# British Academy Television Award for Best Actor

This is a list of the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actor. The Best Actor award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until 1962, when Rupert Davies won for his performance in Maigret.
Since 1970, nominees have been announced in addition to the winner. The Actor category was split into Leading Actor and Supporting Actor starting in 2010.
Michael Gambon holds the record of most wins in this category with four, including three consecutive wins, followed by Robbie Coltrane with three, all of them also being consecutive. Additionally, Alan Badel, Peter Barkworth, Sean Bean, Alec Guinness, Mark Rylance, John Thaw, and Ben Whishaw, all have received the award twice. Benedict Cumberbatch has received the most nominations for this award with six, followed by Coltrane with five.

## Winners and nominees
### 1950s

| Year | Actor |
| 1955 |
| 1955 | Paul Rogers |
| 1956 |
| 1956 | Peter Cushing |
| 1957 |
| 1957 | Michael Gough |
| 1958 |
| 1958 | Michael Hordern |
| 1959 |
| 1959 | Donald Pleasence |

### 1960s

| Year | Actors | Work |
| 1960 |
| Patrick McGoohan ||
| 1961 |
| Lee Montague ||
| 1962 |
| 1962 | Rupert Davies | Maigret |
| 1963 |
| 1963 | Harry H. Corbett | Steptoe and Son |
| 1964 |
| Alan Badel ||
| 1965 |
| Patrick Wymark ||
| 1966 |
| 1966 | Alan Badel | The Count Of Monte Cristo; Meeting Point; A Couple of Dry Martinis; Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life; Famous Gossips |
| 1966 | Richard Briers | Simon and Laura; Marriage Lines; Points of View; Present Laughter - Excerpt; Charley's Aunt; To You At Home Today |
| 1966 | Ian Carmichael | Simon and Laura; The World of Wooster |
| 1966 | Patrick Wymark | The Plane Makers; Crime and Punishment; Once a Jolly Swagman; Malatesta; Sherlock Holmes; I Remember the Battle; Four of Hearts – Tilt |
| 1967 |
| 1967 | Warren Mitchell | Till Death Us Do Part |
| 1968 |
| 1968 | Eric Porter | The Forsyte Saga |
| 1969 |
| 1969 | Roy Dotrice | Brief Lives |

### 1970s

| Year | Actors | Work |
| 1970 |
| 1970 | Edward Woodward | Callan |
| 1970 | John Alderton | Please Sir! |
| 1970 | Colin Blakely | Son of Man, The Way We Live Now |
| 1970 | Arthur Lowe | Dad's Army |
| 1971 |
| 1971 | Keith Michell | The Six Wives of Henry VIII |
| 1971 | Michael Bryant | The Roads to Freedom |
| 1971 | Anthony Hopkins | The Great Inimitable Mr. Dickens, Uncle Vanya, Hearts and Flowers, Danton |
| 1971 | Michael Jayston | Charles Dickens, Mad Jack, Beethoven |
| 1971 | Freddie Jones | Germinal/Omnibus: John Clare "I Am..."/Sweeney Todd/Uncle Vanya/Menace: The Straight And Narrow |
| 1972 |
| 1972 | John Le Mesurier | Traitor |
| 1972 | Alfred Burke | Public Eye |
| 1972 | Frank Finlay | Casanova |
| 1972 | Kenneth Haigh | Search for the Nile, Man at the Top |
| 1973 |
| 1973 | Anthony Hopkins | War and Peace |
| 1973 | Michael Bryant | The Duchess of Malfi, Colditz |
| 1973 | Nicol Williamson | The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui |
| 1974 |
| 1974 | Frank Finlay | The Adventures of Don Quixote; Candide; The Death of Adolf Hitler |
| 1974 | Michael Crawford | Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em |
| 1974 | Bernard Hepton | The Adventures of Don Quixote, Colditz |
| 1974 | Laurence Olivier | Long Day's Journey Into Night |
| 1975 |
| 1975 | Peter Barkworth | Crown Matrimonial |
| 1975 | Michael Bryant | Mr Axelford's Angel |
| 1975 | Gordon Jackson | Upstairs, Downstairs |
| 1975 | Arthur Lowe | Microbes and Men, David Copperfield |
| 1976 |
| 1976 | John Hurt | The Naked Civil Servant |
| 1976 | Alan Bates | Plaintiffs and Defendants, Two Sundays |
| 1976 | Tony Britton | The Nearly Man |
| 1976 | Timothy West | Edward the Seventh |
| 1977 |
| 1977 | Derek Jacobi | I, Claudius |
| 1977 | James Bolam | When the Boat Comes In |
| 1977 | Tom Conti | The Glittering Prizes |
| 1977 | Jack Shepherd | Bill Brand, Ready When You Are Mr McGill |
| 1978 |
| 1978 | Peter Barkworth | Professional Foul |
| 1978 | James Bolam | When the Boat Comes In |
| 1978 | Derek Jacobi | Philby, Burgess and Maclean |
| 1978 | Robert Powell | Jesus of Nazareth |
| 1979 |
| 1979 | Edward Fox | Edward and Mrs Simpson |
| 1979 | Tom Bell | Out |
| 1979 | Ian Holm | Night School, Flayed, Mirage, The Lost Boys |
| 1979 | Bob Hoskins | Pennies From Heaven |

