- The red carpet at the Academy Awards in 2009 - Greg Hernandez
February 2, 2010 is fast approaching, but this year anticipation that surrounds the date involves more than just whether a certain Pennsylvania groundhog sees his Oscar. This year, February 2 will mark the announcement of the nominees for the 2010 Academy Awards, and the buzz has already begun.
After his win for the Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama, many wonder if Jeff Bridges can take home the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his work in Crazy Heart. Bridges is no stranger to the nominations. In the past, he's been nominated for his supporting roles in 1972's the Last Picture Show, 1975's Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and 2001's The Contender. Bridges was also nominated for the Best Actor in a Leading Role Academy Award in 1984 for his role in Starman.
Although Crazy Heart would be the actor's first win, Bridges would be halfway to reaching the current record for most Academy Awards won for Actor in a Leading Role. That's because no actor has ever won more than two Oscars in the category.
Here's a look at who is tied for first place.
Spencer Tracy
2 wins and 9 nominations
Actor with the Most Nominations in the Best Actor in a Lead Role Category
- San Francisco in 1937
- Captain Courageous in 1938 (Tracy's first Best Actor win)
- Boys Town in 1939 (Tracy's second and final Best Actor win)
- Father of the Bride in 1951
- The Old Man and Sea in 1959
- Inherit the Wind in 1961
- Judgment at Nuremburg in 1962
- Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 1968
Jack Nicholson
2 wins and 8 nominations
Nicholson also received 4 Best-Supporting Actor nominations and 1 Best Supporting Actor Oscar
- Five Easy Pieces in 1971
- The Last Detail in 1974
- Chinatown in 1975
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1976 (Nicholson's first Best Actor win)
- Prizzi's Honor in 1986
- Ironwood in 1988
- As Good as It Gets in 1998 (Nicholson's second Best Actor win)
- About Schmidt in 2003
Marlon Brando
2 wins and 7 nominations
Brando also received 1 Best-Supporting Actor nomination
- A Streetcar Called Desire in 1951
- Viva Zapata! in 1953
- Julius Caesar in 1954
- On the Waterfront in 1955 (Brando's first Best Actor win)
- Sayonara in 1958
- The Godfather in 1973 (Brando's second and final Best actor win)
- The Last Tango in Paris in 1974
Dustin Hoffman
2 wins and 7 nominations
- The Graduate in 1968
- Midnight Cowboy in 1970
- Lenny in 1975
- Kramer vs. Kramer in 1980 (Hoffman's first Best Actor win)
- Tootsie in 1983
- Rain Man in 1989 (Hoffman's second Best Actor win)
- Wag the Dog in 1998
Tom Hanks
2 wins and 5 nominations
- Big in 1989
- Philadelphia in 1994 (Hanks' first Best Actor win)
- Forest Gump in 1995 (Hanks' second Best Actor win)
- Saving Private Ryan in 1999
- Cast Away in 2001
Fredric March
2 wins and 5 nominations
- The Royal Family of Broadway in 1931
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1932 (March's first Best Actor win)
- A Star is Born in 1938
- The Best Years of Our Lives in 1947 (March's second and final Best Actor win)
- Death of a Salesman in 1952
Gary Cooper
2 wins and 5 nominations
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town in 1937
- Sergeant York in 1942 (Cooper's first Best Actor win)
- The Pride of the Yankees in 1943
- For Whom the Bell Tolls in 1944
- High Noon in 1952 (Cooper's second and final Best Actor win)
Sean Penn
2 wins and 5 nominations
- Dead Man Walking in 1996
- Sweet and Lowdown in 1999
- I Am Sam in 2002
- Mystic River in 2004 (Penn's first Best Actor win)
- Milk in 2009 (Penn's second Best Actor win
Daniel Day-Lewis
2 wins and 4 nominations
- My Left Foot in 1990 (Day-Lewis' first Best Actor win)
- In the Name of the Father in 1994
- Gangs of New York in 2003
- There Will Be Blood in 2007
Other notables for the Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role category include Laurence Olivier who was nominated nine times and one once, Paul Newman who was nominated eight times and won once and Peter O'Toole who received eight nomination but never won.
What history will this year's Academy Awards make? Find out when the awards take place on March 7, 2010. In the meantime, you may want to brush up on your history for other Oscar awards like Best Director or Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Hayley Harrison - Hayley Harrison is a 2003 Cum Laude graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. In addition to courses in fiction and nonfiction writing, ...
