'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABhAAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACBAAAQMCBgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDBAAFBgcREiEyEyQxAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEQACAQUBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAwACESEiMlP/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AJ8wPjN6fk5c7LLbM4XNVwZlKf7uGLGL6Vrd5Wstq2+PXqBUuByGgBK5T24DRXqIPI+876UoqNWPt6GNcAaFYHAn/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The 2023 Oscar Awards are less than a month away, and one can feel the extra enthusiasm for the Best Actor category in particular. The winners of this prestigious award have often risen to legendary stature, with their names getting immortalized among movie buffs and students of the craft.
Since the first Oscar ceremony in 1929, 84 actors have been honored with the prestigious accolade. Laurence Olivier and Spencer Tracy have received the most nominations so far, and Daniel Day-Lewis has won the award a record three times.
Related: Top 10 best director Oscar winners
Denzel Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, and 8 other amazing actors to have won the Oscar Best Actor award
1) Ben Kingsley as Gandhi in Gandhi (1982)
Ben Kingsley's portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in the movie Gandhi was a spectacle. The entire movie covered the legendary Indian martyr's life from the start to the very end.
The film is often considered one of the greatest biopics ever made. Some of the actor's other movies are Schindler's List, Maurice, Bugsy, Twelfth Night, Sexy Beast, House of Sand and Fog, Elegy, Shutter Island, and Hugo.
2) Denzel Washington as Det. Alonzo Harris in Training Day (2001)
Washington won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1990 for Glory, but the role of fearless L.A. cop Alonzo Harris in Training Day was unreal to watch on screen. In the movie, Washington is charming and just memorable, and he's frequently said that Detective Alonzo Harris is his favorite character he's played.
Washington also starred in movies like Malcolm X, American Gangster, The Great Debaters, etc.
3) Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass in The Revenant (2015)
DiCaprio's Oscar honor was long overdue. He had previously starred in several amazing movies and fans have wanted him to win the award for ages, but he somehow kept missing out. The Revenant finally helped him fulfill his dream of winning an Oscar. In the movie, he plays a survivalist/fur trapper named Hugh Glass.
DiCaprio has even starred in movies like Titanic, Wolf on Wall Street, Catch Me If You Can etc.
4) Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview for There Will Be Blood (2007)
Truly a living legend, Lewis' portrayal of an Oil Tycoon in There Will Be Blood is truly legendary. The actor has also won Oscars for the movies, My Left Foot and Lincoln. Daniel Day-Lewis has also starred in films like My Beautiful Laundrette, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Age of Innocence, etc.
Daniel Day-Lewis accepted the role of Daniel Plainview as he had been a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson's previous film, Punch-Drunk Love. According to producer JoAnne Sellar, the film might not even have been made at all if Day-Lewis declined the role.
5) Jack Nicholson as R.P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Prior to this film, the actor had been nominated for the Oscar four times in six years, without a win. In the film, Nicholson plays R.P. McMurphy, a rebellious inmate from a mental institution who tries to cheer up the depressing lives of other inmates.
The actor took a percentage of the profits in lieu of a small salary for a modestly budgeted film. The budget paid off as the movie grossed well over $120 million.
Nicholas is also known for his roles in Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Detail, Chinatown, Reds, Prizzi's Honor, Ironweed, etc.
6) Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972)
A legend in the industry, Brando bagged an Oscar for his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather. The movie is considered an important milestone in American cinema and is often deemed one of the greatest movies ever made.
Brando is also known for his roles in Last Tango in Paris, Apocalypse Now, A Streetcar Named Desire, etc.
Brando wanted to make Don Corleone "look like a bulldog," so he stuffed his cheeks with cotton wool for the audition. For the actual filming, he wore a mouthpiece made by a dentist.
7) Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980)
De Niro gave his everything for this film. He portrayed a boxer who is consumed by his ego, anger, and envy. The actor even put on 60 pounds of lean muscle mass to get completely immersed in the role. He even entered three genuine Brooklyn boxing matches and won two of them.
The actor has been the lead in various legendary movies like Taxi Driver, Cape Fear, The Intern, Casino, The Irisman etc.
8) Al Pacino as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman (1992)
Pacino plays an irritable, blind, medically retired Army lieutenant colonel in the film. The actor has in fact been nominated nine times for an Oscar in his celebrated career.
Al Pacino has appeared in hit films like Scarface, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, The Panic in Needle Park, Carlito's Way, etc.
Pacino was helped by a school for the blind in his preparation for this role. He said that he made himself appear blind by not allowing his eyes to focus on anything.
9) Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Nobody could have done justice to this psychopathic character like the great Anthony Hopkins. The way he stares into our eyes in this film is horrific, but we just can't help but stare back at him. The actor is also known for his roles in films like The Elephant Man, The Father, The Remains of the Day, Nixon, etc.
To prepare for the role, Hopkins studied files of serial killers. He also visited prisons and studied convicted murderers, and was present during some court hearings concerning gruesome murders and serial killings.
10) Matthew McConaughey as Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
McConaughey won the Oscar by a landslide with his portrayal of Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club. The movie is a biopic and based on the life of Ron Woodroof, who founded the Dallas Buyer's Club after being diagnosed with HIV.
McConaughey is also known for his roles in True Detective, Mud, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Wedding Planner, etc.
McConaughey lost forty-seven pounds for his role as an AIDS patient. The media claimed he was "terribly gaunt" and "wasting away to skin and bones."