### 1980s

| Year | Actors | Work |
| 1980 |
| 1980 | Alec Guinness | Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy |
| 1980 | Robert Hardy | Speed King & All Creatures Great and Small |
| 1980 | Leo McKern | Rumpole of the Bailey |
| 1980 | Timothy West | Churchill and the Generals; Henry VIII; Crime and Punishment; Timothy West as Beecham |
| 1981 |
| 1981 | Denholm Elliott | Gentle Folk; In Hiding; Blade on the Feather; The Stinker (Tales of the Unexpected) |
| 1981 | Trevor Howard | The Shillingbury Blowers; Staying On |
| 1981 | Leo McKern | Rumpole's Return |
| 1981 | Sam Waterston | Oppenheimer |
| 1982 |
| 1982 | Anthony Andrews | Brideshead Revisited |
| 1982 | Robert Hardy | Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years; Fothergill |
| 1982 | John Gielgud | Brideshead Revisited |
| 1982 | Nickolas Grace | Brideshead Revisited |
| 1982 | Jeremy Irons | Brideshead Revisited |
| 1983 |
| 1983 | Alec Guinness | Smiley's People |
| 1983 | George Cole | Minder |
| 1983 | Bernard Hill | Boys from the Blackstuff |
| 1983 | Laurence Olivier | A Voyage Round My Father |
| 1984 |
| 1984 | Alan Bates | An Englishman Abroad |
| 1984 | Leo McKern | Rumpole of the Bailey; Reilly, Ace of Spies |
| 1984 | Ronald Pickup | Orwell on Jura; Waters of the Moon |
| 1984 | Martin Sheen | Kennedy |
| 1985 |
| 1985 | Tim Pigott-Smith | The Jewel In The Crown |
| 1985 | George Cole | Minder |
| 1985 | Charles Dance | The Jewel In The Crown |
| 1985 | Art Malik | The Jewel In The Crown |
| 1986 |
| 1986 | Bob Peck | Edge of Darkness |
| 1986 | Alec Guinness | Monsignor Quioxte |
| 1986 | Joe Don Baker | Edge of Darkness |
| 1986 | Ben Kingsley | Silas Marner |
| 1987 |
| 1987 | Michael Gambon | The Singing Detective |
| 1987 | Colin Blakely | Drums Along Balmoral Drive |
| 1987 | Denholm Elliott | Hotel du Lac |
| 1987 | Paul McGann | The Monocled Mutineer |
| 1987 | Patrick Malahide | The Singing Detective |
| 1987 | David Threlfall | Paradise Postponed |
| 1988 |
| 1988 | David Jason | Porterhouse Blue |
| 1988 | Kenneth Branagh | Fortunes of War; The Lady's Not for Burning |
| 1988 | Ray McAnally | A Perfect Spy; Scout |
| 1988 | Robbie Coltrane | Tutti Frutti |
| 1989 |
| 1989 | Ray McAnally | A Very British Coup |
| 1989 | Alan Bennett | A Chip in the Sugar |
| 1989 | Colin Firth | Tumbledown |
| 1989 | Ian Holm | Game, Set and Match |

