# AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role

The Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role is an award in the annual Australian Film Institute Awards. It has been awarded annually since 1974.

## Previous winners

| Year | Actor | Film | Role |
| 1970s ||||
| 1974 | Barry Humphries | The Great Macarthy | Colonel Ball-Miller |
| 1975 | Reg Lye | Sunday Too Far Away | Old Garth |
| 1976 | Drew Forsythe | Caddie | Sonny |
| 1976 | Jonathan Hardy | The Devil's Playground | Brother Arnold |
| 1976 | Thomas Keneally | The Devil's Playground | Father Marshall |
| 1976 | Tony Llewellyn-Jones | Picnic at Hanging Rock | Tom |
| 1977 | John Ewart | The Picture Show Man | Freddie |
| 1977 | John Ewart | Let the Balloon Go | Constable Baird |
| 1977 | Bill Hunter | Mad Dog Morgan | Sergeant Smith |
| 1977 | Christopher Pate | Raw Deal | Dick |
| 1978 | Ray Barrett | The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith | Farrell |
| 1978 | Peter Carroll | The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith | McCready |
| 1978 | Don Crosby | Newsfront | A.G. Marwood |
| 1978 | Chris Haywood | Newsfront | Chris Hewitt |
| 1979 | Alwyn Kurts | Tim | Ron Melville |
| 1979 | Michael Duffield | The Last of the Knucklemen | Methuselah |
| 1979 | Robert Grubb | My Brilliant Career | Frank Hawdon |
| 1979 | Hugh Keays-Byrne | Mad Max | Toecutter |
| 1980s ||||
| 1980 | Bryan Brown | Breaker Morant | Lt. Peter Handcock |
| 1980 | Lewis Fitz-Gerald | Breaker Morant | Lt. George Ramsdale Witton |
| 1980 | Dennis Miller | Stir | Redford |
| 1980 | Charles 'Bud' Tingwell | Breaker Morant | Lt. Col. Denny |
| 1981 | Bill Hunter | Gallipoli | Major Barton |
| 1981 | Max Cullen | Hoodwink | Buster |
| 1981 | Harold Hopkins | The Club | Danny Rowe |
| 1981 | Bill Kerr | Gallipoli | Redford |
| 1982 | Warren Mitchell | Norman Loves Rose | Morris |
| 1982 | David Argue | Going Down | Greg / Trixie |
| 1982 | John Bell | Far East | Peter Reeves |
| 1982 | Garry McDonald | The Pirate Movie | Sergeant / Inspector |
| 1983 | John Hargreaves | Careful, He Might Hear You | Logan |
| 1983 | Simon Chilvers | Buddies | Alfred |
| 1983 | John Meillon | The Wild Duck | Old Ackland |
| 1983 | Martin Vaughan | The Winds of Jarrah | Ben |
| 1984 | Steve Bisley | Silver City | Victor |
| 1984 | David Argue | BMX Bandits | Whitey |
| 1984 | Steve Bisley | Fast Talking | Redback |
| 1984 | Peter Hehir | Fast Talking | Ralph Carson |
| 1985 | Nique Needles | The Boy Who Had Everything | Graham Cummerford |
| 1985 | Bryan Brown | Rebel | Tiger |
| 1985 | Jon Ewing | Bliss | Aldo |
| 1985 | Mark Little | An Indecent Obsession | Benedict Maynard |
| 1986 | John Hargreaves | Malcolm | Frank Baker |
| 1986 | Maurie Fields | Death of a Soldier | Det. Sgt. Martin |
| 1986 | Mark Little | Short Changed | Curly |
