| European Film Award for Best Actor | |
| Awarded For: | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role |
| Presenter: | European Film Academy |
| Image Upright: | 0.7 |
| Year: | Max von Sydow Pelle the Conqueror (1988) |
| Holder: | Mads Mikkelsen The Promised Land (2023) |
The European Film Award for Best Actor is an award given out at the annual European Film Awards to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film industry. The awards are presented by the European Film Academy (EFA) and was first presented in 1988 to Swedish actor Max von Sydow for his role as Lassefar "Lasse" Karlsson in Pelle the Conqueror.
Daniel Auteuil, Mads Mikkelsen, and Toni Servillo are the only actors who have received this award more than once with two wins each, while Mikkelsen is the most nominated actor in the category with five nominations.
| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title | Character |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 (1st) |  Max von Sydow | Pelle the Conqueror | Pelle erobreren | Lassefar "Lasse" Karlsson |
 Klaus Maria Brandauer | Hanussen | Klaus Schneider / Erik Jan Hanussen | ||
 Alfredo Landa | El bosque animado | Malvís / Bandid Fendetestas | ||
 Udo Samel | Mit meinen heißen Tränen | Franz Schubert | ||
 Dorel Vişan | Iacob | Iacob | ||
| 1989 (2nd) |  Philippe Noiret | Life and Nothing But Cinema Paradiso | La vie et rien d'autre Nuovo cinema Paradiso | Commandant Delaplane Alfredo |
 / Daniel Day-Lewis | My Left Foot | Christy Brown | ||
| Davor Dujmović | Time of the Gypsies | Dom za vesanje | Perhan | |
 Károly Eperjes | Eldorádó | Sándor Monori | ||
 Jozef Króner | Thou, Which Art in Heaven | Ti, koyto si na nebeto | Georg Henih | |
| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title | Character |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 (33rd) [26] [27] | Mads Mikkelsen | Another Round | Druk | Martin |
| Bartosz Bielenia | Corpus Christi | Boże Ciało | Daniel | |
| Goran Bogdan | Father | Otac | Nikola | |
| Elio Germano | Hidden Away | Volevo nascondermi | Antonio Ligabue | |
| Luca Marinelli | Martin Eden | Martin Eden | ||
| / Viggo Mortensen | Falling | John Petersen | ||
| 2021 (34th) [28] | / Anthony Hopkins | The Father | Anthony | |
| Yuriy Borisov | Compartment No. 6 | Hytti nro 6 / Купе номер шесть | Vadim | |
| Vincent Lindon | Titane | Vincent | ||
| / Tahar Rahim | The Mauritanian | Mohamedou Ould Slahi | ||
| Franz Rogowski | Great Freedom | Hans Hoffmann | ||
| 2022 (35th) [29] | / Zlatko Burić | Triangle of Sadness | Dmitry | |
| / Elliott Crosset Hove | Godland | Lucas | ||
| Eden Dambrine | Close | Léo | ||
| Nostalgia | Felice Lasco | |||
| Aftersun | Calum | |||
| 2023 (36th) [30] |  Mads Mikkelsen | The Promised Land | Ludvig Kahlen | |
| Thomas Schubert | Afire | Leon | ||
| Fallen Leaves | Holappa | |||
| La chimera | Arthur | |||
| The Zone of Interest | Rudolf Höss | |||
| Wins | Actor |
|---|---|
| 2 | Daniel Auteuil |
| Mads Mikkelsen | |
 Toni Servillo |
| Nominations | Actor |
|---|---|
| 5 | Mads Mikkelsen |
| 3 | Javier Bardem |
| Elio Germano | |
| Michel Piccoli | |
| Stellan Skarsgård | |
| 2 | Daniel Auteuil |
| / Daniel Brühl | |
| Michael Caine | |
| Javier Cámara | |
| / Jakob Cedergren | |
| Jesper Christensen | |
| Tom Courtenay | |
| Jean Dujardin | |
| Rupert Everett | |
| Colin Farrell | |
| / Michael Fassbender | |
| Pierfrancesco Favino | |
 Bruno Ganz | |
| Bob Hoskins | |
| Vincent Lindon | |
| James McAvoy | |
| Cillian Murphy | |
| Tahar Rahim | |
| Toni Servillo | |
 Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson | |
| Timothy Spall | |
| Ulrich Thomsen | |
| Philippe Torreton | |
| Jean-Louis Trintignant | |
| Ray Winstone | |
