Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.
BAFTA Award for Best Actor | |
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The 2023 recipient: Cillian Murphy
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Awarded for | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role |
Location | United Kingdom |
Presented by | British Academy of Film and Television Arts |
Currently held by | Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer (2023) |
Website | http://www.bafta.org/ |
Superlative | Best Actor | Best Supporting Actor | Overall (including Most Promising Newcomer) | |||
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Actor with most awards | Peter Finch | 5 | Denholm Elliott | 3 | Peter Finch | 5 |
Actor with most British Actor Awards (until 1967) | Peter Finch | 3 | — | — | Peter Finch | 3 |
Actor with most Foreign Actor Awards (until 1967) | Marlon Brando | 3 | — | — | Marlon Brando | 3 |
Actor with most nominations | Daniel Day-Lewis Dustin Hoffman |
7 | Denholm Elliott | 7 | Michael Caine Dustin Hoffman Laurence Olivier |
8 |
Actor with most British Actor Award nominations (until 1967) | Laurence Olivier | 6 | — | — | Laurence Olivier | 6 |
Actor with most Foreign Actor Award nominations (until 1967) | Sidney Poitier | 6 | — | — | Sidney Poitier | 6 |
From 1952 to 1967, there were two Best Actor awards: one for a British actor and another for a foreign actor. In 1968, the two prizes of British and Foreign actor were combined to create a single Best Actor award. Its current title, for Best Actor in a Leading Role, has been used since 1995.