Best Supporting Actor

Brad Pitt, winner 2019

The Academy Award for a Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the award has commonly been referred to as the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. While actors are nominated for this award by Academy members who are actors and actresses themselves, winners are selected by the Academy membership as a whole.

History

Winners of this Academy Award of Merit receive the familiar Oscar statuette, depicting a gold-plated knight holding a crusader's sword and standing on a reel of film. Prior to the 16th Academy Awards ceremony (1943), however, they received a plaque. The first recipient was Walter Brennan, who was honored at the 9th Academy Awards ceremony (1936) for his performance in Come and Get It. Nominations for the Best Actor award were intended to include all actors, whether the performance was in a leading or supporting role. At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony (1936), however, the Best Supporting Actor category was specifically introduced as a distinct award following complaints that the single Best Actor category necessarily favored leading performers with the most screen time. Under the system currently in place, an actor is nominated for a specific performance in a single film, and such nominations are limited to five per year.

9th Academy Awards (1936)

Winner

Walter Brennan — Come and Get It

Nominees

Mischa Auer — My Man Godfrey

Stuart Erwin — Pigskin Parade

Basil Rathbone — Romeo and Juliet

Akim Tamiroff — The General Died at Dawn

10th Academy Awards (1937)

Winner

Joseph Schildkraut — The Life of Emile Zola

Nominees

Ralph Bellamy — The Awful Truth

Thomas Mitchell — The Hurricane

H. B. Warner — Lost Horizon

Roland Young — Topper

11th Academy Awards (1938)

Winner

Walter Brennan — Kentucky

Nominees

John Garfield — Four Daughters

Gene Lockhart — Algiers

Robert Morley — Marie Antoinette

Basil Rathbone — If I Were King

12th Academy Awards (1939)

Winner

Thomas Mitchell — Stagecoach

Nominees

Brian Aherne — Juarez

Harry Carey — Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Brian Donlevy — Beau Geste

Claude Rains — Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1940s

13th Academy Awards (1940)

Winner

Walter Brennan — The Westerner

Nominees

Albert Basserman — Foreign Correspondent

William Gargan — They Knew What They Wanted

Jack Oakie — The Great Dictator

James Stephenson — The Letter

14th Academy Awards (1941)

Winner

Donald Crisp — How Green Was My Valley

Nominees

Walter Brennan — Sergeant York

Charles Coburn — The Devil and Miss Jone

James Gleason — Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Sydney Greenstreet — The Maltese Falcon

15th Academy Awards (1942)

Winner

Van Heflin — Johnny Eager

Nominees

William Bendix — Wake Island

Walter Huston — Yankee Doodle Dandy

Frank Morgan — Tortilla Flat

Henry Travers — Mrs. Miniver

16th Academy Awards (1943)

Winner

Charles Coburn — The More the Merrier

Nominees

Charles Bickford — The Song of Bernadette

J. Carrol Naish — Sahara

Claude Rains — Casablanca

Akim Tamiroff — For Whom the Bell Tolls

17th Academy Awards (1944)

Winner

Barry Fitzgerald — Going My Way

Nominees

Hume Cronyn — The Seventh Cross

Claude Rains — Mr. Skeffington

Clifton Webb — Laura

Monty Woolley — Since You Went Away

18th Academy Awards (1945)

Winner

James Dunn — A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Nominees

Michael Chekhov — Spellbound

John Dall — The Corn Is Green

Robert Mitchum — G. I. Joe

J. Carrol Naish — A Medal for Benny

19th Academy Awards (1946)

Winner

Harold Russell — The Best Years of Our Lives

Nominees

Charles Coburn — The Green Years

William Demarest — The Jolson Story

Claude Rains — Notorious

Clifton Webb — The Razor's Edge

20th Academy Awards (1947)

Winner

Edmund Gwenn — Miracle on 34th Street

Nominees

Charles Bickford — The Farmer's Daughter

Thomas Gomez — Ride the Pink Horse

Robert Ryan — Crossfire

Richard Widmark — Kiss of Death

21st Academy Awards (1948)

Winner

Walter Huston — The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Nominees

Charles Bickford — Johnny Belinda

José Ferrer — Joan of Arc

Oscar Homolka — I Remember Mama

Cecil Kellaway — The Luck of the Irish

22nd Academy Awards (1949)

Winner

Dean Jagger — Twelve O'Clock High

Nominees

John Ireland — All the King's Men

Arthur Kennedy — Champion

Ralph Richardson — The Heiress

James Whitmore — Battleground

1950s

23rd Academy Awards (1950)

Winner

George Sanders — All about Eve

Nominees

Jeff Chandler — Broken Arrow

Edmund Gwenn — Mister 880

Sam Jaffe — The Asphalt Jungle

Erich von Stroheim — Sunset Blvd.

