Oscars 2009: Sean Penn defends gay rights as protesters abuse Heath Ledger - Telegraph Oscars Oscars 2009: Sean Penn defends gay rights as protesters abuse Heath Ledger Sean Penn jokingly praised the "homo-loving" Academy as the Oscars became a platform for gay rights, with protesters outside waving placards saying Heath Ledger burned in hell. By staff in Los Angeles 4:00PM GMT 23 Feb 2009 Stars on their way to the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles had to pass a group of Christian demonstrators outside who protested against gay marriage and attacked the memory of the late Heath Ledger, a favourite target of militant anti-gay protesters since his role in Brokeback Mountain. Penn won the best actor award for Milk, in which he played politician and gay rights activist Harvey Milk. The actor opened his acceptance speech with the words: "You commie, homo-loving sons of guns," to laughter from the audience.

Referring to the protest, he said: "For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support. We've got to have equal rights for everyone." Backstage, he dismissed the demonstrators' 'Heath in Hell' placards. "I think if we get used to dismissing these kind of comments rather than commenting on them, we'll be better off. It's meaningless jibberish," he said, expressing his sadness at the "culture of ignorance that has bred this kind of hateful expression, that these people have their signs outside essentially telling you that you're less than human". Related Articles Sean Penn - Photo 1 - Pictures - CBS News Sean Penn Sean Penn accepts his Academy Award for Best Actor at the ceremony in Los Angeles on Feb. 22, 2009. He won for his role in Gus Van Sant's "Milk." It was his second Oscar and his sixth nomination.

Credit: AP Sean Penn accepts the Oscar for best actor for his work in "Milk" during the 81st Academy Awards Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Born Aug. 17, 1960, to Leo Penn, an actor and director, and Eileen Ryan (n Credit: AP Actor Sean Penn, nominated for best actor in a leading role for his work in "Milk," arrives at the Academy Award luncheon in Beverly Hills Calif., on Monday, Feb. 2, 2009. Penn is also a filmmaker, political activist and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2004. His interest in progressive or liberal politics is reflected in some of his recent work. Credit: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello "Milk" co-stars Emile Hirsch, left, and Sean Penn backstage at the 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards on Thursday Jan. 8, 2009, in Santa Monica, Calif. Credit: AP Sean Penn and his wife, Robin Wright Penn, arrive at the world premiere of his new film " Milk" on Tuesday, Oct.

28, 2008, in San Francisco. The film is story of California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone. Credit: AP PHOTO Actor Sean Penn is seen during the Oxfam America Hurricane Katrina recovery reception in Denver, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008. Credit: AP PHOTO Actor and jury president Sean Penn speaks on stage at the opening night ceremony during the 61st International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on Wednesday, May 14, 2008. Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Christensen Actor Sean Penn poses during a photo call for his film "The Assassination of Richard Nixon," being shown out of competition, at the 57th Cannes International Film Festival, May 17, 2004. Credit: AP Actor Sean Penn, right, kisses wife Robin Wright Penn as she holds the Best Actor Oscar he won for his work in Mystic River, at the 76th annual Academy Awards, Feb. 29, 2004, in Los Angeles.

Credit: AP Sean Penn, center, holds hands with his wife, actress Robin Wright Penn, left, and his mother, Eileen, as they arrive at the Kodak Theatre for the 76th annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 29, 2004. Later that evening, Penn won an Oscar for best actor in a leading role for "Mystic River." Credit: AP Actor Sean Penn and wife Robin Wright Penn smile on the catwalk prior to the screening of "21 Grams," in competition at the 60th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sept. 5, 2003. Credit: AP From left, actors Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, actress Naomi Watts, director Alajandro Gonzales Inarritu and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg pose for the cameras prior to the screening of their movie "21 Grams," in competition at the 60th Venice Film Festival, Sept. 5, 2003.

Credit: AP Actor Sean Penn and actress Naomi Watts pose for the cameras prior to the screening of their movie "21 Grams" in competition at the 60th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sept. 5, 2003. Credit: AP Actor Sean Penn gestures during the photo call to present his movie "21 Grams" at the 60th Venice Film Festival, Sept. 5, 2003. Credit: AP Actor Sean Penn holds the "Coppa Volpi" after being awarded best actor at the 60th Venice Film Festival with the movie "21 Grams", in Venice, Italy, Sept. 6, 2003. Credit: AP Actor Sean Penn in the critically acclaimed movie, "Mystic River." The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, and stars Penn and actors Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins, deals with child abuse, loyalty, revenge and murder. Credit: WARNER BROS. Actor Sean Penn walks past a picture of President Saddam Hussein during his visit to al-Mansour children hospital in Baghdad, Dec. 13, 2002. Penn arrived in Baghdad for a three-day visit to Iraq.

Credit: AP Sean Penn poses at the Bel Air Hotel in Los Angeles, Dec. 3, 2001. Penn was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as a retarded father trying to regain custody of his 7-year-old daughter in "I Am Sam." Credit: AP Actors Sean Penn, left, and Jack Nicholson watch the Los Angeles Lakers play the Sacramento Kings, April 17, 1997, in Inglewood, Calif. The actors worked together in the movie, "The Pledge," Penn's third film as a director. Credit: AP Sean Penn and his former wife Madonna are seen at the screening of the film "At Close Range" in Los Angeles, Calif., April 17, 1986. Credit: AP Sean Penn winning Best Actor for "Milk" - YouTube Sean Penn winning Best Actor for "Milk" Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Uploaded on Feb 25, 2009 Sean Penn winning the Best Actor Oscar® for his performance in "Milk." Presented by former Oscar winners Robert De Niro, Adrien Brody, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Douglas and Ben Kingsley. 81st Annual Academy Awards®. Category Sean Penn | Biography, News, Photos and Videos | Contactmusic.com Biography Sean Penn (born 17.8.1960) is an Oscar-winning American actor and film director. Childhood: Sean Penn was born to Leo and Eileen Penn in Los Angeles County, California. His father was an actor and a director and his mother was an actress. Sean's brother Chris, an actor, died in 2006. His brother Michael is a musician. Career: In 1974, Sean Penn appeared in an episode of Little House on the Prairie. His father was in the director's chair at the time. In 1981, Penn launched his film debut, when he starred in Taps, which also featured Tom Cruise and Timothy Hutton. The following year, he appeared in Cameron Crowe's Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