| 1986 | John Walton | Kangaroo | Jack Calcott |
| 1987 | Ben Mendelsohn | The Year My Voice Broke | Trevor Leishman |
| 1987 | Donald Pleasence | Ground Zero | Prosper Gaffney |
| 1987 | Bobby Smith | Initiation | Kulu |
| 1987 | Steven Vidler | The Umbrella Woman | Sugar Hills |
| 1988 | Kim Gyngell | Boulevard of Broken Dreams | Ian McKenzie |
| 1988 | Bruno Lawrence | Grievous Bodily Harm | Mick |
| 1988 | Paul Livingston | The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey | Martin |
| 1988 | John Meillon | The Everlasting Secret Family | Judge |
| 1989 | Chris Haywood | Emerald City | Mike |
| 1989 | John Darling | Sweetie | Gordon |
| 1989 | Kym Gyngell | Heaven Tonight | Baz Schultz |
| 1989 | Bogdan Koca | Ghosts… of the Civil Dead | Waychek |
| 1990s ||||
| 1990 | Steve Bisley | The Big Steal | Gordon Farkas |
| 1990 | John Polson | Blood Oath | Pvt. Jimmy Fenton |
| 1990 | Bartholomew Rose | Flirting | 'Gilby' Fryer |
| 1990 | Toshi Shioya | Blood Oath | Lt. Tanaka |
| 1991 | Russell Crowe | Proof | Andy |
| 1991 | Chris Haywood | Aya | Mac |
| 1991 | Alwyn Kurts | Spotswood | Mr. Ball |
| 1991 | John Moore | Deadly | Eddie |
| 1992 | Barry Otto | Strictly Ballroom | Doug Hastings |
| 1992 | Bill Hunter | The Last Days of Chez Nous | Beth's Father |
| 1992 | Daniel Pollock | Romper Stomper | Davey |
| 1992 | August Schellenberg | Black Robe | Chomina |
| 1993 | David Ngoombujarra | Blackfellas | Floyd "Pretty Boy" Davies |
| 1993 | Nico Lathouris | The Heartbreak Kid | George |
| 1993 | Sam Neill | The Piano | Alisdair Stewart |
| 1993 | Barry Otto | The Custodian | Ferguson |
| 1994 | Max Cullen | Spider & Rose | Jack |
| 1994 | Bill Hunter | Muriel's Wedding | Bill Heslop |
| 1994 | Kiet Lam | Traps | Tuan |
| 1994 | John Polson | The Sum of Us | Greg |
| 1995 | Ray Barrett | Hotel Sorrento | Wal Moynihan |
| 1995 | Ben Mendelsohn | Metal Skin | Dazey |
| 1995 | Noah Taylor | Dad and Dave: On Our Selection | Joe Rudd |
| 1995 | Ben Thomas | Hotel Sorrento | Troy Moynihan |
| 1996 | Armin Mueller-Stahl | Shine | Peter |
| 1996 | Ray Barrett | Brilliant Lies | Brian Connor |
| 1996 | Robert Morgan | Life | Snakey |
| 1996 | Barry Otto | Cosi | Roy |
| 1997 | Andrew S. Gilbert | Kiss or Kill | Detective Crean |
| 1997 | Chris Haywood | Kiss or Kill | Detective Inspector Hummer |
| 1997 | Simon Lyndon | Blackrock | Ricko |
| 1997 | Charles 'Bud' Tingwell | The Castle | Lawrence Hammill QC |
| 1998 | John Polson | The Boys | Glenn Sprague |
| 1998 | Paul Capsis | Head On | Johnny/Tula |
| 1998 | Anthony Hayes | The Boys | Stevie Sprague |
| 1998 | Geoffrey Rush | A Little Bit of Soul | Godfrey Usher |
| 1999 | Bryan Brown | Two Hands | Pando |
| 1999 | Roy Billing | Siam Sunset | Bill Leach |
| 1999 | Mitchell Butel | Strange Fits of Passion | Jimmy |
