The Silver Bear for Best Actor () was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by the International Jury from the films in the Competition slate at the festival. Beginning with the 71st Berlin International Film Festival, the award was replaced with two gender-neutral categories: the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance and the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance.
At the 6th Berlin International Film Festival held in 1956, Burt Lancaster was the first winner of this award for his performance in Trapeze, and Elio Germano was the last winner in this category, for his role in Hidden Away at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in 2020.
History The award was first presented in 1956 and can be for lead or supporting roles. The prize was not awarded on three occasions (1969, 1973, and 1974). In 1970, no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the controversy over the official selection film, o.k. by Michael Verhoeven, which led to the resignation of the international jury. In 2011, the entire male cast of A Separation received the award. Sidney Poitier, Jean Gabin, Fernando Fernán Gómez, and Denzel Washington have won the most awards in this category, each winning twice.
The last of this award was given out in 2020, after which it was replaced with two gender-neutral categories, Best Leading Performance and Best Supporting Performance, the following year.
Winners
1950s Year Actor Role(s) Title 1956 1957 Tizoc 1958 1959
1960s Year Actor Role(s) Title 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 and 1966 Paul 1967 Pépé 1968
1970s Year Actor Role(s) Title 1971 1972 1975 1976 Cioska 1977 Fernando Tobajas 1978 1979
1980s Year Actor Role(s) Title 1980 1981 1982 Sven 1983 1984 Sir 1985 1986 Hilmi 1987 1988 1989
1990s Year Actor Role(s) Title 1990 1991 1992 1993 Malcolm X 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Peschke
2000s Year Actor Role(s) Title 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Bruno 2007 2008 Karim 2009 Ousmane
2010s Year Actor Role(s) Title 2010 2011 Nader Hodjat Nader's Father Judge 2012 2013 Nazif 2014 2015 2016 Hedi 2017 Michael 2018 Thomas 2019
2020s Year Actor Role(s) Title 2020
Multiple winners
The following individuals have received multiple Best Actor awards:
Wins Actor Nationality Films 2 Sidney Poitier United States The Defiant Ones (1958), Lilies of the Field (1963) Jean Gabin France Archimède le clochard (1959), Le Chat (1971) Fernando Fernán Gómez Spain The Anchorite (1977), Stico (1985) Denzel Washington United States Malcolm X (1993), The Hurricane (2000)
See also Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor Volpi Cup for Best Actor
Notes
A: The entire male and female cast of A Separation (جدایی نادر از سیمین) was recipient of this award.
References
External links
Berlinale website