### 1990s

| Year | Actors | Work | Character | Network |
| 1990 |
| 1990 | John Thaw | Inspector Morse | Endeavour Morse | ITV |
| 1990 | Joss Ackland | First and Last | Alan Holly | BBC One |
| 1990 | Alfred Molina | The Accountant | Lionel Ellerman | BBC One |
| 1990 | John Gielgud | Summer's Lease | Haverford Downs | BBC Two |
| 1991 |
| 1991 | Ian Richardson | House of Cards | Francis Urquhart | BBC |
| 1991 | John Thaw | Inspector Morse | Endeavour Morse | ITV |
| 1991 | David Suchet | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Hercule Poirot | ITV |
| 1991 | Albert Finney | The Green Man | Maurice Allington | BBC One |
| 1992 |
| 1992 | Robert Lindsay | G.B.H. | Michael Murray | Channel 4 |
| 1992 | John Thaw | Inspector Morse | Endeavour Morse | ITV |
| 1992 | Tom Bell | Prime Suspect | Bill Otley | ITV |
| 1992 | Michael Palin | G.B.H. | Jim Nelson | Channel 4 |
| 1993 |
| 1993 | John Thaw | Inspector Morse | Endeavour Morse | ITV |
| 1993 | Alan Bates | Unnatural Pursuits | Hamish Partt | BBC Two |
| 1993 | Brian Cox | The Lost Language of Cranes | Owen Benjamin | BBC Two |
| 1993 | Ian Richardson | An Ungentlemanly Act | Rex Hunt | BBC Two |
| 1994 |
| 1994 | Robbie Coltrane | Cracker | Dr. Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald | ITV |
| 1994 | Michael Kitchen | To Play the King | The King | BBC |
| 1994 | Ian Richardson | To Play the King | Francis Urquhart | BBC |
| 1994 | Neil Pearson | Between the Lines | Tony Clark | BBC One |
| 1995 |
| 1995 | Robbie Coltrane | Cracker | Dr. Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald | ITV |
| 1995 | Pete Postlethwaite | Martin Chuzzlewit | Montague Tigg | BBC Two |
| 1995 | Paul Scofield | Martin Chuzzlewit | Old Martin Chuzzlewitt | BBC Two |
| 1995 | Tom Wilkinson | Martin Chuzzlewit | Seth Pecksniff | BBC Two |
| 1996 (42nd) |
| 1996 (42nd) | Robbie Coltrane | Cracker | Dr. Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald | ITV |
| 1996 (42nd) | Colin Firth | Pride and Prejudice | Mr. Darcy | BBC One |
| 1996 (42nd) | Benjamin Whitrow | Pride and Prejudice | Mr. Bennet | BBC One |
| 1996 (42nd) | Robert Lindsay | Jake's Progress | Jamie Diadoni | Channel 4 |
| 1996 (42nd) | Ian Richardson | The Final Cut | Francis Urquhart | BBC |
| 1997 (43rd) |
| 1997 (43rd) | Nigel Hawthorne | The Fragile Heart | Edgar Pascoe | Channel 4 |
| 1997 (43rd) | Albert Finney | Cold Lazarus / Karaoke | Daniel Feeld | BBC One / Channel 4 |
| 1997 (43rd) | Christopher Eccleston | Our Friends in the North | Dominic 'Nicky' Hutchinson | BBC Two |
| 1997 (43rd) | Peter Vaughan | Our Friends in the North | Felix Hutchinson | BBC Two |
| 1998 (44th) |
| 1998 (44th) | Simon Russell Beale | A Dance to the Music of Time | Kenneth Widmerpool | Channel 4 |
| 1998 (44th) | Derek Jacobi | Breaking the Code | Alan Turing | BBC |
| 1998 (44th) | Robert Carlyle | Hamish Macbeth | Hamish Macbeth | BBC One |
| 1998 (44th) | Tom Wilkinson | Cold Enough for Snow | Hugh Lloyd | BBC One |
| 1999 (45th) |
| 1999 (45th) | Tom Courtenay | A Rather English Marriage | Roy Southgate | BBC |
| 1999 (45th) | Robert Carlyle | Looking After Jo Jo | John Joe "Jo Jo" McCann | BBC Two |
| 1999 (45th) | Timothy Spall | Our Mutual Friend | Mr. Venus | BBC Two |
| 1999 (45th) | Albert Finney | A Rather English Marriage | Reggie Conyngham-Jervis | BBC |