24th Academy Awards (1951)

Winner

Karl Malden — A Streetcar Named Desire

Nominees

Leo Genn — Quo Vadis

Kevin McCarthy — Death of a Salesman

Peter Ustinov — Quo Vadis

Gig Young — Come Fill the Cup

25th Academy Awards (1952)

Winner

Anthony Quinn — Viva Zapata!

Nominees

Richard Burton — My Cousin Rachel

Arthur Hunnicutt — The Big Sky

Victor McLaglen — The Quiet Man

Jack Palance — Sudden Fear

26th Academy Awards (1953)

Winner

Frank Sinatra — From Here to Eternity

Nominees

Eddie Albert — Roman Holiday

Brandon De Wilde — Shane

Jack Palance — Shane

Robert Strauss — Stalag 17

27th Academy Awards (1954)

Winner

Edmond O'Brien — The Barefoot Contessa

Nominees

Lee J. Cobb — On the Waterfront

Karl Malden — On the Waterfront

Rod Steiger — On the Waterfront

Tom Tully — The Caine Mutiny

28th Academy Awards (1955)

Winner

Jack Lemmon — Mister Roberts

Nominees

Arthur Kennedy — Trial

Joe Mantell — Marty

Sal Mineo — Rebel without a Cause

Arthur O'Connell — Picnic

29th Academy Awards (1956)

Winner

Anthony Quinn — Lust for Life

Nominees

Don Murray — Bus Stop

Anthony Perkins — Friendly Persuasion

Mickey Rooney — The Bold and the Brave

Robert Stack — Written on the Wind

30th Academy Awards (1957)

Winner

Red Buttons — Sayonara

Nominees

Vittorio De Sica — A Farewell to Arms

Sessue Hayakawa — The Bridge on the River Kwai

Arthur Kennedy — Peyton Place

Russ Tamblyn — Peyton Place

31st Academy Awards (1958)

Winner

Burl Ives — The Big Country

Nominees

Theodore Bikel — The Defiant Ones

Lee J. Cobb — The Brothers Karamazov

Arthur Kennedy — Some Came Running

Gig Young — Teacher's Pet

32nd Academy Awards (1959)

Winner

Hugh Griffith — Ben-Hur

Nominees

Arthur O'Connell — Anatomy of a Murder

George C. Scott — Anatomy of a Murder

Robert Vaughn — The Young Philadelphians

Ed Wynn — The Diary of Anne Frank

1960s

33rd Academy Awards (1960)

Winner

Peter Ustinov — Spartacus

Nominees

Peter Falk — Murder, Inc.

Jack Kruschen — The Apartment

Sal Mineo — Exodus

Chill Wills — The Alamo

34th Academy Awards (1961)

Winner

George Chakiris — West Side Story

Nominees

Montgomery Clift — Judgment at Nuremberg

Peter Falk — Pocketful of Miracles

Jackie Gleason — The Hustler

George C. Scott — The Hustler

35th Academy Awards (1962)

Winner

Ed Begley — Sweet Bird of Youth

Nominees

Victor Buono — What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Telly Savalas — Birdman of Alcatraz

Omar Sharif — Lawrence of Arabia

Terence Stamp — Billy Budd

36th Academy Awards (1963)

Winner

Melvyn Douglas — Hud

Nominees

Nick Adams — Twilight of Honor

Bobby Darin — Captain Newman, M.D.

Hugh Griffith — Tom Jones

John Huston — The Cardinal

37th Academy Awards (1964)

Winner

Peter Ustinov — Topkapi

Nominees

John Gielgud — Becket

Stanley Holloway — My Fair Lady

Edmond O'Brien — Seven Days in May

Lee Tracy — The Best Man

38th Academy Awards (1965)

Winner

Martin Balsam — A Thousand Clowns

Nominees

Ian Bannen — The Flight of the Phoenix

Tom Courtenay — Doctor Zhivago

Michael Dunn — Ship of Fools

Frank Finlay — Othello

39th Academy Awards (1966)

Winner

Walter Matthau — The Fortune Cookie

Nominees

Mako — The Sand Pebbles

James Mason — Georgy Girl

George Segal — Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Robert Shaw — A Man for All Seasons

40th Academy Awards (1967)

Winner

George Kennedy — Cool Hand Luke

Nominees

John Cassavetes — The Dirty Dozen (1967)

Gene Hackman — Bonnie and Clyde

Cecil Kellaway — Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Michael J. Pollard — Bonnie and Clyde

41st Academy Awards (1968)

Winner

Jack Albertson — The Subject Was Roses

Nominees

Seymour Cassel — Faces

Daniel Massey — Star!