The popular comedy also starred Pheobe Cates, Nicolas Cage, Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Jason Leigh. 1983's Bad Boys saw Sean Penn give one of his best performances, playing a troubled youth. Two years later, he gave another memorable performance in The Falcon and the Snowman, playing the real-life character of Andrew Daulton Lee, a former drug dealer convicted of espionage. Once again, he was sharing the screen with Timothy Hutton. In 1998, when Anthony Daulton Lee was released from jail, Sean Penn hired him as his personal assistant to repay him for allowing him to play Lee in the film, and to help rehabilitate him into society. Penn then starred opposite Christopher Walken in At Close Range. The film also starred Madonna, to whom he was married at the time. In 1995, Sean Penn was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for the first time when he played a racist murderer on death row, in Tim Robbins' Dead Man Walking. Four years later, he was recognised for his performance in Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown.

In 2001's I Am Sam, he played a mentally-handicapped father, with Michelle Pfeiffer, Laura Dern and Dakota Fanning and was nominated once more. It was in 2003 that Sean Penn finally won the award for his role in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, with Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne and Laura Linney. Penn was nominated for the Best Actor award again for his role in The Assassination of Richard Nixon in 2004. The film also starred Naomi Watts, Don Cheadle and Jack Thompson. In 2008, Sean Penn won his second Oscar for his role playing the gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, in the Gus Van Sant-directed Milk, alongside Josh Brolin and Emile Hirsch. Sean Penn's directorial debut came in 1991 with the Indian Runner. The film was based on a Bruce Springsteen song, 'Highway Patrolman' and starred Viggo Mortensen, Dennis Hopper and Patricia Arquette.

He went on to direct three more films, The Crossing Guard in 1995 (starring Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Houston), The Pledge in 2001 (with Jack Nicholson again and Benicio Del Toro) and Into the Wild in 2007 (with Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden and Vince Vaughn). Penn also directed music videos for Shania Twain ('Dance With the One That Brought You') and Peter Gabriel ('The Barry Williams Show'). Personal Life: Sean Penn has dated a number of high profile women, including Elizabeth McGovern and Susan Sarandon. Penn was married to the singer and actress Madonna. They divorced in 1989. Sean Penn then began a relationship with Robin Wright. They had a daughter together, named Dylan Thomas, then a son named Hopper Jack. Sean and Robin married in 1996. Their relationship has seen a number of turbulent periods. They originally split in 2007 and eventually filed for divorce in 2009. During a separation from his wife, Sean Penn dated the singer Jewel.

Sean Penn co-owns a restaurant in Paris, named Man-Ray, with Johnny Depp, John Malkovich and Mick Hucknall. Biography by Contactmusic.com Oscar nominations 2009: Milk nominated for eight awards including Best Actor for Sean Penn - Telegraph Oscars Oscar nominations 2009: Milk nominated for eight awards including Best Actor for Sean Penn Sean Penn's performance as a gay rights activist has earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor while Milk has been nominated for Best Film. 10:51AM GMT 22 Jan 2009 The 48-year-old actor plays Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist and California's first openly gay elected official. The film is nominated for Best Picture, Gus Van Sant is nominated for Best Director, Josh Brolin is nominated for Supporting Actor and Dustin Lance Black is nominated for Original Screenplay. He has already been nominated for a Bafta for the role and narrowly missed out on a Golden Globe to rival actor Mickey Rourke. The film is also nominated for Best Film, going up against Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon and The Reader.

Set in the 1970s, it follows Milk's campaign to be elected into public office in San francisco. He eventually got a seat on the city's Board of Supervisors after three failed attempts.

Related Articles Academy Awards Best Actor The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) ); two were consecutive nominations (from 1930/31-1931/32) Tom Hanks (5) - with two wins (Philadelphia (1993), Forrest Gump (1994)); two were consecutive nominations (from 1993-1994) Sean Penn (5) - with two wins (Mystic River (2003) and Milk (2008)); nominations were from 1995-2008 The Most Best Actor Nominations: Actors with the highest number of Best Actor acting nominations (in parentheses) include: Spencer Tracy (9) - with two wins Laurence Olivier (9) - with one win (Hamlet (1948)); two were consecutive nominations (from 1939-1940) Jack Nicholson (8) - with two wins Paul Newman (8) - with one win (The Color of Money (1986)); two were consecutive nominations (from 1981-1982) Peter O'Toole (8) - with no wins; two

 were consecutive nominations (from 1968-1969); nominations from 1962-2006 Marlon Brando (7) - with two wins Dustin Hoffman (7) - with two wins Jack Lemmon (7) - with one win (Save the Tiger (1973)); two were consecutive nominations (from 1959-1960, and from 1979-1980) Paul Muni (6) - with one win (The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936)); three were consecutive nominations (from 1935-1937) Richard Burton (6) - with no wins; three were consecutive nominations (from 1964-1966) Gary Cooper (5) - with two wins Tom Hanks (5) - with two wins Fredric March (5) - with two wins Sean Penn (5) - with two wins Daniel Day-Lewis (5) - with three wins James Stewart (5) - with one win ( Anthony Hopkins (3) - with one win ( The Silence of the Lambs (1991) ); nominations from 1991-1

995 Russell Crowe (3) - with one win (Gladiator (2000)); three were consecutive nominations (from 1999-2001) Jeff Bridges (3) - with one win (Crazy Heart (2009)); nominations from 1984-2010 George Clooney (3) - with no wins; nominations from 2007-2011 Consecutive Best Actor-Winning Performers: There are only two actresses (Luise Rainer and Katharine Hepburn) who have received two consecutive Best Actress awards, as there are only two actors who have received two consecutive Best Actor statuette wins: Spencer Tracy (Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938)) Tom Hanks (Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994)) [Note: Jason Robards won two consecutive Best Supporting Actor Oscars in 1976 and 1977.] Winners of Both a Lead and Supporting Actor Oscar: In 1997, Jack Nicholson tied Walter Brennan for the most wins (3) for a male performer (Brennan has three Best Supporting Actor

 trophies, Nicholson has two for Best Actor and one for Best Supporting Actor).