### 2000s

| Year | Actors | Work | Character | Network |
| 2000 (46th) |
| 2000 (46th) | Michael Gambon | Wives and Daughters | Squire Hamley | BBC One |
| 2000 (46th) | Aidan Gillen | Queer as Folk | Stuart Alan Jones | Channel 4 |
| 2000 (46th) | Pete Postlethwaite | Lost for Words | Deric Longden | ITV |
| 2000 (46th) | Timothy Spall | Shooting the Past | Oswald Bates | BBC Two |
| 2001 (47th) |
| 2001 (47th) | Michael Gambon | Longitude | John Harrison | Channel 4 |
| 2001 (47th) | Steven Mackintosh | Care | Davy Younger | BBC One |
| 2001 (47th) | Pete Postlethwaite | The Sins | Len Green | BBC One |
| 2001 (47th) | Ken Stott | The Vice | Pat Chappel | ITV |
| 2002 (48th) |
| 2002 (48th) | Michael Gambon | Perfect Strangers | Raymond Symon | BBC Two |
| 2002 (48th) | Alan Bates | Love in a Cold Climate | Matthew Alconleigh | BBC One |
| 2002 (48th) | David Suchet | The Way We Live Now | Augustus Melmotte | BBC One |
| 2002 (48th) | Timothy Spall | Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise | Tommy Rag | BBC Two |
| 2003 (49th) |
| 2003 (49th) | Albert Finney | The Gathering Storm | Winston Churchill | BBC |
| 2003 (49th) | James Nesbitt | Bloody Sunday | Ivan Cooper | ITV |
| 2003 (49th) | Kenneth Branagh | Conspiracy | Reinhard Heydrich | BBC Two/HBO |
| 2003 (49th) | Kenneth Branagh | Shackleton | Ernest Shackleton | Channel 4 |
| 2004 (50th) |
| 2004 (50th) | Bill Nighy | State of Play | Cameron Lloyd | BBC One |
| 2004 (50th) | Christopher Eccleston | The Second Coming | Steven Baxter | ITV |
| 2004 (50th) | Jim Broadbent | The Young Visiters | Alfred Salteena | BBC One |
| 2004 (50th) | David Morrissey | State of Play | Stephen Collins | BBC One |
| 2005 (51st) |
| 2005 (51st) | Rhys Ifans | Not Only But Always | Peter Cook | Channel 4 |
| 2005 (51st) | Benedict Cumberbatch | Hawking | Stephen Hawking | BBC Two |
| 2005 (51st) | Mark Strong | The Long Firm | Harry Starks | BBC Two |
| 2005 (51st) | Michael Sheen | Dirty Filthy Love | Mark Furness | ITV |
| 2006 (52nd) |
| 2006 (52nd) | Mark Rylance | The Government Inspector | Dr. David Kelly | Channel 4 |
| 2006 (52nd) | Denis Lawson | Bleak House | John Jarndyce | BBC One |
| 2006 (52nd) | Rufus Sewell | ShakespeaRe-Told: The Taming of the Shrew | Petruchio | BBC One |
| 2006 (52nd) | Bernard Hill | A Very Social Secretary | David Blunkett | Channel 4 |
| 2007 (53rd) |
| 2007 (53rd) | Jim Broadbent | Longford | Frank Pakenham | Channel 4 |
| 2007 (53rd) | John Simm | Life on Mars | Sam Tyler | BBC One |
| 2007 (53rd) | Andy Serkis | Longford | Ian Brady | Channel 4 |
| 2007 (53rd) | Michael Sheen | Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! | Kenneth Williams | BBC Four |
| 2008 (54th) |
| 2008 (54th) | Andrew Garfield | Boy A | Jack Burridge / Eric Wilson | Channel 4 |
| 2008 (54th) | Tom Hardy | Stuart: A Life Backwards | Stuart Shorter | BBC Two |
| 2008 (54th) | Matthew MacFadyen | Secret Life | Charlie Webb | Channel 4 |
| 2008 (54th) | Antony Sher | Primo | Primo Levi | BBC Four |
| 2009 (55th) |
| 2009 (55th) | Stephen Dillane | The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall | Anthony Hurndall | Channel 4 |
| 2009 (55th) | Jason Isaacs | The Curse of Steptoe | Harry H. Corbett | BBC Four |
| 2009 (55th) | Ken Stott | Hancock & Joan | Tony Hancock | BBC Four |
| 2009 (55th) | Ben Whishaw | Criminal Justice | Ben Coulter | BBC One |