Jack Wild — Oliver!

Gene Wilder — The Producers

42nd Academy Awards (1969)

Winner

Gig Young — They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Nominees

Rupert Crosse — The Reivers

Elliott Gould — Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

Jack Nicholson — Easy Rider

Anthony Quayle — Anne of the Thousand Days

1970s

43rd Academy Awards (1970)

Winner

John Mills — Ryan's Daughter

Nominees

Richard Castellano — Lovers and Other Strangers

Chief Dan George — Little Big Man

Gene Hackman — I Never Sang for My Father

John Marley — Love Story

44th Academy Awards (1971)

Winner

Ben Johnson — The Last Picture Show

Nominees

Jeff Bridges — The Last Picture Show

Leonard Frey — Fiddler on the Roof

Richard Jaeckel — Sometimes a Great Notion

Roy Scheider — The French Connection

45th Academy Awards (1972)

Winner

Joel Grey — Cabaret

Nominees

Eddie Albert — The Heartbreak Kid

James Caan — The Godfather

Robert Duvall — The Godfather

Al Pacino — The Godfather

46th Academy Awards (1973)

Winner

John Houseman — The Paper Chase

Nominees

Vincent Gardenia — Bang the Drum Slowly

Jack Gilford — Save the Tiger

Jason Miller — The Exorcist

Randy Quaid — The Last Detail

47th Academy Awards (1974)

Winner

Robert De Niro — The Godfather Part II

Nominees

Fred Astaire — The Towering Inferno

Jeff Bridges — Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

Michael V. Gazzo — The Godfather Part II

Lee Strasberg — The Godfather Part II

48th Academy Awards (1975)

Winner

George Burns — The Sunshine Boys

Nominees

Brad Dourif — One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

Burgess Meredith — The Day of the Locust

Chris Sarandon — Dog Day Afternoon

Jack Warden — Shampoo

49th Academy Awards (1976)

Winner

Jason Robards — All the President's Men

Nominees

Ned Beatty — Network

Burgess Meredith — Rocky

Laurence Olivier — Marathon Man

Burt Young — Rocky

50th Academy Awards (1977)

Winner

Jason Robards — Julia

Nominees

Mikhail Baryshnikov — The Turning Point

Peter Firth — Equus

Alec Guinness — Star Wars

Maximilian Schell — Julia

51st Academy Awards (1978)

Winner

Christopher Walken — The Deer Hunter

Nominees

Bruce Dern — Coming Home

Richard Farnsworth — Comes a Horseman

John Hurt — Midnight Express

Jack Warden — Heaven Can Wait

52nd Academy Awards (1979)

Winner

Melvyn Douglas — Being There

Nominees

Robert Duvall — Apocalypse Now

Frederic Forrest — The Rose

Justin Henry — Kramer vs. Kramer

Mickey Rooney — The Black Stallion

1980s

53rd Academy Awards (1980)

Winner

Timothy Hutton — Ordinary People

Nominees

Judd Hirsch — Ordinary People

Michael O'Keefe — The Great Santini

Joe Pesci — Raging Bull

Jason Robards — Melvin and Howard

54th Academy Awards (1981)

Winner

John Gielgud — Arthur

Nominees

James Coco — Only When I Laugh

Ian Holm — Chariots of Fire

Jack Nicholson — Reds

Howard E. Rollins, Jr. — Ragtime

55th Academy Awards (1982)

Winner

Louis Gossett, Jr. — An Officer and a Gentleman

Nominees

Charles Durning — The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

John Lithgow — The World According to Garp

James Mason — The Verdict

Robert Preston — Victor/Victoria

56th Academy Awards (1983)

Winner

Jack Nicholson — Terms of Endearment

Nominees

Charles Durning — To Be or Not to Be

John Lithgow — Terms of Endearment

Sam Shepard — The Right Stuff

Rip Torn — Cross Creek

57th Academy Awards (1984)

Winner

Haing S. Ngor — The Killing Fields

Nominees

Adolph Caesar — A Soldier's Story

John Malkovich — Places in the Heart

Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita — The Karate Kid

Ralph Richardson — Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes

58th Academy Awards (1985)