The only stars to win both a Best Actor and a Best Supporting Actor (BSA) Oscar are the following: Jack Nicholson (BA for Gene Hackman (BA for The French Connection (1971) , BSA for Unforgiven (1992) ) Kevin Spacey (BA for American Beauty (1999), BSA for The Usual Suspects (1995)) Denzel Washington (BA for Training Day (2001), BSA for Glory (1989)) The Only Best Actor Tie: In the Best Actor category, an unusual tie (the only occurrence among male acting performances) occurred in 1931/32 between Wallace Beery and Fredric March, for their respective performances in The Champ (1931/32) and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931/32). The Most Best Actor Oscar Nominations - Without Winning: Peter O'Toole is the only star with eight Best Actor Oscar nominations without a single win. His record extends 44 years, from 1962 to 2006.

Richard Burton was nominated seven times (and never won), although his first nomination was as Best Supporting Actor for My Cousin Rachel (1952) -- his last six nominations were as Best Actor. Oscar-Winning Actor Roles and Trends: Biographies of remarkable, real-life individuals (military figures or soldiers, law-and-order enforcers, historical figures) and portrayals of the mentally ill are heavily represented among male Oscar winners, particularly in the acting awards. It helps an actor's chances of winning an Oscar if the character dies a tragic death during the movie, or is slightly eccentric (or genius). Physical and Mental Disabilities or Diseases An overwhelming number of actors have won (or been nominated for) the top acting (and supporting) awards for portraying characters with physical or mental disabilities (personality disorders, amnesia) or diseases (with handicaps, such as blindness or muteness, tics, etc.): Fredric March won the Best Actor Oscar for his dual, split personality role as a respected doctor and as a fiendish mad-man in Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

Hyde (1931/32) Ronald Colman was nominated as Best Actor for his role as shell-shocked amnesiac Charles Rainier in Random Harvest (1942) Harold Russell (real-life amputee) won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as courageous and resourceful returning sailor Homer Parrish in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) [Note: Russell is the only performer to win two Oscars for the same performance.

In 1946, he won Best Supporting Actor and was voted an Honorary Oscar that same year for his performance.] Arthur Kennedy was nominated as Best Actor for his role as veteran Larry Nevins made blind in WWII combat in Bright Victory (1951) Cliff Robertson won the Best Actor Oscar for his title role as Charly Gordon - a mentally-retarded, thirty year-old bakery worker temporarily made a genius through surgery in Charly (1968) Alan Arkin was nominated as Best Actor for his role as deaf-mute Singer in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968) Sir John Mills won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as mute, gentle, mis-shaped village idiot Michael in Ryan's Daughter (1970) - he became the sole male actor to win an Oscar for a non-speaking role Jack Nicholson won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as life-affirming, ill-fated, free-spirited, anarchic misfit patient Randle Patrick McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) Jon Voight won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as handicapped Luke Martin - a bitter but sensitive paraplegic veteran paralyzed during the Vietnam

 War in Coming Home (1978) Timothy Hutton won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as guilt-ridden, depressed teenaged Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People (1980) John Malkovich was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his role as blind boarder Mr.

Will in Places in the Heart (1984) Dustin Hoffman won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as institutionalized, ultimately loveable, autistic idiot savant Raymond ('Ray(n)' 'Man(d)') Babbitt in Rain Man (1988) Daniel Day-Lewis won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Irish-born artist and author Christy Brown - a self-reliant, spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy victim who could only write and draw with his foot in My Left Foot (1989) Anthony Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as cannibalistic, menacing, psychopathic serial psychiatrist/killer Dr. Hannibal "Cannibal" Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Al Pacino won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as foul-mouthed, suicidal, blind (as a result of a boozing-related accident), retired Lt. Col.

Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman (1992) Tom Hanks won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as AIDS-infected corporate attorney and victim Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia (1993) - Hanks' 1994 acceptance speech for his Best Actor Oscar win for Philadelphia (1993) directly inspired the homosexuality-themed film In & Out (1997), about an outed English literature teacher (Kevin Kline) in an Indiana town when one of his former students (Matt Dillon) thanked him at the Academy Awards and mentioned he was gay Tom Hanks won the Best Actor Oscar again for his title role as Forrest Gump, a good-hearted, naive, eccentric, dim-witted protagonist (an idiot-savant) in Forrest Gump (1994) Geoffrey Rush won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as talented but agonizingly-troubled, mentally-disabled Australian concert pianist David Helfgott who suffered a crippling nervous breakdown in Shine (1996) Jack Nicholson won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as rich, bigoted, obsessive-compulsive romance novelist Melvin Udall living in New York in As Good As It Gets (1997) Geoffrey

 Rush was also nominated as Best Actor for his role as sexually-crazed French novelist Marquis de Sade in Quills (2000) Jamie Foxx won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as legendary blues singer and blind pianist Ray Charles in Ray (2004) Forest Whitaker won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as brutal, infamous, genocidal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006) Colin Firth won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as stuttering monarch George VI in The King's Speech (2010) Eddie Redmayne won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as ALS-diagnosed physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014) Alcoholics And a number of other actors have won Oscar awards (or been nominated) for portraying alcoholic characters: Lionel Barrymore won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as dissolute and drunken lawyer Stephen Ashe (co-star Norma Shearer's father) in A Free Soul (1930/31) Van Heflin won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Shakespeare-quoting, alcoholic confidant Jeff Hartnett who befriended gangster co-star Robert

 Taylor in Johnny Eager (1942) Ray Milland won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as whiskey-soaked, boozing, writer's blocked Don Birnam in The Lost Weekend (1945) Fredric March won Best Actor for his role as anguished, middle-aged, alcoholic banking executive - and returning war veteran and ex-sergeant Al Stephenson in A Star Is Born (1954) Jack Lemmon was nominated as Best Actor for his role as alcoholic advertising man Joe Clay in Days of Wine and Roses (1962) Lee Marvin won the Best Actor Oscar for his dual role as cold-eyed, ruthlessly evil desperado Tim Strawn (with an artificial silver nose) and Strawn's aging, once-famous, drunken and whiskey-soaked twin gunman Kid Shelleen in Cat Ballou (1965) Dudley Moore was nominated as Best Actor for his role as drunk, spoiled, amiable and millionaire-rich playboy - title character Arthur Bach in Arthur (1981) Paul Newman was nominated as Best Actor for his role as alcoholic, ambulance-chasing, Boston trial lawyer Frank P.

