Movie-Musical Actors at the Oscars

Looking back over the course of film history, 25 actors have been nominated for either Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars for their work in movie musicals. Of those 25 actors seven have gone on to win. Please take a look above at our slideshow of winners and nominees.

For the purposes of this gallery we’re only considering actors from more traditional musicals in which the songs help tell the story, as opposed to biopics of famous musicians like “Ray” (starring Oscar winner Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles) and “Walk the Line” (starring Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash), in which the songs arise largely in the context of concert and recording studio scenes.

Many of these Oscar nominations for male actors came from adaptations of classic Broadway musicals like “Fiddler on the Roof,” “The King and I,” “My Fair Lady” and “Chicago,” which was the last musical to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. So who was the best? And how do they compare to the women who have been nominated and won Oscars, many of them for the same films? Spanning almost a century of sound films, scroll through the gallery above and decide for yourself.

– By Amanda Spears

Hugh Jackman (‘Les Misérables,’ 2012)

Nominated for Best Actor (lost to: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”)

Jackman brought to screen one of the most classic roles in musical theater: Jean Valjean in the film adaptation of “Les Mis.” But in one of the most competitive fields in recent years Day-Lewis won his third Oscar.

Also Nominated: Bradley Cooper (“Silver Linings Playbook”), Joaquin Phoenix (“The Master”) and Denzel Washington (“Flight”)

Johnny Depp (‘Sweeney Todd,’ 2007)

Nominated for Best Actor (lost to: Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”)

Depp played the villainous Demon Barber of Fleet Street in the big-screen adaptation of the classic Stephen Sondheim musical.

Also Nominated: George Clooney (“Michael Clayton”), Tommy Lee Jones (“In the Valley of Elah”) and Viggo Mortensen (“Eastern Promises”).

Eddie Murphy (‘Dreamgirls,’ 2006)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (lost to: Alan Arkin, “Little Miss Sunshine”)

Played a James Brown-esque singer, James “Thunder” Early. After winning both the Golden Globe and SAG Award he was upset by Arkin at the Oscars.

Also Nominated: Jackie Earle Haley (“Little Children”) Djimon Hounsou (“Blood Diamond”) and Mark Wahlberg (“The Departed”).

John C. Reilly (‘Chicago,’ 2002)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (lost to: Chris Cooper, “Adaptation”)

Reilly brought depth to the role of Roxie Hart’s husband Amos and his classic number “Mr. Cellophane.” Reilly co-starred in two other Best Picture nominees that year: “The Hours” and “Gangs of New York.”

Also Nominated: Ed Harris (“The Hours”), Paul Newman (“Road to Perdition”) and Christopher Walken (“Catch Me If You Can”)

Robert Pretson (‘Victor/Victoria,’ 1982)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (lost to: Louis Gossett Jr., “An Officer and a Gentleman”)

Preston played Carole “Toddy” Todd, who gives Victoria (Julie Andrews)  the idea of cross-dressing to perform.

Also Nominated: Charles Durning (“The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”), John Lithgow (“The World According to Garp”) and James Mason (“The Verdict” ).

Roy Scheider (‘All That Jazz,’ 1979)

Nominated for Best Actor (lost to: Dustin Hoffman, “Kramer vs. Kramer”)

In a fictionalized version of Bob Fosse’s life, Scheider plays Joe Gideon, a dance with many vices.

Also Nominated: Jack Lemmon (“The China Syndrome”), Al Pacino (“And Justice for All”) and Peter Sellers (“Being There”).

Joel Grey (‘Cabaret,’ 1972)

Won Best Supporting Actor

Grey reprised his Tony winning performance as “Master of Ceremonies,” performing the opening “Willkommen” and “Finale” numbers.

Also Nominated: Eddie Albert (“The Heartbreak Kid”), James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Al Pacino (“The Godfather”).

Topol (‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ 1971)

Nominated for Best Actor (lost to: Gene Hackman, “The French Connection”)

Topol made history as the first Israeli actor to be nominated for an Oscar. Years later has nominated for a Tony award (1991) for reprising his role as Tevye on Broadway.

Also Nominated: Peter Finch “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” Walter Matthau “Kotch” and George C. Scott “The Hospital.” 