### 2010s

| Year | Actors | Work | Character | Network |
| 2010 (56th) |
| 2010 (56th) | Kenneth Branagh | Wallander | Kurt Wallander | BBC One |
| 2010 (56th) | Brendan Gleeson | Into the Storm | Winston Churchill | BBC |
| 2010 (56th) | John Hurt | An Englishman in New York | Quentin Crisp | ITV |
| 2010 (56th) | David Oyelowo | Small Island | Gilbert Joseph | BBC One |
| 2011 (57th) |
| 2011 (57th) | Daniel Rigby | Eric and Ernie | Eric Morecambe | BBC Two |
| 2011 (57th) | Jim Broadbent | Any Human Heart | Logan Mountstuart | Channel 4 |
| 2011 (57th) | Benedict Cumberbatch | Sherlock | Sherlock Holmes | BBC One |
| 2011 (57th) | Matt Smith | Doctor Who | The Doctor | BBC One |
| 2012 (58th) |
| 2012 (58th) | Dominic West | Appropriate Adult | Fred West | ITV |
| 2012 (58th) | Benedict Cumberbatch | Sherlock | Sherlock Holmes | BBC One |
| 2012 (58th) | John Simm | Exile | Tom Ronstadt | BBC One |
| 2012 (58th) | Joseph Gilgun | This Is England '88 | Richard Woodford | Channel 4 |
| 2013 (59th) |
| 2013 (59th) | Ben Whishaw | The Hollow Crown | Richard II | BBC Two |
| 2013 (59th) | Sean Bean | Accused | Simon/Tracie | BBC One |
| 2013 (59th) | Derek Jacobi | Last Tango in Halifax | Alan Buttershaw | BBC One |
| 2013 (59th) | Toby Jones | The Girl | Alfred Hitchcock | BBC Two |
| 2014 (60th) |
| 2014 (60th) | Sean Harris | Southcliffe | Stephen Morton | Channel 4 |
| 2014 (60th) | Jamie Dornan | The Fall | Paul Spector | BBC Two |
| 2014 (60th) | Luke Newberry | In the Flesh | Kieren Walker | BBC Three |
| 2014 (60th) | Dominic West | Burton & Taylor | Richard Burton | BBC Four |
| 2015 (61st) |
| 2015 (61st) | Jason Watkins | The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies | Christopher Jefferies | ITV |
| 2015 (61st) | Benedict Cumberbatch | Sherlock | Sherlock Holmes | BBC One |
| 2015 (61st) | James Nesbitt | The Missing | Tony Hughes | BBC One |
| 2015 (61st) | Toby Jones | Marvellous | Neil Baldwin | BBC Two |
| 2016 (62nd) |
| 2016 (62nd) | Mark Rylance | Wolf Hall | Thomas Cromwell | BBC Two |
| 2016 (62nd) | Stephen Graham | This is England '90 | Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne | Channel 4 |
| 2016 (62nd) | Idris Elba | Luther | John Luther | BBC One |
| 2016 (62nd) | Ben Whishaw | London Spy | Daniel Holt | BBC Two |
| 2017 (63rd) |
| 2017 (63rd) | Adeel Akhtar | Murdered by My Father | Shahzad Khan | BBC Three |
| 2017 (63rd) | Babou Ceesay | Damilola, Our Loved Boy | Richard Taylor | BBC One |
| 2017 (63rd) | Robbie Coltrane | National Treasure | Paul Finchley | Channel 4 |
| 2017 (63rd) | Benedict Cumberbatch | The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses | Richard III | BBC Two |
| 2018 (64th) |
| 2018 (64th) | Sean Bean | Broken | Michael Kerrigan | BBC One |
| 2018 (64th) | Jack Rowan | Born to Kill | Sam Woodford | Channel 4 |
| 2018 (64th) | Joe Cole | Black Mirror | Frank | Netflix |
| 2018 (64th) | Tim Pigott-Smith | King Charles III | King Charles III | BBC Two |
| 2019 (65th) |
| 2019 (65th) | Benedict Cumberbatch | Patrick Melrose | Patrick Melrose | Sky Atlantic |
| 2019 (65th) | Hugh Grant | A Very English Scandal | Jeremy Thorpe | BBC One |
| 2019 (65th) | Lucian Msamati | Kiri | Tobi Akindele | Channel 4 |
| 2019 (65th) | Chance Perdomo | Killed by My Debt | Jerome Rogers | BBC Three |

