Oscar week, it’s worth remembering the trivia that only comes to light when the winner of the night takes the stage and we start to hear that “so and so made history”, etc.

There is a curious thing. Among the actresses, there is a certain “dominance” of stars at the top, but there seems to be more diversity every year. Among actors, once he joins the Club, it’s kind of repeated over the years. Do not believe? Look here.

In 96 years, there are only two with 3 Oscars

Jack Nicholson
It’s incredible that although we think of Robert DeNiro or Daniel Day-Lewis as the most beloved at the Oscars, the most awarded is Jack Nicholson, accumulating 3 Oscars since 1975. The first was for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, then came in a supporting role for Terms of Endearment, in 1982, and finally another unforgettable role in 1997 with As Good as It Gets.

There are so many other incredible performances by “Jack”, that he is the actor with the most nominations among men: 12, equal to Katherine Hepburn, but less than Meryl Streep (21). Still, the Academy’s most prestigious crown is his with little threat.

Daniel Day-Lewis
The British actor is unanimous, but he is not hors concours, he has had his defeats too. He was nominated no less than six times, which, given his infrequency on film sets, practically puts him nominated as soon as he works. And what performances!

Daniel has three Oscars: My Left Foot (1992), There Will Be Blood (2007), and Lincoln (2011). His indirect retirement takes the pressure off Jack Nicholson in the rankings.

Who wins 1, wins 2?

If you really stand out among men, whoever “wins 1 win 2” could be a “rule” among male actors once they enter the hall of winners. The group is not large, but it has weight in names.

Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks has fewer statuettes than Nicholson, but a record that no other actor has achieved: he won the Oscar for Best Actor twice in a row. He replaced Philadelphia (1993) with Forrest Gump (1994) and has been a favorite every time he has been nominated, and there have been six in total.

Robert DeNiro
It would be normal to compare him to Meryl Streep as one of the best actors of her generation, but Meryl had more nominations and awards. DeNiro was nominated seven times, winning in 1974 as Supporting Actor for The Godfather 2, the same role that two years earlier earned Marlon Brando the Oscar for Best Actor. After that, although he is still shocked today that he lost for Taxi Driver, it was for Raging Bull, in 1980, that gave him recognition for Best Actor. After that, nothing. It’s about time, don’t you think?

Marlon Brando
We talk about the God of acting in the United States, the actor who is credited with a less theatrical performance, focused on the ‘method’: Marlon Brando. Well, a saint at home doesn’t perform miracles. He has two Oscars for Best Actor: for On The Waterfront in 1954, and for The Godfather, in 1971. Interestingly, the role that made him famous in theater and cinema, Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, earned him one of his eight nominations, but no Oscars.

Denzel Washington
Denzel is the greatest reference for black actors in history. Sidney Poitier opened the door by winning Best Actor before, but no black actor or actress has yet won two Oscars, which is bizarre. It’s not even mentioned that among actresses, only Halle Berry won in the main category. Among men, there are more winners of Best Actor, but Denzel is still the most successful. His first was for Glory, in 1989, as a Supporting Actor, and the second was for Training Day, in 2001, as Best Actor. Having been nominated 9 times so far shows how significant Denzel Washington‘s work is and that he can still do more. I hope so.

Sean Penn
Actor Sean Penn has a controversial relationship with the Academy. He was averse to parties and in his first appointments, he didn’t even show up. Then he made Mystic River with Clint Eastwood, in 2003 and won Best Actor. Five years later he won again in the same category, for Milk. In five nominations, two wins. He may not like Oscar, but Oscar likes Sean Penn.

Spencer Tracy
I find it curious that they talk about the naturalness of Brando’s performance without remembering Spencer Tracy’s apparently casual manner as an actor. He has always been nothing short of a genius. He should have had much more than just two Oscars, especially since he was nominated nine times. He only got a chance in the 1930s, apparently, when he was won two years in a row in 1937, by San Francisco, Captain Courageous, and 1938, by Boys Town.

Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins was in many successful films before entering the international radar as the unforgettable Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, in 1992. Then came several nominations until, in 2020, he surprised many who thought that the Oscar would pay a posthumous tribute to Chadwick Boseman,

But his performance as a man dealing with dementia in the film Father was so devastating that some thought he was really bad. Two Oscars, six nominations. He is one of the most honored.

Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon was an actor adored by audiences and peers in equal measure, but he only won two of the eight times he was nominated. In 1954, as Best Supporting Actor for Mister Roberts and then in 1973 for Save the Tiger. He deserved at least two more Oscars, for The Apartment and It’s Hotter, maybe even one more for China Syndrome, but that’s a very personal opinion.

Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman‘s comedic streak only became better known as he got older, he was synonymous with an intense and complex actor. The two roles that earned him two Oscars show this: in 1979 with Kramer Versus Kramer and in 1988 for Rain Man. Just like Lemmon, we can list several surprising snubs such as Midnight Cowboy, in 1969 and Marathon Man, in 1976. What do you think?

Frederic March
One of the greatest actors of Hollywood’s golden years was Frederich March, who won Best Actor twice, once in 1931 with Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and then in 1946 with The Best Years of Our Lives.

Gary Cooper
An idol in his time, an emotional actor with few words, he won Best Actor two of the five times he was nominated: in 1941 for Sergeant York and then, in 1952, for High Noon.

Gene Hackman
The 1970s helped actors who weren’t considered good-looking and Gene Hackman always always gave brilliant performances. 50 years ago, with the innovative and violent French Connection, from 1974, he was voted Best Actor of the Year. He was nominated four other times (five in total), and his last Oscar was stealing the show as a supporting actor in Unforgiven, by Clint Eastwood in 1992.

Kevin Spacey
The sex scandals involving his name put a sharp brake on Kevin Spacey‘s incredible trajectory, especially since he won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for The Usual Suspects, in 1995, and finally as Best Actor in 1999, for American Beauty. To see if there will be surrender for him.

In the Supporting category, repeated figures

Walter Brennan
If you’re not a film history buff, you’d miss Walter Brennan, but in the 1930s and 1940s, he was one of the Academy’s favorites. He won no less than THREE Oscars as a Supporting Actor: in 1936, for Come and Get It; in 1938 for Kentucky and finally, in 1940, for The Westerner. His last nomination was the only one he lost, in 1942, also as a supporting actor, for Sergeant York (the remake won Jack Lemmon the Oscar).

Michael Caine
Popular in films of the 1960s and 1970s, when Michael Caine won the Supporting Actor Oscar for Hannah and Her Sisters in 1986, it seemed fair. However,, in 1999 he unfairly took away from Tom Cruise in Magnolia the Oscar for Supporting Actor for The Cider House Rules. I still maintain my opinion, especially since in the speech he poked Tom, claiming that older actors “need Oscar recognition” because he already had control of the box office. He gasped at me. For Tom? He’s already moved on.

Anthony Quinn
The great figure of Anthony Quinn and his ability to interpret different ethnicities earned the actor the Oscar for a supporting role twice: for Viva Zapata, in 1952 and Lust for Life, in 1956. That’s right, we call him Zorba, the Greek but this nomination did not win the statuette. Isn’t that curious?

Melvyn Douglas
Another name of an actor who won the Oscar for Supporting Role twice that few remember. The first was in Hud, in 1963, and then the wonderful Being There, in 1979.

Peter Ustinov
The Englishman Peter Ustinov, with his hoarse voice and curious inflection, is remembered by me as Detective Poirot in the cinema, but it was with Spartacus, in 1960 and then with Topkapi, in 1974, that he secured his two Oscars. In his entire career, he only lost once. Incredible, right?

Jason Robards
I’m a big fan of Jason Robards’ restrained performance, from Once Upon a Time in the West to his two Oscars: in 1976, for All the President’s Men and the following year, for Julia.

Christoph Waltz
Some say that the Austrian actor’s two nominations, both in Quentin Tarantino films, were for similar roles. In fact, vice versa. In 2009 he won for Inglorious Bastards playing a cruel Nazi, in 2012, in Django, a man fighting for slaves. He might return to painting for the ceremony if he works again with Tarantino, who likes to keep the same actors around…

Mahershala Ali
Mahershala Ali‘s calm voice and deep gaze yield moving performances and his two nominations, both in a supporting role, were a show. He won in 2016 for Moonlight (the year La La Land lost) and then in 2018 for Green Book. Today he is the only black actor who can reach Denzel Washington’s level. I consider it super deserved!

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