The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the
9th Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a
supporting role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's
Best Supporting Actress winner. In lieu of the traditional
Oscar statuette, supporting acting recipients were given plaques up until the
16th Academy Awards,[1] when statuettes were awarded to each category instead.[2]
In the first three years of the awards, actors and actresses were nominated as the best individuals in their categories, along with all qualifying cumulative work.[5] The current system, in which an actor is nominated for a specific performance in a single film, was introduced for the
4th Academy Awards, in the lead acting categories.[5] Simultaneously, along with the introduction of the supporting acting categories, all four acting categories were limited to a maximum five nominations per year.[5]
In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in
Los Angeles County; the ceremonies are always held the following year.[6] For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months, from August 1 to July 31.[7] For the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933.[7] Since the 7th ceremony held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.[7]
There have been 22 instances in which films have produced more than one nominee within this category. All resulted in two nominations, with the exceptions of On the Waterfront (1954); The Godfather (1972); and The Godfather Part II (1974), which each obtained three.
^Due to category confusion,
Barry Fitzgerald received nominations in both
lead actor and supporting for this same role, winning the latter award. To prevent this from occurring in the future, the Academy revised its rules so that if ever a single actor/actress was submitted in both categories for the same performance, they would only get nominated for whichever one had the higher overall percentage within that respective category.[16]
^
abAn anomaly occurred when both
LaKeith Stanfield and
Daniel Kaluuya received nominations in the supporting category, despite the former being campaigned for the lead race. This occurrence is likely a direct effect of the
AMPAS enacted after Fitzgerald's brouhaha. Stanfield and Kaluuya received votes in both categories, but each of them had more nominations in supporting, and thus each made the top five nominees in this category.[95]
^Judas and the Black Messiah was not released in theaters until 2021, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic disrupting theatrical releases. However, Academy guidelines were adjusted for 2020, thus allowing this and several other films to be submitted for the 2020 calendar year of nominees/winners.[101]
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the
9th Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a
supporting role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's
Best Supporting Actress winner. In lieu of the traditional
Oscar statuette, supporting acting recipients were given plaques up until the
16th Academy Awards,[1] when statuettes were awarded to each category instead.[2]
In the first three years of the awards, actors and actresses were nominated as the best individuals in their categories, along with all qualifying cumulative work.[5] The current system, in which an actor is nominated for a specific performance in a single film, was introduced for the
4th Academy Awards, in the lead acting categories.[5] Simultaneously, along with the introduction of the supporting acting categories, all four acting categories were limited to a maximum five nominations per year.[5]
In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in
Los Angeles County; the ceremonies are always held the following year.[6] For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months, from August 1 to July 31.[7] For the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933.[7] Since the 7th ceremony held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.[7]
There have been 22 instances in which films have produced more than one nominee within this category. All resulted in two nominations, with the exceptions of On the Waterfront (1954); The Godfather (1972); and The Godfather Part II (1974), which each obtained three.
^Due to category confusion,
Barry Fitzgerald received nominations in both
lead actor and supporting for this same role, winning the latter award. To prevent this from occurring in the future, the Academy revised its rules so that if ever a single actor/actress was submitted in both categories for the same performance, they would only get nominated for whichever one had the higher overall percentage within that respective category.[16]
^
abAn anomaly occurred when both
LaKeith Stanfield and
Daniel Kaluuya received nominations in the supporting category, despite the former being campaigned for the lead race. This occurrence is likely a direct effect of the
AMPAS enacted after Fitzgerald's brouhaha. Stanfield and Kaluuya received votes in both categories, but each of them had more nominations in supporting, and thus each made the top five nominees in this category.[95]
^Judas and the Black Messiah was not released in theaters until 2021, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic disrupting theatrical releases. However, Academy guidelines were adjusted for 2020, thus allowing this and several other films to be submitted for the 2020 calendar year of nominees/winners.[101]