In this article, we list the celebrated actors who were nominated for (and won) an Academy Award for the movies made between 1927 and 1949.
Did your favourite actors miss out on an Oscar? Let us know in the comments below.
1st Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1927 and 1928
Nominated Actors
Charlie Chaplin – The Circus
Emil Jennings – The Last Command/The Way of All Flesh
Richard Barthelmess – The Noose/The Patent Leather Kid
Best Actor Winner
Emil Jennings – The Last Command/The Way of All Flesh
2nd Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1928 and 1929
Nominated Actors
Chester Morris – Alibi
George Bancroft – Thunderbolt
Lewis Stone – The Patriot
Paul Muni – The Valiant
Warner Baxter – In Old Arizona
Best Actor Winner
Warner Baxter – In Old Arizona
3rd Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1929 and 1930
Nominated Actors
George Arliss – Disraeli/The Green Goddess
Lawrence Tibbett – The Rogue Song
Maurice Chevalier – The Big Pond/The Love Parade
Ronald Colman – Bulldog Drummond
Wallace Beery – The Big House
Best Actor Winner
George Arliss – Disraeli
4th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1930 and 1931
Nominated Actors
Adolph Menjou – The Front Page
Frederic March – The Royal Family of Broadway
Jackie Cooper – Skippy
Lionel Barrymore – A Free Soul
Richard Dix – Cimarron
Best Actor Winner
Richard Dix – Cimarron
5th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1931 and 1932
Nominated Actors
Alfred Lunt – The Guardsman
Frederic March – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Wallace Beery – The Champ
Best Actor Winner
Frederic March – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
6th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1932 and 1933
Nominated Actors
Charles Laughton – The Private Life of Henry VIII
Leslie Howard – Berkeley Square
Paul Muni – I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
Best Actor Winner
Charles Laughton – The Private Life of Henry VIII
7th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1934
Nominated Actors
Clark Gable – It Happened One Night
Frank Morgan – The Affairs of Cellini
William Powell – The Thin Man
Best Actor Winner
Clark Gable – It Happened One Night
8th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1935
Nominated Actors
Charles Laughton – Mutiny on the Bounty
Clark Gable – Mutiny on the Bounty
Franchot Tone – Mutiny on the Bounty
Paul Muni – Black Fury
Victor McLagen – The Informer
Best Actor Winner
Victor McLagen – The Informer
9th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1936
Nominated Actors
Gary Cooper – Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Paul Muni – The Story of Louis Pasteur
Spencer Tracy – San Francisco
Walter Huston – Dodsworth
William Powell – My Man Godfrey
Best Actor Winner
Paul Muni – The Story of Louis Pasteur
10th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1937
Nominated Actors
Charles Boyer – Conquest
Frederic March – A Star Is Born
Paul Muni – The Life of Emile Zola
Robert Montgomery – Night Must Fall
Spencer Tracy – Captains Courageous
Best Actor Winner
Spencer Tracy – Captains Courageous
11th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1938
Nominated Actors
Charles Boyer – Algiers
James Cagney – Angels With Dirty Faces
Leslie Howard – Pygmalion
Robert Donat – The Citadel
Spencer Tracy – Boys Town
Best Actor Winner
Spencer Tracy – Boys Town
12th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1939
Nominated Actors
Clark Gable – Gone With the Wind
James Stewart – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Laurence Olivier – Wuthering Heights
Mickey Rooney – Babes in Arms
Robert Donat – Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Best Actor Winner
Robert Donat – Goodbye, Mr. Chips
13th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1940
Nominated Actors
Charles Chaplin – The Great Dictator
Henry Fonda – The Grapes of Wrath
James Stewart – The Philadelphia Story
Laurence Olivier – Rebecca
Raymond Massey – Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Best Actor Winner
James Stewart – The Philadelphia Story
14th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1941
Nominated Actors
Cary Grant – Penny Serenade
Gary Cooper – Sergeant York
Orson Welles – Citizen Kane
Robert Montgomery – Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Walter Huston – All That Money Can Buy
Best Actor Winner
Gary Cooper – Sergeant York
15th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1942
Nominated Actors
Gary Cooper – The Pride of the Yankees
James Cagney – Yankee Doodle Dandy
Monty Woolley – The Pied Piper
Ronald Colman – Random Harvest
Walter Pidgeon – Mrs. Miniver
Best Actor Winner
James Cagney – Yankee Doodle Dandy
16th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1943
Nominated Actors
Gary Cooper – For Whom the Bell Tolls
Humphrey Bogart – Casablanca
Paul Lukas – Watch on the Rhine
Mickey Rooney – The Human Comedy
Walter Pidgeon – Madame Curie
Best Actor Winner
Paul Lukas – Watch on the Rhine
17th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1944
Nominated Actors
Alexander Knox – Wilson
Barry Fitzgerald – Going My Way
Bing Crosby – Going My Way
Cary Grant – None but the Lonely Heart
Charles Boyer – Gaslight
Best Actor Winner
Bing Crosby – Going My Way
18th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1945
Nominated Actors
Bing Crosby – The Bells of St. Mary’s
Cornel Wilde – A Song to Remember
Gene Kelly – Anchors Aweigh
Gregory Peck – The Keys of the Kingdom
Ray Milland – The Lost Weekend
Best Actor Winner
Ray Milland – The Lost Weekend
19th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1946
Nominated Actors
Frederic March – The Best Years of Our Lives
Gregory Peck – The Yearling
James Stewart – It’s a Wonderful Life
Larry Parks – The Jolson Story
Laurence Olivier – Henry V
Best Actor Winner
Frederic March – The Best Years of Our Lives
20th Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1947
Nominated Actors
Gregory Peck – Gentleman’s Agreement
John Garfield – Body and Soul
Michael Redgrave – Mourning Becomes Electra
Ronald Colman – A Double Life
William Powell – Life With Father
Best Actor Winner
Ronald Colman – A Double Life
21st Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1948
Nominated Actors
Clifton Webb – Sitting Pretty
Dan Dailey – When My Baby Smiles at Me
Laurence Olivier – Hamlet
Lew Ayres – Johnny Belinda
Montgomery Clift – The Search
Best Actor Winner
Laurence Olivier – Hamlet
22nd Academy Awards
Best Actor: Films of 1949
Nominated Actors
Broderick Crawford – All the King’s Men
Gregory Peck – Twelve O’ Clock High
Kirk Douglas – Champion
John Wayne – Sands of Iwo Jima
Richard Todd – The Hasty Heart
Best Actor Winner
Broderick Crawford – All the King’s Men
How many of these movies have you seen? Let us know in the comments below.