The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (often referred to as the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while working within the film industry. The award was traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Supporting Actress winner. The Academy's official name for this award is Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.

History [ edit ]

At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony held in 1937, Walter Brennan was the first winner of this award for his role in Come and Get It.[1] Initially, winners in both supporting acting categories were awarded plaques instead of statuettes.[2] Beginning with the 16th ceremony held in 1944, however, winners received full-sized statuettes.[3] Currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy.[4]

Since its inception, the award has been given to 74 actors. Brennan has received the most awards in this category with three awards. Brennan, Jeff Bridges, Robert Duvall, Arthur Kennedy, Jack Nicholson, and Claude Rains were nominated on four occasions, more than any other actor. As of the 2019 ceremony, Mahershala Ali is the most recent winner in this category for his role as Don Shirley in Green Book.

Academy rules [ edit ]

Current Academy rules for acting Academy Awards of Merit provide that a performance by an actor or actress in any role shall be eligible for nomination either for the leading role or supporting role categories. The distinction as to whether a particular role is a leading role or a supporting role is made individually by members of the Academy's Actors Branch at the time of voting.

However, if all of an actor's dialogue in a film has been dubbed by another actor, that performance is not eligible for Academy Award consideration. Singing that is dubbed, however, does not affect the actor's eligibility for an award unless the singing constitutes the actor's entire performance.[5]

Winners and nominees [ edit ]

In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in Los Angeles County; the ceremonies are always held the following year.[6]

Table key Indicates the winner † Indicates posthumous winner

Cabaret, [7] For his role as the Master of Ceremonies in Joel Grey won this award in 1972, becoming one of eight individuals to win both an Oscar and a Tony Award for the same role.

Ordinary People. At age 20, Timothy Hutton became the youngest winner in this category for his role as Conrad Jarrett in the 1980 film

Beginners (2011). At age 82, Christopher Plummer became the oldest acting Oscar winner for his performance in(2011).

Multiple wins and nominations [ edit ]

The following individuals received two or more Best Supporting Actor awards: Wins Actor 3 Walter Brennan 2 Mahershala Ali Michael Caine Melvyn Douglas Anthony Quinn Jason Robards Peter Ustinov Christoph Waltz The following individuals received three or more Best Supporting Actor nominations: Nominations Actor 4 Walter Brennan Jeff Bridges Robert Duvall Arthur Kennedy Jack Nicholson Claude Rains 3 Charles Bickford Charles Coburn Willem Dafoe Gene Hackman Ed Harris Philip Seymour Hoffman Tommy Lee Jones Martin Landau Al Pacino Jack Palance Christopher Plummer Jason Robards Mark Ruffalo Peter Ustinov Gig Young

Age superlatives [ edit ]

See also [ edit ]

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]