Winner

Don Ameche — Cocoon

Nominees

Klaus Maria Brandauer — Out of Africa

William Hickey — Prizzi's Honor

Robert Loggia — Jagged Edge

Eric Roberts — Runaway Train

59th Academy Awards (1986)

Winner

Michael Caine — Hannah and Her Sisters

Nominees

Tom Berenger — Platoon

Willem Dafoe — Platoon

Denholm Elliott — A Room with a View

Dennis Hopper — Hoosiers

60th Academy Awards (1987)

Winner

Sean Connery — The Untouchables

Nominees

Albert Brooks — Broadcast News

Morgan Freeman — Street Smart

Vincent Gardenia — Moonstruck

Denzel Washington — Cry Freedom

61st Academy Awards (1988)

Winner

Kevin Kline — A Fish Called Wanda

Nominees

Alec Guinness — Little Dorrit

Martin Landau — Tucker The Man and His Dream

River Phoenix — Running on Empty

Dean Stockwell — Married to the Mob

62nd Academy Awards (1989)

Winner

Denzel Washington — Glory

Nominees

Danny Aiello — Do the Right Thing

Dan Aykroyd — Driving Miss Daisy

Marlon Brando — A Dry White Season

Martin Landau — Crimes and Misdemeanors

1990s

63rd Academy Awards (1990)

Winner

Joe Pesci — Good Fellas

Nominees

Bruce Davison — Longtime Companion

Andy Garcia — The Godfather, Part III

Graham Greene — Dances With Wolves

Al Pacino — Dick Tracy

64th Academy Awards (1991)

Winner

Jack Palance — City Slickers

Nominees

Tommy Lee Jones — JFK

Harvey Keitel — Bugsy

Ben Kingsley — Bugsy

Michael Lerner — Barton Fink

65th Academy Awards (1992)

Winner

Gene Hackman — Unforgiven

Nominees

Jaye Davidson — The Crying Game

Jack Nicholson — A Few Good Men

Al Pacino — Glengarry Glen Ross

David Paymer — Mr. Saturday Night

66th Academy Awards (1993)

Winner

Tommy Lee Jones — The Fugitive

Nominees

Leonardo DiCaprio — What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Ralph Fiennes — Schindler's List

John Malkovich — In the Line of Fire

Pete Postlethwaite — In the Name of the Father

67th Academy Awards (1994)

Winner

Martin Landau — Ed Wood

Nominees

Samuel L. Jackson — Pulp Fiction

Chazz Palminteri — Bullets over Broadway

Paul Scofield — Quiz Show

Gary Sinise — Forrest Gump

68th Academy Awards (1995)

Winner

Kevin Spacey — The Usual Suspects

Nominees

James Cromwell — Babe

Ed Harris — Apollo 13

Brad Pitt — 12 Monkeys

Tim Roth — Rob Roy

69th Academy Awards (1996)

Winner

Cuba Gooding, Jr. — Jerry Maguire

Nominees

William H. Macy — Fargo

Armin Mueller-Stahl — Shine

Edward Norton — Primal Fear

James Woods — Ghosts of Mississippi

70th Academy Awards (1997)

Winner

Robin Williams — Good Will Hunting

Nominees

Robert Forster — Jackie Brown

Anthony Hopkins — Amistad

Greg Kinnear — As Good as It Gets

Burt Reynolds — Boogie Nights

71st Academy Awards (1998)

Winner

James Coburn — Affliction

Nominees

Robert Duvall — A Civil Action

Ed Harris — The Truman Show

Geoffrey Rush — Shakespeare in Love

Billy Bob Thornton — A Simple Plan

72nd Academy Awards (1999)

Winner

Michael Caine — The Cider House Rules

Nominees

Tom Cruise — Magnolia

Michael Clarke Duncan — The Green Mile

Jude Law — The Talented Mr. Ripley

Haley Joel Osment — The Sixth Sense

2000s

73rd Academy Awards (2000)

Winner

Benicio Del Toro — Traffic

Nominees

Jeff Bridges — The Contender

Willem Dafoe — Shadow of the Vampire

Albert Finney — Erin Brockovich

Joaquin Phoenix — Gladiator

74th Academy Awards (2001)

Winner

Jim Broadbent — Iris

Nominees

Ethan Hawke — Training Day

Ben Kingsley — Sexy Beast

Ian McKellen — The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Jon Voight — Ali

75th Academy Awards (2002)

Winner

Chris Cooper — Adaptation

Nominees

Ed Harris — The Hours

Paul Newman — Road to Perdition

John C. Reilly — Chicago

Christopher Walken — Catch Me If You Can

76th Academy Awards (2003)