| 1999 | Andrew S. Gilbert | Paperback Hero | Hamish |
| 2000s ||||
| 2000 | Simon Lyndon | Chopper | Jimmy Loughnan |
| 2000 | Martin Henderson | Kick | Tom Bradshaw |
| 2000 | Sam Neill | My Mother Frank | Professor Mortlock |
| 2000 | Terry Norris | Innocence | John |
| 2001 | Vince Colosimo | Lantana | Nik D'Amato |
| 2001 | Alex Dimitriades | La Spagnola | Stefano |
| 2001 | Andrew S. Gilbert | Mullet | Peter Maloney |
| 2001 | Richard Roxburgh | Moulin Rouge! | The Duke of Monroth |
| 2002 | Nathaniel Dean | Walking on Water | Simon |
| 2002 | Luke Carroll | Australian Rules | Dumby Red |
| 2002 | Joel Edgerton | The Hard Word | Shane Twentyman |
| 2002 | David Gulpilil | Rabbit-Proof Fence | Moodoo the Tracker |
| 2003 | David Ngoombujarra | Black and White | Young Max Stuart |
| 2003 | Orlando Bloom | Ned Kelly | Joe Byrne |
| 2003 | Tony Bonner | Liquid Bridge | Bob McCallum |
| 2003 | Mitchell Butel | Gettin' Square | Con Katsakis |
| 2003 | David Field | Gettin' Square | Arnie DeViers |
| 2004 | Erik Thomson | Somersault | Richard |
| 2004 | Nathaniel Dean | Somersault | Stuart |
| 2004 | Dan Spielman | Tom White | Matt |
| 2004 | Hugo Weaving | The Old Man Who Read Love Stories | Rubicondo the dentist |
| 2005 | Anthony Hayes | Look Both Ways | Andy Walker |
| 2005 | Martin Henderson | Little Fish | Ray Heart |
| 2005 | John Hurt | The Proposition | Jellon Lamb |
| 2005 | Robert Menzies | Three Dollars | Nick |
| 2006 | Anthony Hayes | Suburban Mayhem | Kenny |
| 2006 | Tom Budge | Last Train to Freo | Trev |
| 2006 | Ronald Jacobson | Kenny | Bill Smyth |
| 2006 | Geoffrey Rush | Candy | Casper |
| 2007 | Marton Csokas | Romulus, My Father | Hora |
| 2007 | Russell Dykstra | Romulus, My Father | Mitru |
| 2007 | Frankie J. Holden | Clubland | John Maitland |
| 2007 | Richard Wilson | Clubland | Mark |
| 2008 | Luke Ford | The Black Balloon | Charlie Mollison |
| 2008 | Joel Edgerton | The Square | Billy |
| 2008 | Anthony Hayes | The Square | Greg "Smithy" Smith |
| 2008 | Erik Thomson | The Black Balloon | Simon Mollison |
| 2009 | Oscar Isaac | Balibo | José Ramos-Horta |
| 2009 | Bryan Brown | Beautiful Kate | Bruce Kendall |
| 2009 | Damon Gameau | Balibo | Greg Shackleton |
| 2009 | Brandon Walters | Australia | Nullah |
| 2010s ||||
| 2010 | Joel Edgerton | Animal Kingdom | Barry 'Baz' Brown |
| 2010 | Guy Pearce | Animal Kingdom | Nathan Leckie |
| 2010 | Kodi Smit-McPhee | Matching Jack | Finn |
| 2010 | Sullivan Stapleton | Animal Kingdom | Craig Cody |
| AACTA Awards ||||
| 2011 (1st) | Hugo Weaving | Oranges and Sunshine | Jack |
| 2011 (1st) | John Gaden | The Eye of the Storm | Arnold Wyburd |
| 2011 (1st) | Sam Neill | The Hunter | Jack Mindy |
| 2011 (1st) | Robert Rabiah | Face to Face | Hakim Slimon |
| 2012 (2nd) | Antony Starr | Wish You Were Here | Jeremy King |