Galvin in The Verdict (1982) Robert Duvall won Best Actor for his role as ex-drinking, ex-country/western music star Mac Sledge in Tender Mercies (1983) Note: in 1983, all five Best Actor nominees played drunks of one sort or another (two were nominated for the film The Dresser (1983), Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay) Albert Finney was nominated as Best Actor for his role as self-destructive alcoholic Geoffrey Firmin drinking himself to death in the shadow of a Mexican volcano in Under the Volcano (1984) Nicolas Cage won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as failed, Hollywood scriptwriter and fatally-destructive, genial, but suicidal alcoholic Ben Sanderson in Leaving Las Vegas (1995) Robert Duvall was nominated as Best Actor for his role as Texas Pentecostal preacher Eulis ("Sonny") Dewey who became 'The Apostle' of God in Louisiana to escape his past in The Apostle (1997) James Coburn won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Nick Nolte's tyrannical, abusive and alcoholic father Glen "Pop" White

house in Affliction (1998) Jeff Bridges won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as broken-down, aging, boozy country-music singer Bad Blake in Crazy Heart (2009) Denzel Washington was nominated as Best Actor for his role as tragic, heroic, and addicted boozy airline pilot Whip Whitaker in Flight (2012) Homosexual Roles Some straight actors have been nominated (and often won) for homosexual roles: Peter Finch received his first Best Actor nomination (without winning) for his role as middle-aged, homosexual Jewish Dr.

Daniel Hirsh involved in a three-sided love story in Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971) William Hurt won Best Actor for his role as imprisoned, flamboyant gay South American Luis Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) Tom Hanks won Best Actor for his role as dying AIDS patient Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia (1993) Sean Penn won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as openly pioneering San Francisco gay camera store owner Harvey Milk who successfully was serving in public office as mayoral aide when he was assassinated, in Milk (2008) Mediocre or Compensatory Oscar Wins: Oscar victories for Best Actor haven't always been for the stars' best work either, but have often been an effort to right past injustices, or retroactively for an entire body of work: 56 year-old Ronald Colman's late win as Best Actor for A Double Life (1947) - a tribute to his entire silent and sound film career 62 year-old John Wayne's belated win as Best Actor for True Grit (1969), when he should have been honored years earlier for The Grapes of Wrath (1940) or The Ox-Bow Incident

 (1943) Also, elderly nominees seem to fare better, such as 54 year-old Art Carney winning the Best Actor Oscar for Harry and Tonto (1974), 60 year-old Peter Finch's posthumous Best Actor award for Network (1976) , 80 year-old George Burns winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The Sunshine Boys (1975), Melvyn Douglas winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Being There (1979), Don Ameche winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Cocoon (1985), and 72 year-old Alan Arkin winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine (2006).

Many other elderly actors have been nominated for supporting roles, including Eric von Stroheim for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) , John Mills for Ryan's Daughter (1970), Lee Strasberg for The Godfather, Part II (1974) , Burgess Meredith for Rocky (1976) , Robert Preston for Victor/Victoria (1982), Denholm Elliott for A Room With a View (1986), and Armin Mueller-Stahl for Shine (1996). Post-Humous Acting Nominations and Award(s): There are only been seven post-humous performance nominees in Academy history.

Only two posthumous nominees have won the Oscar: the first by Peter Finch and and the second by Heath Ledger - see below: Jeanne Eagels - unofficially nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for The Letter (1928/29) posthumously (Academy records indicated that she was "under consideration" for an award) James Dean - the only actor who was twice nominated (in two consecutive years) for a Best Actor Oscar after his death and lost, for East of Eden (1955) , and Giant (1956) Spencer Tracy - nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) posthumously Peter Finch - nominated and winning the Best Actor Oscar for Network (1976) posthumously - Finch was the first performer to have won the Oscar after his death Ralph Richardson - nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) posthumously Italian actor Massimo Troisi - nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for The Postman (Il Postino) (1995) posthumously Heath Ledger - nominated and winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for

 The Dark Knight (2008) posthumously - the second performer to win posthumously The Most Best Actor Nominations for a Single Film: The film with the most Best Actor nominations (3) was Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) , for Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, and Charles Laughton.

It was the first film to have three acting nominations, and the first film to have three co-performers competing against each other in the same category - as Best Actor. African-American (or Black) Notables: There have only been twenty African-American (or black) nominations for Best Actor, divided amongst thirteen different performers. Four actors (Poitier, Freeman, Washington and Smith) have been nominated twice (or more) for the top award. Some regard Denzel Washington as the first African-American performer to win Best Actor -- because previous Oscar-winner Sidney Poitier was of Bahamas descent: # Chiwetel Ejiofor 12 Years a Slave (2013) In total, there have only been 23 different African-American (or black) performers nominated for the top award (either Best Actor or Best Actress). Only fourteen awards have been won by African-Americans (or blacks) in both lead and supporting categories (four Best Actor, one Best Actress, four Best Supporting Actor, and five Best Supporting Actress). Only five black performers have won the Oscar in the lead category (four Best Actor, one Best Actress).

Only four African-American actors have won the Best Actor Oscar: Sidney Poitier for Lilies of the Field (1963) Denzel Washington for Training Day (2001) Jamie Foxx for Ray (2004) Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland (2006) Five of the 20 acting nominations in 2004 and 2006 were African-American nominees. This bested the record of three nominated blacks that occurred in three different years (2001, 1985, and 1972): 2006 2001: Halle Berry for Monster's Ball, Denzel Washington for Training Day, and Will Smith for Ali 1985: Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey for The Color Purple 1972: Diana Ross for Lady Sings the Blues, and Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield for Sounder Jamie Foxx also set a record for being the first black to debut as a nominee in two categories in the same year, lead and supporting, for Ray (2004) and Collateral (2004).

