# Empire Award for Best Actor

The Empire Award for Best Actor was an Empire Award presented annually by the British film magazine Empire to honor an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role while working within the film industry. The Empire Award for Best Actor was one of five ongoing awards which were first introduced at the 1st Empire Awards ceremony in 1996 (the others being Best Actress, Best Director, Best Film and Best British Film) with Nigel Hawthorne receiving the award for his role in The Madness of King George. Winners were chosen by the readers of Empire magazine.
Since its inception, the award was given to 18 actors. Johnny Depp and James McAvoy have received the most awards in this category with two awards each. Johnny Depp was nominated on five occasions, more than any other actor. Hugh Jackman was the most recent winner in this category for his role in Logan.

## Winners and nominees

In the list below, winners are listed first in the colored row in boldface, followed by the other nominees. The number of the ceremony (1st, 2nd, etc.) appears in parentheses after the awards year, linked to the article (if any) on that ceremony.
Table key :
| Key | Description |
| | Indicates the winner |

### 1990s

| Year | Actor | Character | Film |
| 1996(1st) | Nigel Hawthorne | King George III | The Madness of King George |
| 1997(2nd) | Morgan Freeman | Det. Lt. William Somerset | Seven |
| 1998(3rd) | Kevin Spacey | Det. Sgt. Jack Vincennes | L.A. Confidential |
| 1999(4th) | Tom Hanks | Captain John H. Miller | Saving Private Ryan |
| 1999(4th) | Jeff Bridges | Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski | The Big Lebowski |
| 1999(4th) | Jim Carrey | Truman Burbank | The Truman Show |
| 1999(4th) | Matt Damon | Will Hunting | Good Will Hunting |
| 1999(4th) | Samuel L. Jackson | Ordell Robbie | Jackie Brown |