| 2012 (2nd) | Ryan Corr | Not Suitable for Children | Gus |
| 2012 (2nd) | Liev Schreiber | Mental | Trevor Blundell |
| 2012 (2nd) | Gary Waddell | The King is Dead | King |
| 2013 (3rd) | Joel Edgerton | The Great Gatsby | Tom Buchanan |
| 2013 (3rd) | Marton Csokas | Dead Europe | Nico |
| 2013 (3rd) | Suthep Po-ngam | The Rocket | Purple |
| 2013 (3rd) | Angus Sampson | 100 Bloody Acres | Lindsay Morgan |
| 2014 (4th) | Yılmaz Erdoğan | The Water Diviner | Major Hasan |
| 2014 (4th) | Patrick Brammall | The Little Death | Richard |
| 2014 (4th) | Robert Pattinson | The Rover | Reynolds |
| 2014 (4th) | T.J. Power | The Little Death | Sam |
| 2015 (5th) | Hugo Weaving | The Dressmaker | Sergeant Farrat |
| 2015 (5th) | Mark Coles Smith | Last Cab to Darwin | Tilly |
| 2015 (5th) | Alex Dimitriades | Ruben Guthrie | Damian |
| 2015 (5th) | Anthony LaPaglia | Holding the Man | Bob Caleo |
| 2016 (6th) | Hugo Weaving | Hacksaw Ridge | Tom Doss |
| 2016 (6th) | Mark Coles Smith | Pawno | Pauly |
| 2016 (6th) | Damon Herriman | Down Under | Jason |
| 2016 (6th) | Sam Neill | The Daughter | Walter |
| 2017 (7th) | Dev Patel | Lion | Saroo Brierley |
| 2017 (7th) | Don Hany | Ali's Wedding | Mehdi |
| 2017 (7th) | Jack Thompson | Don't Tell | Bob Myers |
| 2017 (7th) | Hugo Weaving | Jasper Jones | Mad Jack Lionel |
| 2018 (8th) | Simon Baker | Breath | Sando |
| 2018 (8th) | Fayssal Bazzi | The Merger | Sayyid |
| 2018 (8th) | Russell Crowe | Boy Erased | Marshall Eamons |
| 2018 (8th) | Joel Edgerton | Boy Erased | Victor Sykes |
| 2018 (8th) | Josh McConville | 1% | Skink |
| 2019 (9th) | Joel Edgerton | The King | Fastolf |
| 2019 (9th) | Damon Herriman | The Nightingale | Ruse |
| 2019 (9th) | Andrew Luri | Hearts and Bones | Sebastian Ahmed |
| 2019 (9th) | Ben Mendelsohn | The King | King Henry IV |
| 2019 (9th) | Michael Sheasby | The Nightingale | Aidan Carroll |
| 2020 (10th) | Ben Mendelsohn | Babyteeth | Henry Finlay |
| 2020 (10th) | Fayssal Bazzi | Measure for Measure | Farouk |
| 2020 (10th) | Russell Crowe | True History of the Kelly Gang | Harry Power |
| 2020 (10th) | Aaron Jeffery | The Flood | William 'Minto' Minton |
| 2020 (10th) | Wesley Patten | H is for Happiness | Douglas Benson |
| 2021 (11th) | Anthony LaPaglia | Nitram | Nitram’s father |
| 2021 (11th) | Michael Caton | Rams | Les |
| 2021 (11th) | Baykali Ganambarr | The Furnace | Woorak |
| 2021 (11th) | Sean Mununggurr | High Ground | Baywara |
| 2021 (11th) | Jack Thompson | High Ground | Moran |
| 2022 (12th) | Sean Harris | The Stranger | Henry Teague |
| 2022 (12th) | Simon Baker | Blaze | Luke |
| 2022 (12th) | Jemaine Clement | Nude Tuesday | Bjorg Rasmussen |
| 2022 (12th) | Malachi Dower-Roberts | The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson | Danny Johnson |
| 2022 (12th) | Tom Hanks | Elvis | Colonel Tom Parker |