Winner

Tim Robbins — Mystic River

Nominees

Alec Baldwin — The Cooler

Benicio Del Toro — 21 Grams

Djimon Hounsou — In America

Ken Watanabe — The Last Samurai

77th Academy Awards (2004)

Winner

Morgan Freeman — Million Dollar Baby

Nominees

Alan Alda — The Aviator

Thomas Haden Church — Sideways

Jamie Foxx — Collateral

Clive Owen — Closer

78th Academy Awards (2005)

Winner

George Clooney — Syriana

Nominees

Matt Dillon — Crash

Paul Giamatti — Cinderella Man

Jake Gyllenhaal — Brokeback Mountain

William Hurt — A History of Violence

79th Academy Awards (2006)

Winner

Alan Arkin — Little Miss Sunshine

Nominees

Jackie Earle Haley — Little Children

Djimon Hounsou — Blood Diamond

Eddie Murphy — Dreamgirls

Mark Wahlberg — The Departed

80th Academy Awards (2007)

Winner

Javier Bardem — No Country for Old Men

Nominees

Casey Affleck — The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Philip Seymour Hoffman — Charlie Wilson's War

Hal Holbrook — Into the Wild

Tom Wilkinson — Michael Clayton

81st Academy Awards (2008)

Winner

Heath Ledger — The Dark Knight

Nominees

Josh Brolin — Milk

Robert Downey Jr. — Tropic Thunder

Philip Seymour Hoffman — Doubt

Michael Shannon — Revolutionary Road

82nd Academy Awards (2009)

Winner

Christoph Waltz — Inglourious Basterds

Nominees

Matt Damon — Invictus

Woody Harrelson — The Messenger

Christopher Plummer — The Last Station

Stanley Tucci — The Lovely Bones

2010s

83rd Academy Awards (2010)

Winner

Christian Bale — The Fighter

Nominees

John Hawkes — Winter's Bone

Jeremy Renner — The Town

Mark Ruffalo — The Kids Are All Right

Geoffrey Rush — The King's Speech

84th Academy Awards (2011)

Winner

Christopher Plummer — Beginners

Nominees

Kenneth Branagh — My Week with Marilyn

Jonah Hill — Moneyball

Nick Nolte — Warrior

Max von Sydow — Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

85th Academy Awards (2012)

Winner

Christoph Waltz — Django Unchained

Nominees

Alan Arkin — Argo

Robert De Niro — Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman — The Master

Tommy Lee Jones — Lincoln

86th Academy Awards (2013)

Winner

Jared Leto — Dallas Buyers Club

Nominees

Barkhad Abdi — Captain Phillips

Bradley Cooper — American Hustle

Michael Fassbender — 12 Years a Slave

Jonah Hill — The Wolf of Wall Street

87th Academy Awards (2014)

Winner

J.K. Simmons — Whiplash

Nominees

Robert Duvall — The Judge

Ethan Hawke — Boyhood

Edward Norton — Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Mark Ruffalo — Foxcatcher

88th Academy Awards (2015)

Winner

Mark Rylance — Bridge of Spies

Nominees

Christian Bale — The Big Short

Tom Hardy — The Revenant

Mark Ruffalo — Spotlight

Sylvester Stallone — Creed

89th Academy Awards (2016)

Winner

Mahershala Ali — Moonlight

Nominees

Jeff Bridges — Hell or High Water

Lucas Hedges — Manchester by the Sea

Dev Patel — Lion

Michael Shannon — Nocturnal Animals

90th Academy Awards (2017)

Winner

Sam Rockwell — Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Nominees

Willem Dafoe — The Florida Project

Woody Harrelson — Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Richard Jenkins — The Shape of Water

Christopher Plummer — All the Money in the World

91st Academy Awards (2018)

Winner

Mahershala Ali — Green Book

Nominees

Adam Driver — BlacKkKlansman

Sam Elliott — A Star is Born

Richard E. Grant — Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Sam Rockwell — Vice

92nd Academy Awards (2019)

Winner

Brad Pitt — Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Nominees

Tom Hanks — A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Anthony Hopkins — The Two Popes

Al Pacino — The Irishman

Joe Pesci — The Irishman

2020s

93rd Academy Awards (2020)

Winner

TBD

Nominees

Sacha Baron Cohen — The Trial of the Chicago 7

Daniel Kaluuya — Judas and the Black Messiah

Leslie Odom Jr. — One Night in Miami…

Paul Raci — Sound of Metal

Lakeith Stanfield — Judas and the Black Messiah