Denzel Washington is the only black actor nominated six times for Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor. With his nomination for Flight (2012), he became the most nominated African-American actor in Academy history. He is the only black actor to have won two competitive Oscars (as Best Supporting Actor for Glory (1989) and as Best Actor for Training Day (2001)). Two African-American actors have been nominated for Best Actor in the same year, numerous times: Year Don Cheadle for Hotel Rwanda (2004), Jamie Foxx for Ray (2004) 2001 Will Smith for Ali (2001), Denzel Washington for Training Day (2001) Morgan Freeman's Best Supporting Actor win for Million Dollar Baby (2004), paired with Jamie Foxx's Best Actor win for Ray (2004), was the first time that African-American actors won in their respective categories in the same year.

In three instances, African-Americans have won two of the four acting prizes: 2006: Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland, Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls 2004: Morgan Freeman for Million Dollar Baby, Jamie Foxx for Ray 2001: Halle Berry for Monster's Ball, Denzel Washington for Training Day Latino, Asian and Other Ethnic-Minority (Non-English) Performers: There have been only a few Best Actor Oscar wins by ethnic/other minority (or non-English) performers: French actor Jean Dujardin won Best Actor for The Artist (2011) - he was the first French actor to win the Best Actor Oscar Italian actor Roberto Benigni won the Best Actor Oscar for Life is Beautiful (1998) - he was the first male actor to win an Oscar for a foreign-language film (his Best Actor Oscar win was only the second time a nominee won an acting Oscar for a foreign language film role - the earlier winner was Sophia Loren) Ben Kingsley, with half-Indian (birth name Krishna Bhanji) and half-English descent, won the Best Actor Oscar for Gandhi (1982) - he became the first South Asian

 performer to achieve such a feat Puerto Rican-born Jose Ferrer won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) Notable ethnic/minority performance nominations for Best Actor include: Australian actor Hugh Jackman was nominated as Best Actor for Les Miserables (2012) Mexican-born actor Demián Bichir was nominated as Best Actor for A Better Life (2011) Ben Kingsley was nominated as Best Actor for House of Sand and Fog (2003) Spanish/Latino actor Javier Bardem was nominated as Best Actor for Before Night Falls (2000) and for Biutiful (2010) - he was the first Best Actor nominee for a fully Spanish-language role Australian actor Geoffrey Rush was nominated as Best Actor for Shine (1996) (win) and Quills (2000) - Geoffrey Rush became the first Australian actor to win Best Actor (for the role of the mad pianist in Shine (1996)) since Peter Finch won posthumously for Network (1976) Italian actor Massimo Troisi was nominated as Best Actor for The Postman (Il Postino) (1995

) French actor Gerard Depardieu was nominated as Best Actor for Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) Swedish actor Max Von Sydow was nominated as Best Actor for Pelle the Conqueror (1988) Mexican-American Edward James Olmos was nominated as Best Actor for Stand and Deliver (1988) Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni was nominated as Best Actor for Dark Eyes (1987) Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni was nominated as Best Actor for A Special Day (1977) Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini was nominated as Best Actor for Seven Beauties (1976) Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni was nominated as Best Actor for Divorce - Italian Style (1962) Mexican-born Anthony Quinn was nominated twice as Best Actor for Wild Is the Wind (1957) and Zorba the Greek (1964) Puerto Rican-born Jose Ferrer was nominated as Best Actor for Moulin Rouge (1952) Note: In 1985, all ten of the Best Actor/Actress nominees were American-born - the first time in Oscar history.

Also, in 1964 and in 2007, all four winners of the performance/acting Oscars were non-Americans. Multiple Nominations for the Same Character -- The Most Oscar-Friendly Role: The character of Henry VIII has the most acting nominations (three) and is the most Oscar-friendly role: Charles Laughton as Henry VIII in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) - the only winner of the three - a Best Actor Oscar Robert Shaw as Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons (1966) - nominated as Best Supporting Actor Richard Burton as Henry VIII in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) - nominated as Best Actor Other historical or fictional characters with two acting nominations include: Norman Maine, Mr. Arthur Chipping ("Mr. Chips"), Abraham Lincoln, Father Chuck O'Malley, King Henry V, Professor Henry Higgins, Cyrano de Bergerac, Joe Pendleton, President Richard Nixon, Vito Corleone. (See below).

Only two nominees in Oscar history have been nominated for playing the role of a real-life Oscar nominee: Cate Blanchett as Best Supporting Actress (win) for playing the role of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator (2004), and Robert Downey, Jr. nominated as Best Actor for the title role of Oscar nominee Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin (1992). Multiple Nominations for the Same Character: Five actors have been nominated twice for playing the same character in two different films (wins are marked with an *): Bing Crosby as Father Charles "Chuck" O'Malley in Going My Way (1944)* and The Bells of St.

Mary's (1945) Paul Newman as 'Fast' Eddie Felson in The Hustler (1961) and The Color of Money (1986)* Peter O'Toole as King Henry II in Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968) Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in Rocky (1976) and Creed (2015) (*Crosby won Best Actor for his first role, and Newman won Best Actor for his second role.) Only one actress has ever received two nominations for playing the same character in two different films: Cate Blanchett became the fifth performer to draw mentions for the same role (Queen Elizabeth I) in two different films: Best Actress for Elizabeth (1998) and Best Actress for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) Performers who were nominated as Best Actor for the same character in different films in different years include: Fredric March and James Mason as Norman Maine in A Star is Born (1937) and A Star is Born (1954) Robert Donat and Peter O'Toole as Mr.

Arthur Chipping ("Mr. Chips") in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) and Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh as King Henry V in Henry V (1944) and Henry V (1989) - both were directed by their stars Charles Laughton and Richard Burton as King Henry VIII in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) Leslie Howard and Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins in Pygmalion (1938) and My Fair Lady (1964) Jose Ferrer and Gerard Depardieu as Cyrano de Bergerac in Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) Robert Montgomery and Warren Beatty as Joe Pendleton in Here Comes Mr.

Jordan (1941) and Heaven Can Wait (1978) Anthony Hopkins and Frank Langella as President Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995) and Frost/Nixon (2008) John Wayne and Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit (1969) and True Grit (2010) Raymond Massey and Daniel Day-Lewis as President Abraham Lincoln in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) and Lincoln (2012) Robert De Niro won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Part II (1974) , the role for which Marlon Brando had previously won Best Actor in The Godfather (1972). Multiple Nominations: After 1929/30, an actor could not receive more than one nomination per category. In 1944, the rules permitted Barry Fitzgerald to be nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor (which he won) for the same performance - Father Fitzgibbon in Going My Way (1944).

Subsequently, new rules have prevented this from re-occurring, although an actor may still be nominated in both categories for two different roles. (See the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress pages for further information on double nominees.) Barry Fitzgerald is the only actor to be nominated for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for the same character (or performance) in the same year.

Since then, two other male performers have been double-nominated in a single year (wins are marked with *) - Pacino was the first actor to be nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in two different roles; the second actor in Oscar history to do so was Jamie Foxx in 2004: Barry Fitzgerald (Best Actor for Going My Way (1944)* and Best Supporting Actor for Going My Way (1944)) Al Pacino (Best Actor for Scent of a Woman (1992)* and Best Supporting Actor for Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)) Jamie Foxx (Best Actor for Ray (2004)* and Best Supporting Actor for Collateral (2004)) One Nomination for Multiple Roles: Peter Sellers is the only actor to be nominated (as Best Actor) for playing three entirely-different roles in the same film, Three films have had the entire speaking casts nominated for awards: Sleuth (1972), with Best Actor nominations for Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier Give 'Em Hell, Harry! (1975), with a Best Actor nomination for James Whitmore Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

(1966) , with various nominations for all four cast members, Elizabeth Taylor (Best Actress win), Richard Burton (Best Actor loss), George Segal (Best Supporting Actor loss), and Sandy Dennis (Best Supporting Actress win) Actors Who Won An Oscar for a Dual Role: Fredric March, Best Actor winner for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931/32): Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Laurence Olivier, Best Actor winner for Hamlet (1948, UK): Hamlet and the Voice of the Ghost (uncredited) Lee Marvin, Best Actor winner for Cat Ballou (1965): Tim Strawn and Kid Shelleen The Best Actor Award for Two Films in the Same Year: Emil Jannings was the only performer to win the Best Actor award for his performances in two films in the same year: The Last Command (1927/28) and The Way of All Flesh (1927/28) - he was the very first actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor; the Switzerland-born actor was the first non-American to win the award, which was presented to him a month before the ceremony.

Winning Co-Stars: Best Actor and Best Actress in the Same Film: Seven films have won in both the leading actor and leading actress categories: Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in Gene Hackman, Best Actor ( The French Connection (1971) ), Best Supporting Actor ( Unforgiven (1992) ) Kevin Spacey, Best Supporting Actor (The Usual Suspects (1995)), Best Actor (American Beauty (1999)) Denzel Washington, Best Supporting Actor (Glory (1989)), Best Actor (Training Day (2001)) Films With the Most Oscars for Acting: (see also here ) The Only Films in Which Three Stars Won Performance Oscars A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) - 12 nominations total, 4 acting nominations, 3 acting wins: Vivien Leigh (Best Actress), Karl Malden (Best Supporting Actor), Kim Hunter (Best Supporting Actress) Network (1976) - 10 nominations total, 5 acting nominations, 3 acting wins: Peter Finch (Best Actor), Faye Dunaway (Best Actress), Beatrice Straight (Best Supporting Actress) Film Debut Nominees/Winners for

 Best Actor Oscars: Not a single actor has ever won the Best Actor Oscar for a feature film debut.

A few of those below had very small debuting roles before a substantial film appearance. Others have received nominations for Best Actor for their debut role (a sampling): Paul Muni in The Valiant (1928/29) (nomination) Lawrence Tibbett in The Rogue Song (1929-30) (nomination) Orson Welles in The Graduate (1967) (nomination) Ben Kingsley in Gandhi (1982) (win) (he had a bit role in his feature film debut, Fear is the Key (1972)) Geoffrey Rush in Shine (1997) (win) (he had a bit role in a few earlier films, including Hoodwink (1981)) Reprising an Acclaimed Stage Role: Six Best Actor winners won the Oscar for an acclaimed stage role that they reprised on the screen.

Those with an asterisk (*) won both a Best Actor Oscar and a Tony Award for musical roles they had created on stage: George Arliss for Disraeli (1929/30) Paul Lukas for Watch on the Rhine (1943) Jose Ferrer for Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) Paul Scofield in A Man For All Seasons (1966) Oscar-Winning Roles First on TV: The only two Best Actor winners who first played their Oscar-winning roles on TV were: Maximilian Schell for Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) [Note: Schell is the lowest-billed performer to win a Best Actor Academy Award. He received fifth billing - behind Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, and Marlene Dietrich.] Cliff Robertson for Charly (1968) Best Actors Refusing Their Oscar Trophy: George C.

Scott refused his Best Actor Oscar for Patton (1970) Marlon Brando refused his Best Actor Oscar for Note: Much earlier in 1935, Dudley Nichols (the Best Writing Oscar winner for The Informer (1935)) also boycotted the Oscars, thereby refusing his Academy Award Actors/Actresses With the Most Consecutive Acting Nominations (in both Leading and Supporting categories) (wins marked with *): Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Chicago (2002), Cold Mountain (2003)* Longest Time Period Between First and Last Nomination/Win: 48 years - Katharine Hepburn was first nominated and won Best Actress for Morning Glory (1932/33) and then 48 years later was nominated and won Best Actress for On Golden Pond (1981) - her fourth (and last) Oscar win! 46 years - Alan Arkin was nominated as Best Actor for The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming! (1966) and then two years later as Best Actor for The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968).

Then, there was a long gap - 38 years later, after which he won Best Supporting Actor for Little Miss Sunshine (2006). He topped that with another six year wait for another Best Supporting Actor nomination for Argo (2012). 41 years - Henry Fonda was first nominated in 1940 as Best Actor for The Grapes Of Wrath (1940) , and wasn't nominated again until 41 years later - when he won his sole Oscar (Best Actor) for On Golden Pond (1981) 40 years - Mickey Rooney was first nominated as Best Actor for Babes in Arms (1939), then as Best Actor for The Human Comedy (1943), then as Best Supporting Actor for The Bold and the Brave (1956), and then as Best Supporting Actor for The Black Stallion (1979), 40 years later, but he didn't ever win!

39 years - Sylvester Stallone was first nominated as Best Actor for Rocky (1976) , then again as Best Supporting Actor for Creed (2015) 39 years - Jack Palance was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for Sudden Fear (1952) and then as Best Supporting Actor for Shane (1953) - it was a time span of 39 years from his first nomination to his eventual victory as Best Supporting Actor for City Slickers (1991)!

38 years - Helen Hayes had to wait 38 years between her only Oscar nominations (both wins), Best Actress for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931/32), and Best Supporting Actress for Airport (1970) 37 years - Albert Finney was first nominated as Best Actor for Tom Jones (1963) and then received three more nominations for Best Actor: for Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Dresser (1983), and Under the Volcano (1984) -- 37 years after his first nomination, he received his fifth and final Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Erin Brockovich (2000) - he never won!

Longest Gap Between First Nomination and First Winning Film: 41 years - Henry Fonda was first nominated in 1940 as Best Actor for The Grapes Of Wrath (1940) , and didn't win an acting award (Best Actor) until 41 years later for On Golden Pond (1981), and these were his only two career acting nominations (Note: Fonda did receive a producing Best Picture nomination for 12 Angry Men (1957) ) 32 years - Geraldine Page was first nominated in 1953 as Best Supporting Actress for Hondo (1953), and won Best Actress for A Trip to Bountiful (1985), 32 years later; she was the only actress with seven unsuccessful nominations (in both categories) before finally winning Best Actress with nomination # 8 28 years - Paul Newman was first nominated in 1958 as Best Actor for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) , and won Best Actor for The Color of Money (1986), 28 years later; he was the only actor with six unsuccessful Best Actor nominations before finally winning Best Actor with nomination #

 7 - and he later added another nomination as Best Actor for Nobody's Fool (1994), and his first Best Supporting Actor nomination also came later for Road to Perdition (2002) 25 years - Shirley MacLaine was first nominated in 1958 as Best Actress for Some Came Running (1958), and won Best Actress for Terms of Endearment (1983) , 25 years later 20 years - Al Pacino was first nominated in 1972 as Best Supporting Actor for The Godfather (1972) , and won Best Actor for Scent of a Woman (1992), 20 years later 20 years - John Wayne was first nominated in 1949 as Best Actor for Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), and won Best Actor for True Grit (1969), 20 years later 18 years - Ronald Colman was first nominated in 1929/30 as Best Actor for Bulldog Drummond (1929/30), and won Best Actor for A Double Life (1947), 18 years later

 17 years - Gregory Peck was first nominated in 1945 as Best Actor for The Keys of the Kingdom (1945), and won Best Actor for 12 years - Leonardo DiCaprio was first nominated in 1993 as Best Supporting Actor for What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), and won Best Actor for The Revenant (2015), 12 years later Shortest Best Actor Performance: Anthony Hopkins had the shortest screen time for his Best Actor Oscar win - as Hannibal "Cannibal" Lecter in Silence of the Lambs (1991) - supposedly 16 minutes of screen time Only Non-Human Best Actor-Nominated Performance: Jeff Bridges as the alien 'Starman' in Starman (1984) Directors Directing Themselves to a Best Actor Oscar or Nomination: There are only two actors/performers that have directed themselves to an Oscar-winning Best Actor Oscar: British actor Laurence Olivier as the title character in Hamlet (1948, UK) - Olivier became the first individual to win both an acting Oscar and Best Picture Oscar (as producer) - this time for the same film Italian actor Roberto Ben

igni as Guido in Life is Beautiful (1998, It.) Many actors have directed themselves to Best Actor Oscar nominations, most prominently: Charles Chaplin for The Great Dictator (1940) Woody Allen for Annie Hall (1977) Warren Beatty for Heaven Can Wait (1978) and Reds (1981) Kenneth Branagh for Henry V (1989) Billy Bob Thornton for Sling Blade (1996) Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful (1998) Ed Harris for Pollock (2000) Clint Eastwood for Million Dollar Baby (2004) Michael Douglas became the second individual to win both an acting Oscar and Best Picture Oscar, this time for different films: Best Picture ( One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) ) and Best Actor (Wall Street (1987)).

Winning Performances Portraying Royalty: Yul Brynner, Best Actor as King Mongkut of Siam in The King and I (1956) Ingrid Bergman, Best Actress as Anastasia (possibly daughter of murdered Russian czar Nicholas II) in Anastasia (1956) Katharine Hepburn, Best Actress as Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter (1968) Helen Mirren, Best Actress as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006) Colin Firth, Best Actor as King George VI in The King's Speech (2010) Married (or Attached) Oscar-Winners: Only three times have married couples (husband-wife) won acting Oscars: Laurence Olivier, Best Actor for Hamlet (1948), and Vivien Leigh, Best Actress for Gone With the Wind (1939) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) [Note: They were not yet married when Leigh won her first Oscar in 1939.] Paul Newman, Best Actor for The Color of Money (1986), and Joanne Woodward, Best Actress for The Three Faces of Eve (1957

).

[Note: They were married in 1958, prior to Woodward receiving 1957's Best Actress Award.] Newman also directed Woodward to her second Best Actress nomination for his Best Picture-nominated film Rachel, Rachel (1968).

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Best Supporting Actress for Chicago (2002), and husband Michael Douglas, Best Actor for Wall Street (1987) [Note: The couple were not married until the year 2000.] There are others (girlfriend/boyfriend, or unmarried companions) who are close to (or have achieved) the same milestone: Spencer Tracy, Best Actor and Katharine Hepburn, Best Actress for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) Diane Keaton, Best Actress winner for Best Director-winning Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977) - although they were romantically linked, they never married Amy Madigan, Best Supporting Actress for Twice in a Lifetime (1985), and Ed Harris, nominated four times (1995, 1998, 2000, 2002) [Note: Harris directed himself to a Best Actor nomination for Pollock (2000).] Susan Sarandon, Best Actress for Dead Man Walking (1995) (directed by her Best Director-nominated husband (unofficial live-in) Tim Robbins); Robbins won Best Supporting Actor for Mystic River (2003);

 earlier, Sarandon was married to Chris Sarandon, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Dog Day Afternoon (1975) Others: Jack Nicholson-Anjelica Huston, Al Pacino-Diane Keaton, and William Hurt-Marlee Matlin Married (or Attached) Oscar-Nominees: Five married couples have earned acting nominations in the same year (three times, a husband-and-wife team have been nominated for the same picture): Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, Best Actor and Best Actress nominations for The Guardsman (1932) - both lost Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress nominations for Witness for the Prosecution (1957) - both lost Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor (win), Best Actor and Best Actress nominations for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

