10 actors with the most combined Oscar nominations for best actor and best supporting actor

Since its inception nearly a century ago, the Oscars have seen many talented actors receive nominations in the Academy’s different acting categories. The Oscar is recognized as the most coveted award in the film industry. Since its first awards ceremony in 1929, many actors have had the honor of winning Oscars for their acting skills in several acclaimed films.

The Academy has four different categories where a person’s acting skills are recognized: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Dozens of actors, such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr, received several nominations before even winning an Oscar. Others have a mix of nominations and wins across the four available categories.

Received 8 Oscar nominations in 4 decades

Irish-British actor Peter O’Toole holds the distinctive record for having the most Oscar nominations without any wins. He made his film debut in the 1962 epic film Lawrence of Arabiaconsidered one of his best roles, where he received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor. O’Toole received seven more Best Actor nominations throughout his career, including for Beckett and The Lion in Winterwhere he played Henry II in both films.

Although he is tied with actress Glenn Close for the most Oscar nominations without winning, Peter O’Toole is the only actor to have received the most nominations in the Best Actor category without winning the award. O’Toole once jokingly referred to himself as “the biggest loser” for failing to win an Oscar in four decades of nominations. Despite his lack of success in winning the award, in 2002, O’Toole received an Honorary Oscar for his achievements in the film industry; during his acceptance speech, he humorously stated that he had finally won an Oscar for himself.

9

Jack Lemon

Won 2 Oscars out of 8 nominations

Jack Lemmon was an American actor skilled in both comedic and dramatic roles; he was considered by many to be “the best tragicomedian of all time.” He rose to prominence in the 1954 comedy This should happen to you before receiving his first Oscar nomination in 1956. For his performance in Mr Roberts, Lemmon received his first and only nomination for Best Supporting Actorwhich he earned for his role as morale officer, Ensign Pulver.

Lemmon had continued success in comedy films, receiving his first Best Actor nomination in 1960 for Some like it hotin which he co-starred alongside Marilyn Monroe; he received other nominations in comedy films The apartment and Days of Wine and Roses. Lemmon won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Actor for Save the tiger, which proved his skills in drama films. Your prize for Save the tigermade Jack Lemmon the first actor to win an Oscar in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories. Lemmon received three more Best Actor nominations before his death in 2001.

8

Roberto De Niro

Won 2 Academy Awards from 9 nominations

Throughout his career, Robert De Niro has been involved in many classic Hollywood films. He is widely recognized for his roles in films such as Taxi driver, The Deer Hunter and Raging bullall classified in AFI’s list of the 100 greatest films of all time. De Niro won his first Oscar in 1975 for his role as young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, for which he won the Best Supporting Actor award; this achievement made De Niro and Marlon Brando the first actors to win Oscars for playing the same character in separate categories.

Between 1977 and 1992 De Niro received five Oscar nominations for Best Actor winning in 1981 for his performance as Jake LaMotta in Raging bull. He received his first Oscar nomination as a producer for his work on the 2019 gangster film, The Irishman, in which he played Frank Sheeran. De Niro received his ninth Oscar nomination in 2024 for Best Supporting Actor in Flower Moon Assassins, setting a record as the actor with the longest gap between his first and most recent Oscar nominations; her 2024 nomination comes 49 years after her first Oscar win.

7

Marlon Brando

Won 2 Oscars out of 8 nominations

Considered one of Hollywood’s greatest actors, Marlon Brando received eight Oscar nominations in three decades. Between 1951 and 1973, he was nominated seven times for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won twice for his performance as Terry Malloy in By the sea in 1954 and as Vito Corleone in The godfather in 1973. While Brando appeared at the 27th Academy Awards to accept his award for By the sea, he caused controversy in 1973 by refusing to accept his award for The godfather.

The godfather is considered one of the best films of Marlon Brando’s career, and he was expected to win the Oscar for his performance as Vito Corleone in 1973. Brando became one of three winners to turn down an Oscar, but despite the controversial rejection, he received one more nomination for Best Actor for Last tango in Paris in 1974 and his only nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A dry and white season in 1990.

6

Al Pacino

Won 1 Oscar out of 9 nominations

Al Pacino rose to prominence for his role as Michael Corleone in The Godfather, for which he received his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1973. Like his co-star Marlon Brando, Pacino did not attend the awards ceremony despite the nomination. However, for News weekhe revealed that this was due to his internal struggles with fame at the time. He received five Oscar nominations throughout the 1970s, two of them for the same role as Michael Corleone in The godfather franchise; its performance in The Godfather Part IIearned him a nomination for Best Actor.

