Earning an Academy Award is a big deal for any film actor, catapulting them into a new class of thespians and opening the doors to better movie roles. However, it's not easy. While it might seem like the same cast of characters is at the Oscars every year, the truth is that only a half-dozen actors have ever won more than two Academy Awards.
The current record remains with Katharine Hepburn, who boasted a total of four Academy Awards on her mantle — along with the prestige of having been nominated 12 times. When it comes to male actors, here are the top recognized by the Academy, first based on the number of acting awards they have won, then ranked by the total number of nominations.
Updated on March 6, 2021 by Kristen Palamara: There are countless actors in the industry but it's difficult to be nominated for an Oscar let alone be nominated multiple times — and win. There's a short list of actors who have won multiple Oscars and there can only be one winner for the actor with the most Oscars. Typically, these actors have won an Academy Award for Best Actor or for Best Supporting Actor. Here are the actors with the most Oscars, considering both the actor's wins and how many times they have been nominated throughout their career.
Anthony Quinn: 2 Wins (4 Nominations)
Anthony Quinn was a successful and well-loved Mexican-American actor, painter, writer, and film director who was recognized for his acting work with four nominations for Academy Awards. He was nominated for best actor twice for Wild is the Wind (1957) and Zorba the Greek (1964) but didn't win either nomination.
He did win two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in Viva Zapata! (1952) and opposite Marlon Brando Lust for Life (1956) opposite Kirk Douglas.
Gary Cooper: 2 Wins (5 Nominations)
Gary Cooper was a well-known actor for his authentic and realistic acting style from the 1920s to the 1960s and received five nominations for his acting during his career. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor all five times and he won the award twice.
He was nominated and won for his starring role in the epic war romance Seargeant York (1941) and his work in the western High Noon (1952). He was also nominated for Best Actor for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), the Ernest Hemingway adaptation For Whom the Bells Toll (1943), and The Pride of the Yankees (1942).
Gene Hackman: 2 Wins (5 Nominations)
Gene Hackman had a movie career that spanned decades and he was recognized for his work with several awards and had countless iconic roles in his filmography before deciding to retire. He was nominated for five Academy Awards, being nominated multiple times for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, and winning one Oscar in each category.
Hackman was nominated for Best Actor in Mississippi Burning (1988) and won for his role in The French Connection (1971). He was nominated for Best Supporting actor for his roles in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and I Never Sang for My Father (1970) and won for his supporting role alongside Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven (1992).
Fredric March: 2 Wins (5 Nominations)
Fredric March is another actor who received five Academy Award nominations, all for the Best Actor category, and won two during the height of his career in the 1930s-1950s.
He won for for his starring role in war drama The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and for his work in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) as the two sides of the title characters. He was also nominated for Best Actor in three more starring roles in Death of a Salesman (1951), A Star is Born (1937), and The Royal Family of Broadway (1930).
Sean Penn: 2 Wins (5 Nominations)
Acting since the '70s, Sean Penn has won two Academy Awards, both in the '00s — the first for the mystery drama Mystic River (2003) and the second for the biopic Milk (2008). But he was ultimately nominated a total of five times, the three others for Dead Man Walking (1995), Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and I Am Sam (2001).
Penn rose to fame in the '80s film Fast Times at Ridgemont High but started to make a name for himself as a serious actor in films like At Close Range, State of Grace, and Carlito's Way.
Tom Hanks: 2 Wins (6 Nominations)
Winning twice, back-to-back for Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994), Tom Hanks was first nominated for his role in the comedy Big. He has been nominated three more times since, including Saving Private Ryan (1998), Cast Away (2000), and most recently A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019).
With a top-notch reputation in Hollywood, the leading roles haven't slowed down for Hanks, who has appeared in a number of hit films, from Sleepless in Seattle to Captain Phillips and as the voice of Woody in the Toy Story films.
Michael Caine: 2 Wins (6 Nominations)
Another double winner, Caine took home the coveted award for Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and for The Cider House of Rules (1999). His other four nominations are for Alfie (1966), Sleuth (1972), Educating Rita (1983), and The Quiet American (2002).
Considered to be a British film icon, the respected actor ranks among the top 20 highest-grossing box office stars. His latest role was in 2020's Tenet.
Dustin Hoffman: 2 Wins (7 Nominations)
While he has only won twice — for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and for Rain Man (1988) — Dustin Hoffman has been nominated an impressive seven times. The other five date back to The Graduate (1967), followed by Midnight Cowboy (1969), Lenny (1974), Tootsie (1982), and Wag the Dog (1997).
