Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Winners

2025	The Secret Agent	★☆☆☆	Wagner Moura
2024	The Brutalist	★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆	Adrien Brody
2023	Oppenheimer	★★★★★★★★★☆☆	Cillian Murphy
2022	Elvis	★★☆☆☆☆☆	Austin Butler
2021	King Richard	★★★☆☆☆	Will Smith
2020	Ma Rainey's Black Bottom	★☆☆☆☆	Chadwick Boseman
2019	Joker	★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Joaquin Phoenix
2018	Bohemian Rhapsody	★★★★☆	Rami Malek
2017	Darkest Hour	★★★☆☆	Gary Oldman
2016	Manchester by the Sea	★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Casey Affleck
2015	The Revenant	★★★★★★★★☆	Leonardo DiCaprio
2014	The Theory of Everything	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Eddie Redmayne
2013	Dallas Buyers Club	★★☆☆	Matthew McConaughey
2012	Lincoln	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Daniel Day-Lewis
2011	The Descendants	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	George Clooney
2010	The King's Speech	★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆	Colin Firth
2009	Crazy Heart	★★☆	Jeff Bridges
2008	The Wrestler	★★★☆	Mickey Rourke
2007	There Will Be Blood	★★★☆☆☆☆☆	Daniel Day-Lewis
2006	The Last King of Scotland	★★★☆	Forest Whitaker
2005	Capote	★★★☆☆☆☆☆	Philip Seymour Hoffman
2004	The Aviator	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Leonardo DiCaprio
2003	Mystic River	★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Sean Penn
2002	About Schmidt	★★☆☆☆☆	Jack Nicholson
2001	A Beautiful Mind	★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆	Russell Crowe
2000	Cast Away	★☆☆	Tom Hanks
1999	The Hurricane	★☆☆☆	Denzel Washington
1998	The Truman Show	★★☆☆☆☆☆	Jim Carrey
1997	Ulee's Gold	★☆	Peter Fonda
1996	Shine	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Geoffrey Rush
1995	Leaving Las Vegas	★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Nicolas Cage
1994	Forrest Gump	★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆	Tom Hanks
1993	Philadelphia	★★☆☆	Tom Hanks
1992	Scent of a Woman	★★★★☆☆☆	Al Pacino
1991	The Prince of Tides	★☆☆☆☆☆	Nick Nolte
1990	Reversal of Fortune	★★☆☆☆☆☆	Jeremy Irons
1989	Born on the Fourth of July	★★★★★☆☆☆☆	Tom Cruise
1988	Rain Man	★★★★★★☆☆☆	Dustin Hoffman
1987	Wall Street	★★	Michael Douglas
1986	Mona Lisa	★★☆☆☆☆☆	Bob Hoskins
1985	Runaway Train	★☆☆	Jon Voight
1984	Amadeus	★★★★★★★★☆☆	F. Murray Abraham
1983	Tender Mercies	★★★☆☆☆☆	Robert Duvall
1983	The Dresser	★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Tom Courtenay
1982	Gandhi	★★★★★★★★★★	Ben Kingsley
1981	On Golden Pond	★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Henry Fonda
1980	Raging Bull	★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Robert De Niro
1979	Kramer vs. Kramer	★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆	Dustin Hoffman
1978	Coming Home	★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆	Jon Voight
1977	Equus	★☆☆	Richard Burton
1976	Network	★★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Peter Finch
1975	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	★★★★★★★★★★★★★★	Jack Nicholson
1974	Chinatown	★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Jack Nicholson
1973	Serpico	★☆☆☆☆	Al Pacino
1972	The Godfather	★★★★★★★☆☆	Marlon Brando
1971	The French Connection	★★★★★★★★☆☆☆	Gene Hackman
1970	Patton	★★★★★☆☆☆	George C. Scott
1969	True Grit	★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	John Wayne
1968	The Lion in Winter	★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Peter O'Toole
1967	In the Heat of the Night	★★★★★★★☆☆	Rod Steiger
1966	A Man for All Seasons	★★★★★★★★★★	Paul Scofield
1965	Doctor Zhivago	★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆	Omar Sharif
1964	Becket	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Peter O'Toole
1963	Lilies of the Field	★★☆☆☆☆	Sidney Poitier
1962	To Kill a Mockingbird	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Gregory Peck
1961	Judgment at Nuremberg	★★★★☆☆☆☆☆	Maximilian Schell
1960	Elmer Gantry	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Burt Lancaster
1959	Career	★	Anthony Franciosa
1958	Separate Tables	★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	David Niven
1957	The Bridge on the River Kwai	★★★★★★★★★	Alec Guinness
1956	Lust for Life	★☆☆☆☆	Kirk Douglas
1955	Marty	★★★★★★★★☆	Ernest Borgnine
1954	On the Waterfront	★★★★★★★★	Marlon Brando
1953	The Actress	★☆	Spencer Tracy
1952	High Noon	★★☆☆☆☆☆	Gary Cooper
1951	Death of a Salesman	★★☆☆☆	Fredric March
1950	Cyrano de Bergerac	★★☆☆☆	José Ferrer
1949	All the King's Men	★★★★★☆☆	Broderick Crawford
1948	Hamlet	★★★★☆☆☆☆	Laurence Olivier
1947	A Double Life	★★☆☆	Ronald Colman
1946	The Yearling	★☆☆☆☆	Gregory Peck
1945	The Lost Weekend	★★★★★★★★	Ray Milland
1944	Wilson	★★☆☆☆	Alexander Knox
1943	Watch on the Rhine	★★☆☆	Paul Lukas