### 2020s

| Year | Actors | Work | Character | Network |
| 2020 (66th) |
| 2020 (66th) | Jared Harris | Chernobyl | Valery Legasov | Sky Atlantic |
| 2020 (66th) | Stephen Graham | The Virtues | Joseph Lowery | Channel 4 |
| 2020 (66th) | Takehiro Hira | Giri/Haji | Kenzo Mori | BBC Two |
| 2020 (66th) | Callum Turner | The Capture | Shaun Emery | BBC One |
| 2021 (67th) |
| 2021 (67th) | Paul Mescal | Normal People | Connell Waldron | BBC Three |
| 2021 (67th) | John Boyega | Small Axe: Red, White and Blue | Leroy Logan | BBC One |
| 2021 (67th) | Paapa Essiedu | I May Destroy You | Kwame | BBC One |
| 2021 (67th) | Shaun Parkes | Small Axe: Mangrove | Frank Crichlow | BBC One |
| 2021 (67th) | Josh O'Connor | The Crown | Charles, Prince of Wales | Netflix |
| 2021 (67th) | Waleed Zuaiter | Baghdad Central | Muhsin al-Khafaji | Channel 4 |
| 2022 (68th) |
| 2022 (68th) | Sean Bean | Time | Mark Cobden | BBC One |
| 2022 (68th) | Samuel Adewunmi | You Don't Know Me | Hero | BBC One |
| 2022 (68th) | David Thewlis | Landscapers | Christopher Edwards | Sky Atlantic |
| 2022 (68th) | Olly Alexander | It's a Sin | Ritchie Tozer | Channel 4 |
| 2022 (68th) | Stephen Graham | Help | Tony | Channel 4 |
| 2022 (68th) | Hugh Quarshie | Stephen | Neville Lawrence | ITV |
| 2023 (69th) |
| Ben Whishaw | This Is Going to Hurt | Adam Kay | BBC One |
| Taron Egerton | Black Bird | James "Jimmy" Keene Jr. | Apple TV+ |
| Gary Oldman | Slow Horses | Jackson Lamb | Apple TV+ |
| Martin Freeman | The Responder | Chris Carson | BBC One |
| Cillian Murphy | Peaky Blinders | Tommy Shelby | BBC One |
| Chaske Spencer | The English | Sgt. Eli Whipp / Wounded Wolf | BBC Two |
| 2024 (70th) |
| 2024 (70th) | Timothy Spall | The Sixth Commandment | Peter Farquhar | BBC One |
| 2024 (70th) | Brian Cox | Succession | Logan Roy | Sky Atlantic / HBO |
| 2024 (70th) | Dominic West | The Crown | Prince Charles | Netflix |
| 2024 (70th) | Kane Robinson | Top Boy | Gerard "Sully" Sullivan | Netflix |
| 2024 (70th) | Paapa Essiedu | The Lazarus Project | George | Sky Max |
| 2024 (70th) | Steve Coogan | The Reckoning | Jimmy Savile | BBC One |

## Actors with multiple wins and nominations
### Multiple wins

The following people have been awarded the British Academy Television Award for Actor multiple times:

### Multiple nominations

The following people have been nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Actor multiple times: