1952

British Ralph Richardson     for his part in The Sound Barrier 
Foreign Marlon Brando        for his part in Viva Zapata!

1953

British John Gielgud         for his part in Julius Caesar
Foreign Marlon Brando        for his part in Julius Caesar

1954

British Kenneth More         for his part in Doctor in the House
Foreign Marlon Brando        for his part in On the Waterfront

1955

British Laurence Olivier     for his part in Richard III
Foreign Ernest Borgnine      for his part in Marty

1956

British Peter Finch          for his part in A Town Like Alice
Foreign François Perier       for his part in Gervaise 

1957

British Alec Guinness        for his part in The Bridge on the River Kwai
Foreign Henry Fonda          for his part in 12 Angry Men

1958

British Trevor Howard        for his part in The Key 
Foreign Sidney Poitier       for his part in The Defiant Ones

1959

British Peter Sellers        for his part in I'm All Right, Jack
Foreign Jack Lemmon          for his part in Some Like It Hot

1960

British Peter Finch          for his part in The Trials of Oscar Wilde 
Foreign Jack Lemmon          for his part in The Apartment

1961

British Peter Finch          for his part in No Love for Johnnie 
Foreign Paul Newman          for his part in The Hustler

1962

British Peter O'Toole        for his part in Lawrence of Arabia
Foreign Burt Lancaster       for his part in The Bird Man of Alcatraz 

1963

British Dirk Bogarde         for his part in The Servant
Foreign Marcello Mastroianni for his part in Divorce, Italian Style

1964

British Richard Attenborough for his parts in Guns at Batasi 
                                              and Seance on a Wet Afternoon
Foreign Marcello Mastroianni for his part in Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 

1965

British Dirk Bogarde         for his part in Darling
Foreign Lee Marvin           for his parts in The Killers
                                              and Cat Ballou

1966

British Richard Burton       for his part in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Foreign Rod Steiger          for his part in The Pawnbroker

1967

British Paul Scofield        for his part in A Man for All Seasons
Foreign Rod Steiger          for his part in In the Heat of the Night

1966

British Richard Burton       for his part in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Foreign Rod Steiger          for his part in The Pawnbroker

this was the last year two awards were given; the two categories were combined

1968

        Spencer Tracy        for his part in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

1969

        Dustin Hoffman       for his parts in Midnight Cowboy
                                              and John and Mary 

1970

        Robert Redford       for his parts in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
                                              and Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here 

1971

        Peter Finch          for his part in Sunday, Bloody Sunday

1972

        Gene Hackman         for his parts in The French Connection
                                              and The Poseidon Adventure

1973

        Walter Matthau       for his parts in Pete 'n' Tillie 
                                              and Charley Varrick

1974

        Jack Nicholson       for his parts in Chinatown
                                              and The Last Detail

1975

        Al Pacino            for his parts in The Godfather Part II
                                              and Dog Day Afternoon

1976

        Jack Nicholson       for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

1977

        Peter Finch          for his part in Network

1978

        Richard Dreyfuss     for his part in The Goodbye Girl

1979

        Jack Lemmon          for his part in The China Syndrome

1980

        John Hurt            for his part in The Elephant Man

1981

        Burt Lancaster       for his part in Atlantic City

1982

        Ben Kingsley         for his part in Gandhi

1983

Jointly Michael Caine        for his part in Educating Rita
and     Dustin Hoffman       for his part in Tootsie

1984

        Haing S. Ngor        for his part in The Killing Fields

The award then became for Best Actor in a Leading Role

1985

        William Hurt         for his part in Kiss of the Spider Woman

1986

        Bob Hoskins          for his part in Mona Lisa

1987

        Sean Connery         for his part in The Name of the Rose

1988

        John Cleese          for his part in A Fish Called Wanda

1989

        Daniel Day Lewis     for his part in My Left Foot

1990

        Philippe Noiret      for his part in Cinema Paradiso

1991

        Anthony Hopkins      for his part in The Silence of the Lambs

1992

        Robert Downey Jr     for his part in Chaplin

1993

        Anthony Hopkins      for his part in The Remains of the Day

1994

        Hugh Grant           for his part in Four Weddings and a Funeral

1995

        Nigel Hawthorne      for his part in The Madness of King George

1996

        Geoffrey Rush        for his part in Shine

1997

        Robert Carlyle       for his part in The Full Monty

1998

        Roberto Benigni      for his part in Life is Beautiful (La Vita è Bella)

1999

        Kevin Spacey         for his part in American Beauty

2000

        Jamie Bell           for his part in Billy Elliot

2001

        Russell Crowe        for his part in A Beautiful Mind

2002

        Daniel Day Lewis     for his part in Gangs of New York

2003

        Bill Murray          for his part in Lost In Translation

2004

        Jamie Foxx           for his part in Ray