(1966) Frank Sinatra, Best Supporting Actor nomination (and win) for From Here to Eternity (1953) , and Ava Gardner, Best Actress nomination for Mogambo (1953) Rex Harrison, Best Actor nomination for Cleopatra (1963), and Rachel Roberts, Best Actress nomination for This Sporting Life (1963) The only divorced couple to co-star in a film with each receiving an Oscar nomination: William Powell and Carole Lombard, Best Actor and Best Actress nominations for My Man Godfrey (1936) Brother-Sister Oscar Winners/Nominees: The only brother and sister to win acting Oscars are: Lionel Barrymore, Best Actor for A Free Soul (1930/31) Ethel Barrymore, Best Supporting Actress for None But the Lonely Heart (1944) The only sisters to win acting Oscars are: Joan Fontaine, Best Actress for Suspicion (1941) Olivia de Havilland, Best Actress for To Each His Own (1946), and The Heiress (1949) The only brothers nominated for acting Oscars are: River Phoenix, nominated as Best Supporting Actor for Running

 on Empty (1988) Joaquin Phoenix, nominated as Best Supporting Actor for Gladiator (2000), Best Actor for Walk the Line (2005), and Best Actor for The Master (2012) Youngest and Oldest Best Actors: Nominees and Winners Note: The calculated time is from date of birth to the date of either (1) the nominations announcement, or (2) the date of the awards ceremony.

Youngest Best Actor Nominee Heath Ledger wins Oscar for The Joker - Oscars 2009 - Film - Entertainment Heath Ledger wins Oscar for The Joker The winners ... Heath Ledger, Sean Penn, Kate Winslet and Penelope Cruz. Latest related coverage Sacha Molitorisz Gushing about art just another act February 23, 2009 - 3:46PM Late Australian actor Heath Ledger has won the Oscar for best supporting actor at the 81st Academy Awards in Hollywood. Slumdog Millionaire won the best picture award and Danny Boyle best director for the rags-to-riches drama. The best actor award went to Sean Penn for Milk. And the best actress award went to Kate Winslet for her haunting performance in The Reader as a former Nazi death camp guard who starts a love affair with a teenage boy in post-war Germany who is later put on trial for war crimes. Penelope Cruz won best supporting actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Ledger, nominated in the best supporting actor category for his performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight, was favourite to win. ______________ ______________ Ledger died 13 months ago from an accidental prescription drug overdose aged 28.

He is only the second actor to win an Oscar posthumously. Peter Finch, also an Australian, was the first when he was named winner of the best actor for Network in 1977, just three months after dying from a heart attack. Heath's father, Kim Ledger, and mother, Sally Bell, and sister Kate accepted the award. "This award tonight would have humbly validated Heath's quiet determination to be truly accepted by you all here - his peers - within an industry he so loved. Thank you,'' Kim Ledger said. Ledger was up against Josh Brolin (Milk) Robert Downey jnr (Tropic Thunder) Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt) and Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road). Earlier, two other Australians, costume designer Catherine Martin for Australia and art director Michael Carlin for The Duchess, missed out on Oscars. Cruz wins Oscar for Vicky Penelope Cruz created a piece of Hollywood history after becoming the first Spanish actress to win an Oscar for her performance in the Woody Allen comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The 34-year-old's victory in the supporting actress category represented a glittering recognition of an acting talent that has seen her appear in two Oscar-winning foreign language movies.

However, it was her scene-stealing performance as Maria Elena, the neurotic wife of an artist, in Allen's steamy Barcelona-set comedy that finally saw her strike Oscars gold. "Has anybody ever fainted here? Because I might be the first one," an overwhelmed Cruz said as she accepted her award. "Thank you so much to the academy. I want to share this with my fellow nominees. And with the amazing ensemble of actors that I had the privilege to work with in this movie. Thank you for trusting me with this beautiful character." Other nominees included Viola Davis for Doubt, Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler, Taraji P. Henson for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Amy Adams for Doubt. Born in Madrid in 1974, Cruz appeared destined for a career in the entertainment industry almost as soon as she could walk. As a child she entertained family members by mimicking popular television commercials. Her initial creative outlet was dancing however, and she was soon enrolled at Spain's National Conservatory where she studied classical ballet for nine years. At 15 however, she was nudged towards acting after beating 300 other girls to win a contract.

That led to a string of roles in Spanish television shows as well as music videos, and before long she was acting in full-fledged feature films. Her breakthrough performance came in Spanish director Bigas Luna's Jamon, Jamon in 1992, which received critical acclaim and was notable for its erotic scenes featuring a 16-year-old Cruz and Javier Bardem. That was followed soon afterwards by Belle Epoque, which went on to win the Oscar for best foreign film, Cruz playing the role of one of four sisters vying for the love of an army deserter. The next major milestone in Cruz's career however came in 1997, when she was cast in her first film by Pedro Almodovar. Live Flesh marked the beginning of a decade-long collaboration between Almodovar and the actress which has included roles in another foreign language Oscar-winner, 1999's All About My Mother, and Volver. "Working for Pedro was my dream, I was obsessed with him," Cruz said. "My biggest dream ever was receiving his telephone call." While Cruz has achieved critical success in Spanish-language films, she has found it harder to establish herself in mainstream Hollywood.

She achieved a rare but unwanted feat in 2001 when she received three nominations in the Golden Raspberries Oscars spoof, which salute the film world's "worst of the worst", in a single year. Cruz earned Razzies for Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Blow, and Vanilla Sky, a film in which she starred opposite Tom Cruise, who was to become her boyfriend for three years. Cruz has yet to score a genuine box-office hit in English, with recent flops including Gothika and Sahara. However, she reminded everyone of her talents - and picked up an Oscar nomination to boot - with 2006's Volver. The fiercely independent Cruz, who has been romantically linked to compatriot and Jamon Jamon co-star Bardem, is also wary of being type-cast simply for her striking physical beauty. "The most difficult thing in the world is to start a career known only for your looks, and then to try to become a serious actress," she says. "No one will take you seriously once you are known as the pretty woman." AFP

Question: In 2009, Sean Penn won the 'Oscar' for Best Actor for his role in which film?
Answer: 'MILK'