After a career decline in the 1980s, Pacino returned with a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in DickTracy. In 1993, Pacino became the first actor to receive two nominations for two films in the same year; he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Glengarry Glen Ross and won the Best Actor award for his role in Women’s Perfume, which is considered one of the most memorable films of his career. His most recent nomination was for The Irishwhere he received his fourth nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

5

Paul Newman

Won 1 Oscar out of 10 nominations

With a career on stage and screen spanning over 50 years, Paul Newman received a total of 10 Oscar nominations in five decades. He received his first nomination for his role in Cat on a hot tin roofalongside Elizabeth Taylor. He received 6 nominations between 1962 and 1983, including for his role as “Fast” Eddie Felson in The drug dealer.

After two further appointments in the early 1980s, Newman finally won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1987 for The color of money. Serving as a sequel to 1961 The drug dealerNewman famously won an Oscar for reprising his previously nominated role of “Fast” Eddie Nelson. Newman received his final Best Actor nomination in 1995 for Nobody is a fool and his only nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2003 for Lost on the Road.

4

Denzel Washington

Won 2 Oscars out of 10 nominations

Denzel Washington has served as an actor, director and producer of several acclaimed films, including The great debaters and Fences. Achieving worldwide recognition for his work in Malcolm X and The Tragedy of Macbeth, he was listed by The New York Times as the greatest actor of the 20th century. Washington has achieved a total of 10 Oscar nominations in five decadesreceiving his first nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1988 for Cry Freedom; the following year, he won the award for his performance in Glory.

Between 1993 and 2013, Washington was nominated four times in the Best Actor category, winning in 2002 for his role as Alonzo Harris in the crime thriller. Training day. He received two separate nominations in 2017 for Best Actor and Best Film for his work in Fences. After two more Best Actor nominations, Washington is set to appear as Macrinus in Gladiator IIwhich could set an Oscar milestone for the first time in 28 years.

3

Spencer Tracy

Won 2 Academy Awards from 9 nominations

American actor Spencer Tracy ties with Laurence Olivier for the most Oscar nominations for Best Actor in their careers. Appearing in 75 films throughout her career, Tracy worked with many acclaimed Hollywood actors, including Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford and Katharine Hepburn, with whom she shared the screen a total of nine times.

Spencer Tracy received nine Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, winning twice for Brave Captains and City of boys in 1937 and 1938, respectively. With his two Oscar wins, Spencer Tracy became the first actor to win two consecutive Oscars in the same category and was the only actor to achieve this in 55 years, until 1993. Tracy received a final posthumous Oscar nomination for Guess who’s coming to dinner in 1967; he completed filming this film just 17 days before his death.

2

Laurence Oliveira

Won 1 Oscar out of 11 nominations

Laurence Olivier is often considered one of the greatest British actors in history, having achieved success on both stage and screen. He gained international attention for his roles as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights (1939) and Maxim de Winter in Rebeccawhere he received Oscar nominations for Best Actor for both films. Olivier received a total of 11 Oscar nominations throughout his career, five of which were for Shakespeare adaptations. His Oscar-nominated performances in The artist and Othello are ranked as some of the best films of his career.

Most notably, in 1948, Olivier produced, directed and starred in the film adaptation of Villagewhich became the first British film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Olivier received a Best Director nomination and won Best Actor for his performance as Hamlet, making him the first actor to head to an Oscar win. Olivier was nominated six more times, receiving his final nomination in 1979 for The boys in Brazil.

1

Jack Nicholson

Won 3 Oscars out of 12 nominations

Jack Nicholson holds many prestigious Oscar records. Receiving four nominations for Best Supporting Actor and eight nominations for Best Actor, Nicholson is the most nominated actor in Oscar history and is one of 10 actors to receive Oscar nominations in five decades. Receiving his first nomination in 1970, Nicholson won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in One flew over the cuckoo’s nestwhich is considered one of the best films ever made.

Nicholson won a second Oscar in 1984 for Terms of Endearmentin the Best Supporting Actor category. He received other nominations between 1986 and 1993 for his film work, including Prizzi’s Honor and Some good menbefore winning Best Actor for a second time in 1998 for As good as possibleConsidered by many one of the best films of his career. Retiring from acting in 2010, Jack Nicholson holds the record for being one of six actors to win Oscar in both acting categories and remains the most recognized Oscar nominee in history.

Sources: AFI, Weekly entertainment, The New York Times