### 2000s

| Year | Actor | Character | Film | Ref. |
| 2000(5th) | Pierce Brosnan | James Bond | The World Is Not Enough | |
| 2000(5th) | Brad Pitt | Tyler Durden | Fight Club | |
| 2000(5th) | Bruce Willis | Malcolm Crowe | The Sixth Sense | |
| 2000(5th) | Keanu Reeves | Thomas Anderson / Neo | The Matrix | |
| 2000(5th) | Tom Cruise | Dr. William "Bill" Harford | Eyes Wide Shut | |
| 2001(6th) | Russell Crowe | Maximus Decimus Meridius | Gladiator | |
| 2001(6th) | George Clooney | Ulysses Everett McGill | O Brother, Where Art Thou? | |
| 2001(6th) | Jim Carrey | The Grinch | Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas | |
| 2001(6th) | John Cusack | Rob Gordon | High Fidelity | |
| 2001(6th) | Kevin Spacey | Lester Burnham | American Beauty | |
| 2002(7th) | Elijah Wood | Frodo Baggins | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | [10][11] [12] |
| 2002(7th) | Benicio del Toro | Javier Rodriguez | Traffic | [10][11] [12] |
| 2002(7th) | Billy Bob Thornton | Ed Crane | The Man Who Wasn't There | [10][11] [12] |
| 2002(7th) | Haley Joel Osment | David | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | [10][11] [12] |
| 2002(7th) | Viggo Mortensen | Aragorn | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | [10][11] [12] |
| 2003(8th) | Tom Cruise | Chief John Anderton | Minority Report | |
| 2003(8th) | Colin Farrell | Danny Witwer | Minority Report | |
| 2003(8th) | Mike Myers | Austin Powers Dr. Evil | Austin Powers in Goldmember | |
| 2003(8th) | Tom Hanks | Michael Sullivan, Sr. | Road to Perdition | |
| 2003(8th) | Viggo Mortensen | Aragorn | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | |
| 2004(9th) | Johnny Depp | Captain Jack Sparrow | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | |
| 2004(9th) | Daniel Day-Lewis | William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting | Gangs of New York | |
| 2004(9th) | Hugh Jackman | Logan / Wolverine | X2 | |
| 2004(9th) | Sean Astin | Samwise "Sam" Gamgee | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | |
| 2004(9th) | Viggo Mortensen | Aragorn | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | |
| 2005(10th) | Matt Damon | David Webb / Jason Bourne | The Bourne Supremacy | |
| 2005(10th) | Jim Carrey | Joel Barish | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | |
| 2005(10th) | Johnny Depp | J. M. Barrie | Finding Neverland | |
| 2005(10th) | Tobey Maguire | Peter Parker / Spider-Man | Spider-Man 2 | |
| 2005(10th) | Tom Cruise | Vincent | Collateral | |
| 2006(11th) | Johnny Depp | Willy Wonka | Charlie And The Chocolate Factory | [16][17] [18] |
| 2006(11th) | Andy Serkis | Kong | King Kong | [16][17] [18] |
| 2006(11th) | Christian Bale | Bruce Wayne / Batman | Batman Begins | [16][17] [18] |
| 2006(11th) | Matt Dillon | Sgt. John Ryan | Crash | [16][17] [18] |
| 2006(11th) | Viggo Mortensen | Tom Stall / Joey Cusack | A History of Violence | [16][17] [18] |
| 2007(12th) | Daniel Craig | James Bond | Casino Royale | |
| 2007(12th) | Christian Bale | Alfred Borden (The Professor) / Fallon | The Prestige | |
| 2007(12th) | Johnny Depp | Captain Jack Sparrow | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | |
| 2007(12th) | Leonardo DiCaprio | William "Billy" Costigan, Jr. | The Departed | |
| 2007(12th) | Sacha Baron Cohen | Borat Sagdiyev | Borat | |
| 2008(13th) | James McAvoy | Robbie Turner | Atonement | |
| 2008(13th) | Daniel Radcliffe | Harry Potter | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | |
| 2008(13th) | Gerard Butler | Leonidas | 300 | |
| 2008(13th) | Matt Damon | David Webb / Jason Bourne | The Bourne Ultimatum | |
| 2008(13th) | Simon Pegg | Sgt. Nicholas "Nick" Angel | Hot Fuzz | |
| 2009(14th) | Christian Bale | Bruce Wayne / Batman | The Dark Knight | |
| 2009(14th) | Daniel Craig | James Bond | Quantum of Solace | |
| 2009(14th) | Daniel Day-Lewis | Daniel Plainview | There Will Be Blood | |
| 2009(14th) | Johnny Depp | Benjamin Barker / Sweeney Todd | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | |
| 2009(14th) | Robert Downey Jr. | Tony Stark / Iron Man | Iron Man | |