Hoffman is known best by the younger generations for his role in the films Meet the Fockers (2004) and Little Fockers (2010) and for providing his vocal talents to the animated Kung Fu Panda films.
Robert De Niro: 2 Wins (7 Nominations)
One of the most respected actors of this generation, De Niro, too, is a member of the Oscar two-timers club. His pair of wins were for The Godfather: Part II (1974) and Raging Bull (1980). His five other nominations are for Taxi Driver (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), Awakenings (1990), Cape Fear (1991), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), and The Irishman (2019).
A frequent collaborator with filmmaker Martin Scorsese, De Niro recently appeared in the 2019 film Joker, which itself received 11 Academy Award nominations.
Denzel Washington: 2 Wins (8 Nominations)
The only Black man on the list, Washington has racked up an impressive two wins and eight nominations. His first win was Glory (1989) and his second Training Day (2001). He has also been nominated for Cry Freedom (1987), followed by Malcolm X (1992), The Hurricane (1999), Flight (2012), Fences (2016), and Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017).
One of Hollywood's most bankable movie stars, Washington continues to star in hit films and has also shifted to directing, including Fences.
Jack Lemmon: 2 Wins (8 Nominations)
Jack Lemmon's six nominations are for Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), The China Syndrome (1979), Tribute (1980), and Missing (1982). His two wins were for Mister Roberts (1955) and Save the Tiger (1973).
Sadly, Lemmon passed away in 2001 at the age of 76. Still, he appeared in many films that did not receive Academy recognition but became huge hits, like JFK (1991), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), and Grumpy Old Men (1993).
Marlon Brando: 2 Wins (8 Nominations)
Over his lengthy career, Brando has amassed a pair of Oscar wins and a total of eight nominations. The six films for which he was nominated but did not win include A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Viva Zapata! (1952), Julius Caesar (1953), Sayonara (1957), Last Tango in Paris (1972), and A Dry White Season (1989).
Of course, he won for his portrayal of Don Vito Corleone The Godfather (1972), but prior to that, his first win was in On the Waterfront (1954) One of the most prolific actors of the 20th century, Brando passed away in 2004 at the age of 80.
Spencer Tracy: 2 Wins (9 Nominations)
Spencer Tracy is the actor with the second-most nominations ever. His two wins were for Captain Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938). He went on to receive a steady stream of Oscar nods through the peak of his career. The first was for San Francisco (1936), followed by Father of the Bride (1950), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), The Old Man and the Sea (1958), Inherit the Wind (1960), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967).
Tract won his last Oscar posthumously — he passed away just weeks before Guess Who's Coming to Dinner finished filming.
Walter Brennan: 3 Wins (4 Nominations)
While Walter Brennan doesn't have as many nominations as others on this list, he has won 75% of the Oscars for which he has been nominated. His three wins are for Come and Get It (1936), Kentucky (1938), and The Westerner (1940). He only lost out once, when he was nominated for Sergeant York (1941).
Brennan passed away in 1974 at the age of 80 but to this day remains one of only three actors to have ever won an Oscar in triplicate.
Daniel Day-Lewis: 3 Wins (6 Nominations)
Daniel Day-Lewis has a pretty impressive resume, supported by his three wins of six nominations, making him one of three actors to ever take home three Oscars. His first was for My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989) and he didn't win again for almost two decades until he took home the award for There Will Be Blood (2007) His latest was for Lincoln (2012), in which he played the title character and former U.S. President.
Other nominations were for In the Name of the Father (1993), Gangs of New York (2002), and Phantom Thread (2017). He is likely to be overtaken since the acclaimed actor announced that after Phantom Thread, he would be retiring from the business.
Jack Nicholson: 3 Wins (12 Nominations)
Jack Nicholson has wowed with many performances, and while he is tied with two others for the most Oscar wins, no other male actor comes close to his total number of nominations. It started with a nomination for Easy Rider (1969) and his eight other non-winning nominations were for Five Easy Pieces (1970), The Last Detail (1973), Chinatown (1974), Reds (1981), Prizzi's Honor (1985), Ironweed (1987), A Few Good Men (1992), and About Schmidt (2002).
Nicholson's three wins span three decades, showing just how much staying power Nicholson has as an actor. The first was for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), the second Terms of Endearment (1983), and the third for As Good as It Gets (1997) While there are several actors who could potentially surpass Nicholson soon in terms of the number of wins, it would be difficult for anyone to receive as many nominations as the Hollywood legend.