| BAFTA Award for Best Actor | |
| Image Upright: | 0.7 |
| Awarded For: | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role |
| Presenter: | British Academy of Film and Television Arts |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Holder: | Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer (2023) |
| Website: | http://www.bafta.org/ |
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.
| Superlative | Best Actor | Best Supporting Actor | Overall (including Most Promising Newcomer) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
| Year | Actor | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Hopkins | The Father | Anthony | |
| Riz Ahmed | Sound of Metal | Ruben Stone | |
| Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | Levee Green | ||
| Adarsh Gourav | The White Tiger | Balram Halwai | |
| Mads Mikkelsen | Another Round | Martin | |
| Tahar Rahim | The Mauritanian | Mohamedou Ould Salahi | |
| Will Smith | King Richard | Richard Williams | |
| Adeel Akhtar | Ali & Ava | Ali | |
| Mahershala Ali | Swan Song | Cameron Turner | |
| Benedict Cumberbatch | The Power of the Dog | Phil Burbank | |
| Leonardo DiCaprio | Don't Look Up | Dr. Randall Mindy | |
| Stephen Graham | Boiling Point | Andy Jones | |
| Austin Butler | Elvis | Elvis Presley | |
| Colin Farrell | The Banshees of Inisherin | Pádraic Súilleabháin | |
| Brendan Fraser | The Whale | Charlie | |
| Daryl McCormack | Good Luck to You, Leo Grande | Leo Grande / Connor | |
| Paul Mescal | Aftersun | Calum Paterson | |
| Bill Nighy | Living | Mr. Williams | |
| Cillian Murphy | Oppenheimer | J. Robert Oppenheimer | |
| Bradley Cooper | Maestro | Leonard Bernstein | |
| Colman Domingo | Rustin | Bayard Rustin | |
| Paul Giamatti | The Holdovers | Paul Hunham | |
| Barry Keoghan | Saltburn | Oliver Quick | |
| Teo Yoo | Past Lives | Hae Sung | |
A: Rules from the 1960s to the 1970s allowed for a performer to receive a single citation which could honor their work in more than one film. Richard Attenborough, Peter Sellers, Lee Marvin, Jack Lemmon, Richard Burton, Dirk Bogarde, Dustin Hoffman, Walter Matthau, Elliott Gould, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando, George C. Scott, Donald Sutherland, Jack Nicholson, and Al Pacino were all nominated for their roles in two different films in the same category, while Ralph Richardson and Robert Redford were both nominated for three films. Matthau received dual nominations three times, with Hackman and Hoffman both accomplishing this feat twice.
B: Michael Caine and Dustin Hoffman received the same number of votes, resulting in both actors receiving the award, according to Academy rules.