Silver Bear for Best Actor — Every Winner and Nominee

Every film recognised in the Berlinale Silver Bear for Best Actor category in CineRoll's records: 62 films across 60 years, 63 of them winners.

The most recent winner is Hidden Away (2020); the earliest on record is Trapeze (1956).

The last three winners were Hidden Away (2020), So Long, My Son (2019) and The Prayer (La prière) (2018).

The list is newest first. Each year shows the winner at the top, then the other nominees; a year with enough nominees links to its own page.

Last updated August 12, 2026

2020

Hidden Away(2020)
Elio Germano
Winner

2019

So Long, My Son(2019)
Winner

2018

The Prayer (La prière)(2018)
Anthony Bajon
Winner

2017

Bright Nights(2017)
Georg Friedrich
Winner

2016

Hedi(2016)
Majd Mastoura
Winner

2015

45 Years(2015)
Tom Courtenay
Winner

2014

Black Coal, Thin Ice(2014)
Liao Fan
Winner

2013

An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker(2013)
Winner

2012

A Royal Affair(2012)
Winner

2011

A Separation(2011)
Winner

2010

How I Ended This Summer(2010)
Grigori Dobrygin
Winner
How I Ended This Summer(2010)
Sergei Puskepalis
Winner

2009

London River(2009)
Sotigui Kouyate
Winner

2008

The Song of Sparrows(2008)
Reza Najie
Winner

2007

The Other(2007)
Winner

2006

The Elementary Particles(2006)
Elementary Particles
Winner

2005

Thumbsucker(2005)
Lou Taylor Pucci
Winner

2004

Lost Embrace(2004)
Winner

2003

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind(2002)
Sam Rockwell
Winner

2002

Safe Conduct(2002)
Winner

2001

Traffic(2000)
Benicio Del Toro
Winner

2000

The Hurricane(1999)
Denzel Washington
Winner

1999

Night Shapes(1999)
Michael Gwisdek
Winner

1998

Jackie Brown(1997)
Samuel L. Jackson
Winner

1997

William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet)(1996)
Leonardo DiCaprio
Winner

1996

Dead Man Walking(1995)
Sean Penn
Winner

1995

Nobody's Fool(1994)
Paul Newman
Winner

1994

Philadelphia(1993)
Tom Hanks
Winner

1993

Malcolm X(1992)
Denzel Washington
Winner

1992

Utz(1992)
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Winner

1991

Mister Johnson(1990)
Winner

1990

Silent Scream(1990)
Iain Glen
Winner

1989

Mississippi Burning(1988)
Gene Hackman
Winner

1988

Bear Ye One Another's Burden...(1988)
Manfred Möck and Jörg Pose
Winner

1987

The Moro Affair(1986)
Winner

1986

The Smile of the Lamb(1986)
Winner

1985

Stico(1985)
Fernando Fernán Gómez
Winner

1984

The Dresser(1983)
Albert Finney
Winner

1983

That Championship Season(1982)
Bruce Dern
Winner

1982

Strange Affair(1981)
A Strange Affair
Winner
The Simple-Minded Murderer(1982)
Winner

1981

Tribute(1980)
Jack Lemmon
Winner
Twenty Six Days in the Life of Dostoevsky(1980)
Twenty Six Days from the Life of Dostoevsky
Winner

1980

The Conductor(1980)
Winner

1979

Ernesto(1979)
Michele Placido
Winner

1978

Outrageous!(1977)
Craig Russell
Winner

1977

The Anchorite(1976)
Fernando Fernán Gómez
Winner

1976

A Lost Life(1976)
Gerhard Olschewski
Winner

1975

Jacob the Liar(1974)
Winner

1972

Why(1971)
Alberto Sordi
Winner

1971

The Cat(1971)
Winner

1967

The Two of Us(1967)
Winner

1966

Masculin Féminin(1966)
Jean-Pierre Léaud
Winner

1965

Cat Ballou(1965)
Lee Marvin
Winner

1964

The Pawnbroker(1964)
Rod Steiger
Winner

1963

Lilies of the Field(1963)
Winner

1962

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation(1962)
James Stewart
Winner

1961

No Love for Johnnie(1961)
Peter Finch
Winner

1960

Inherit the Wind(1960)
Fredric March
Winner

1959

The Magnificent Tramp(1959)
Jean Gabin
Winner

1958

The Defiant Ones(1958)
Sidney Poitier
Winner

1957

Tizoc(1957)
Pedro Infante
Winner

1956

Trapeze(1956)
Burt Lancaster
Winner