The European Film Award for Best Actor is an award given out at the annual

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, ...

. The awards are presented by the

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. The Academy—under the name of European Cinema Soc ...

(EFA) and was first presented in 1988 to Swedish actor

Max von Sydow Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...

for his role as Lassefar "Lasse" Karlsson in ''

Pelle the Conqueror ''Pelle the Conqueror'' ( da, Pelle Erobreren, sv, Pelle Erövraren) is a 1987 epic film co-written and directed by Bille August, based upon the 1910 novel of the same name by Danish writer Martin Andersen Nexø. The film tells the story of tw ...

''.

Daniel Auteuil Daniel Auteuil (; born 24 January 1950) is a French actor and director who has appeared in a wide range of film genres, including period dramas, romantic comedies, and crime thrillers. In 1996 he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Fest ...

and

Toni Servillo Marco Antonio Servillo (), known as Toni Servillo, is an Italian actor and theatrical director. He has won the European Film Award for Best Actor twice, in 2008 for both '' Gomorrah'' and ''Il Divo'' and in 2013 for ''The Great Beauty'', as well ...

are the only actors who have received this award more than once with two wins each, while

Mads Mikkelsen Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen, (; born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor. Originally a gymnast and dancer, he rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the ''Pusher'' film trilogy (1996, 2004), D ...

is the most nominated actor in the category with four nominations.

Winners and nominees

Bob hoskins filming ruby blue cropped (cropped)

MJK_68238_Daniel_Br%C3%BChl_(Berlinale_2020)

Sasson Gabai, AJFF, Kidon Screening (12582442783)

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple wins and nominations

Multiple wins

Most nominations

References

External links

European Film Academy archive
{{European Film Award for Best Actor

Actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

Film awards for lead actor Awards established in 1988 1988 establishments in Europe