### 2010s

| Year | Actor | Character | Film |
| 2010(15th) | Christoph Waltz | SS Colonel Hans Landa | Inglourious Basterds |
| 2010(15th) | Michael Caine | Harold "Harry" Brown | Harry Brown |
| 2010(15th) | Robert Downey Jr. | Sherlock Holmes | Sherlock Holmes |
| 2010(15th) | Robert Pattinson | Edward Cullen | The Twilight Saga: New Moon |
| 2010(15th) | Sam Worthington | Jake Sully | Avatar |
| 2011(16th) | Colin Firth | King George VI | The King's Speech |
| 2011(16th) | Aaron Taylor-Johnson | Dave Lizewski / Kick-Ass | Kick-Ass |
| 2011(16th) | James Franco | Aron Ralston | 127 Hours |
| 2011(16th) | Jesse Eisenberg | Mark Zuckerberg | The Social Network |
| 2011(16th) | Leonardo DiCaprio | Dom Cobb | Inception |
| 2012(17th) | Gary Oldman | George Smiley | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy |
| 2012(17th) | Andy Serkis | Caesar | Rise of the Planet of the Apes |
| 2012(17th) | Daniel Craig | Mikael Blomkvist | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo |
| 2012(17th) | Daniel Radcliffe | Harry Potter | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 |
| 2012(17th) | Ryan Gosling | Driver | Drive |
| 2013(18th) | Martin Freeman | Bilbo Baggins | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey |
| 2013(18th) | Christoph Waltz | Dr. King Schultz | Django Unchained |
| 2013(18th) | Daniel Craig | James Bond | Skyfall |
| 2013(18th) | Daniel Day-Lewis | President Abraham Lincoln | Lincoln |
| 2013(18th) | Robert Downey Jr. | Tony Stark / Iron Man | The Avengers |
| 2014(19th) | James McAvoy | DS / PC Bruce Robertson | Filth |
| 2014(19th) | Chiwetel Ejiofor | Solomon Northup | 12 Years a Slave |
| 2014(19th) | Leonardo DiCaprio | Jordan Belfort | The Wolf of Wall Street |
| 2014(19th) | Martin Freeman | Bilbo Baggins | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug |
| 2014(19th) | Tom Hanks | Richard "Rich" Phillips | Captain Phillips |
| 2015(20th) | Andy Serkis | Caesar | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes |
| 2015(20th) | Benedict Cumberbatch | Alan Turing | The Imitation Game |
| 2015(20th) | Bradley Cooper | Chris Kyle | American Sniper |
| 2015(20th) | Eddie Redmayne | Stephen Hawking | The Theory of Everything |
| 2015(20th) | Richard Armitage | Thorin Oakenshield | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies |
| 2016(21st) | Matt Damon | Mark Watney | The Martian |
| 2016(21st) | Leonardo DiCaprio | Hugh Glass | The Revenant |
| 2016(21st) | Michael B. Jordan | Adonis Creed | Creed |
| 2016(21st) | Michael Fassbender | Macbeth Steve Jobs | Macbeth Steve Jobs |
| 2016(21st) | Tom Hardy | Ronald "Ronnie" Kray and Reginald "Reggie" Kray Max Rockatansky | Legend & Mad Max: Fury Road |
| 2017(22nd) | Eddie Redmayne | Newton “Newt” Scamander | Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them |
| 2017(22nd) | Benedict Cumberbatch | Stephen Strange | Doctor Strange |
| 2017(22nd) | Casey Affleck | Lee Chandler | Manchester by the Sea |
| 2017(22nd) | Ryan Gosling | Sebastian Wilder | La La Land |
| 2017(22nd) | Ryan Reynolds | Wade Wilson / Deadpool | Deadpool |
| 2018(23rd) | Hugh Jackman | James Howlett / Logan / Wolverine | Logan |
| 2018(23rd) | Andy Serkis | Caesar | War for the Planet of the Apes |
| 2018(23rd) | Armie Hammer | Oliver | Call Me by Your Name |
| 2018(23rd) | Gary Oldman | Winston Churchill | Darkest Hour |
| 2018(23rd) | John Boyega | Finn | Star Wars: The Last Jedi |

## Multiple awards and nominations
### Multiple awards

As of the 23rd Empire Awards, the following individuals received two or more Best Actor awards:
| Awards | Film |
| 2 | James McAvoy |
| 2 | Johnny Depp |
| 2 | Matt Damon |

### Multiple nominations

As of the 23rd Empire Awards, the following individuals received two or more Best Actor nominations:
| Nominations | Film |
| 5 | Johnny Depp |
| 4 | Andy Serkis |
| 4 | Daniel Craig |
| 4 | Leonardo DiCaprio |
| 4 | Matt Damon |
| 4 | Viggo Mortensen |
| 3 | Christian Bale |
| 3 | Daniel Day-Lewis |
| 3 | Jim Carrey |
| 3 | Robert Downey Jr. |
| 3 | Tom Cruise |
| 3 | Tom Hanks |
| 2 | Benedict Cumberbatch |
| 2 | Christoph Waltz |
| 2 | Daniel Radcliffe |
| 2 | Eddie Redmayne |
| 2 | Hugh Jackman |
| 2 | James McAvoy |
| 2 | Kevin Spacey |
| 2 | Martin Freeman |
| 2 | Ryan Gosling |