CRRL Picks: Oscar-worthy Performances - Best Actor in a Leading RoleLike this list

27 items

• The African Queen

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  Humphrey Bogart won his only Oscar in this 1950s adventure film, based on the novel of the same name. Set in German East Africa in 1914, this film centers on a journey down an uncharted river by a prim missionary and a derelict captain of a river…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• As Good as It Gets

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  Jack Nicholson won his third Oscar - first being "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in 1975; second being Best Supporting Actor in "Terms of Endearment" (1983) - in this hilarious comedy. Melvin Udall is an obsessive-compulsive novelist with…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ben-Hur

  a Tale of the Christ

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  Charlton Heston won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Jewish noblemen Ben-Hur, who struggles against Roman tyranny in 1st-century Judea.

• Bohemian Rhapsody

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  Rami Malek won the Oscar for his memorable portrayal of rock musician Freddie Mercury. Following Queen's meteoric rise, their revolutionary sound, and Freddie's solo career, the film also chronicles the band's reunion and one of the greatest…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Capote

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  Phillip Seymour Hoffman won the Oscar for his portrayal of "New Yorker" author Truman Capote in this harrowing biographical movie. When he learns about the horrific and senseless murder of a family of four in Halcomb, Kansas, Capote and his partner,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Color of Money

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  Paul Newman won the Best Actor Oscar in this award-winning Martin Scorsese–directed film. An aging pool shark, who believes "money won is twice as sweet as money earned," forms a profitable yet volatile partnership with a young pool hustler.

• Crazy Heart

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  Jeff Bridges won the Oscar for his portrayal of fictional country musician "Bad Blake," a boozy, broken-down singer who reaches for salvation with the help of Jean, a journalist who discovers the real man behind the music.

• Dallas Buyers Club

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  Matthew McConaughey offers an award-winning performance as Texas cowboy Ron Woodroof. Diagnosed as HIV-positive, he is shunned and ostracized by many old friends. Bereft of government-approved medicines, he decides to take matters in his own hands,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Darkest Hour

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  British actor Gary Oldman won the Oscar for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in this biographical film that follows the Prime Minister in the early days of World War II.

• The Father

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  Anthony Hopkins won his second Oscar for his portrayal of a man who refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Forrest Gump

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  Tom Hanks' incredible performance as the title characterwon him a second Oscar, the first being for "Philadelphia" in 1994. Forrest Gump tells the story of a good-natured man with a low IQ who personally experiences important events in American…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Gandhi

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  Ben Kingsley won the Best Actor Oscar for his powerful portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in this biographical film that tells the story of the Indian statesman, focusing especially on his theory of non-violent resistance.

• The Godfather

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  Marlon Brando won his second and final Oscar (first being "On the Waterfront" in 1954) for his role as Vito Corleone, or, the "Don," in this epic story of revenge, envy, and parent-child conflict within the Italian mob.

• It Happened One Night

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  "Gone with the Wind" star Clark Gable won his only Oscar in this Frank Capra romantic comedy. A rich young woman marries an idle playboy against her father's wishes. Her father holds her captive on his yacht, but she escapes and, while on her way to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Joker

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  Joaquin Phoenix won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Arthur Fleck, a bullied clown-for-hire. But his slow descent into madness is hurried along by his mother's failing health, along with their strained connection with the rich Wayne family,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The King and I

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  Yul Brynner won the Oscar for his performance as the King of Siam, who hires an outspoken English governess to tutor his children.

• King Richard

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  Will Smith won his Oscar for his portrayal of Richard Williams, an undeterred father instrumental in raising two of the most extraordinarily gifted athletes of all time - Venus and Serena Williams - who will end up changing the sport of tennis…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Milk

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  Sean Penn was awarded the Oscar for his portrayal of Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist and city politician from the 1970s, eventually becoming the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the United States.

• The Philadelphia Story

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  James Stewart won the Best Actor honor in this screwball comedy that centers on the second marriage of icy, judgmental, moneyed socialite Tracy Lord to nouveau riche George Kittredge.

• Raging Bull

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  Robert De Niro won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as champion boxer Jake La Motta, who rose from the streets of the Bronx to the heights of his sport, only to find disillusionment and corruption as well as fame.