to win the Oscar after winning the unique combination of Globe and SAG:

1995: Lauren Bacall (“The Mirror Has Two Faces”) lost to Juliette Binoche 2001: Russell Crowe (“A Beautiful Mind”) lost to Denzel Washington (“Training Day...

By respectively receiving Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominations for “American Fiction,” Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown made history as the first two Black male cast mates to compete in separate categories for the same film. They are also the eighth pair of performers to earn academy recognition for playing brothers and constitute the 29th case of Oscar-nominated sibling characters overall. Check out our photo gallery of this and the previous 28 examples, which date as far back as 1948.

At this point, the only two people who have won Oscars for playing siblings in the same film are “A Streetcar Named Desire” cast mates Vivien Leigh (Best Actress) and Kim Hunter (Best Supporting Actress). Best Actor champ Lee Marvin can technically also be counted alongside them since he was honored for portraying twin brothers in “Cat Ballou.”

The other seven films on this list for which only one...

Onscreen relationships can often surpass their written counterparts due to exceptional chemistry between the actors and the visual aspects of the adaptation. Examples, such as Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler from "Gone with the Wind," show how star power and incredible performances can elevate a relationship onscreen. Characters like Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy or Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley benefited from the subtleties of their romance being brought to life in movies, adding extra impact and enjoyment.

It can be disappointing when a book gets adapted for movies or television and the couples or relationships feel lackluster in comparison, that’s why it is so enjoyable to watch onscreen relationships that end up even better than their written counterparts. Often an onscreen relationship can improve upon the version seen in the book due to incredible chemistry between the actors playing the role, or the visual aspects of the adaptation...

Anne Edwards, dubbed “The Queen of Biography” for her work on best-selling books about the actresses Vivien Leigh and Katharine Hepburn, as well as 14 other celebrity biographies, died on Jan. 20 in Beverly Hills, Calif. She was 96 and her daughter said she passed from lung cancer at a senior living facility.

In addition to her biographies, the prolific writ.er had eight novels, three children’s books, two memoirs and one autobiography.

A child performer on radio and the stage, Ms. Edwards sold her first screenplay in 1949, when she was 22.

Her first novel, the mystery The Survivors arrived in 1968; and her first biography, of Judy Garland, in 1975.

Her “Vivien Leigh: A Biography” (1977) spent 19 weeks on The New York Times’s hardcover best-seller list.

Edwards also wrote biographies of Maria Callas, Ronald Reagan, Barbra Streisand and Diana, Princess of Wales.

Her...

For the second time in six years, the Best Actress category looked to be on track to feature nominees from films nominated for Best Picture. But just like six years ago, it came up short — and it once again involved Margot Robbie.

Annette Bening (“Nyad”), Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”) and Emma Stone (“Poor Things”) made the Best Actress cut on Tuesday. Every film but “Nyad” is nominated for Best Picture. Gladstone, Hüller, Mulligan and Stone were all expected to get in, but Bening was in seventh place in the odds. Now a five-time nominee, she made it in over Robbie, who was in fifth place in the odds and headlines Best Picture nominee “Barbie” (Robbie is nominated as producer).

Six years ago, it was the reverse situation with Robbie. She earned her first career Oscar nomination for her...

In the 95-year history of the Academy Awards, 88 films have each received nominations for both Best Actor and Best Actress. Although there have been 19 cases of two or more movies doing so in a single year, there hasn’t been such an occurrence since 1996, when both lead lineups included performers from “Dead Man Walking” and “Leaving Las Vegas.” However, according to Gold Derby’s late-stage 2024 Oscar nominations predictions, that nearly three-decade gap is set to soon be closed by costar pairs from “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Maestro.”

The vast majority of the Oscars prognosticators who’ve been shaping our odds all season agree that Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) and Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”) will all clinch academy mentions for their lead performances. The last such quartet consisted of eventual winners Nicolas Cage (“Leaving Las Vegas”) and Susan Sarandon (“Dead Man Walking”) and their respective costars,...

Before the 2023 Academy Awards, only “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Network” had won three Oscars for acting. The former won its hat trick in 1952 with Vivien Leigh taking home Best Actress, Karl Malden claiming Best Supporting Actor, and Kim Hunter winning Best Supporting Actress. Then, in 1976, “Network” won Best Actor for Peter Finch (posthumously), Best Actress for Faye Dunaway, and Best Supporting Actress for Beatrice Straight. Those two movies stood alone as the only pictures to win three acting Oscars until 2023 when “Everything Everywhere All at Once” produced wins for Michelle Yeoh (Best Actress), Jamie Lee Curtis (Best Supporting Actress), and Ke Huy Quan (Best Supporting Actor). These three films now have the joint-highest number of acting wins in Oscars history as no film has ever managed to reign victorious in all four acting categories.

Plenty of movies have had four nominations for acting, including “American Hustle” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once.