Leonard Frey (‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ 1971)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (lost to: Ben Johnson, “The Last Picture Show”)

Frey played the tailor Motel, who falls in love with Tevye’s oldest daughter Tzeitel (Rosalind Harris).

Also Nominated: Jeff Bridges (“The Last Picture Show”), Richard Jaeckel (“Sometimes a Great Nation”) and Roy Scheider (“The French Connection”).

Ron Moody (‘Oliver!,’ 1968)

Nominated for Best Actor (lost to: Cliff Robertson, “Charly”)

In this musical adaptation of Charles Dickens‘s “Oliver Twist,” Moody played Fagin, who helps Oliver learn the ways of the street in the number “Pick a Pocket or Two.”

Also Nominated: Alan Arkin (“The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”), Alan Bates (“The Fixer”) and Peter O’Toole (“The Lion in Winter”).

Jack Wild (‘Oliver!,’ 1968)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (lost to: Jack Albertson, “The Subject Was Roses”)

Wild was only 15 when nominated for the Oscar for his performance as the Artful Dodger. He was already a stage vet of the West End production.

Also Nominated: Seymour Cassel (“Faces”), Daniel Massey (“Star!”) and Gene Wilder (“The Producers”).

Rex Harrison (‘My Fair Lady,’ 1964)

Won Best Actor

Harrison reprised his Tony winning Broadway role of Henry Higgins, a curmudgeon who takes a bet to make a lady out of Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn). The role is famous for the musical numbers “Why Can’t the English Learn to Speak?” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”

Also Nominated: Richard Burton (“Becket”), Peter O’Toole (“Becket”), Anthony Quinn (“Zorba the Greek”) and Peter Sellers (“Dr. Strangelove”).

Stanley Holloway (‘My Fair Lady,’ 1964)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (lost to: Peter Ustinov, “Topkapi”)

Holloway reprised his Tony-nominated role as Eliza’s father and most memorably forever gave real-life bridal parties something to sing with “Get Me to the Church on Time.”

Also Nominated: John Gielgud (“Becket”), Edmond O’Brien (“Seven Days in May”) and Lee Tracy (“The Best Man”).

George Chakiris (‘West Side Story,’ 1961)

Won Best Supporting Actor

Chakiris played the leader of the Sharks, Bernardo. His character does not have a solo number, but he is a strong presence both in his dancing and as Maria’s (Natalie Wood) brother.

Also Nominated: Montgomery Clift (“Judgement at Nuremberg”), Peter Falk (“Pocketful of Miracles”) and Jackie Gleason and George C. Scott (“The Hustler”).

Yul Brynner (‘The King and I,’ 1956)

Won Best Actor

Brynner reprised his Tony winning role as King Mongkut of Siam, his most memorable role. In various stage productions he would perform this role over 4,500 times before his death in 1985.

Also Nominated: James Dean (“Giant”), Kirk Douglas (“Lust for Life”), Rock Hudson (“Giant”) and Laurence Olivier (“Richard III”).

James Cagney (‘Love Me or Leave Me,’ 1955)

Nominated for Best Actor (lost to: Ernest Borgnine, “Marty”)

Cagney played Martin “Moe the Gimp” Snyder, a gangster and the first husband to Ruth Etting. To date Cagney is the only actor to be nominated twice for movie musicals.

Also Nominated: James Dean (“East of Eden”), Frank Sinatra (“The Man with the Golden Arm”) and Spencer Tracy (“Bad Day at Black Rock”).

James Mason (‘A Star is Born,’ 1954)

Nominated for Best Actor (lost to: Marlon Brando, “On the Waterfront”)

Mason played the tragic washed up Norman Maine in this second film version of “A Star is Born,” co-starring Judy Garland.

Also Nominated: Humphrey Bogart “The Caine Mutiny,” Bing Crosby “The Country Girl” and Dan O’Herlihy “Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.”

Dan Dailey (‘When My Baby Smiles At Me,’ 1948)

Nominated for Best Actor (lost to: Laurence Olivier, “Hamlet”)

Dailey played a vaudeville performer who gets his big break on Broadway. He experiences marital trouble when his success leaves behind his wife.

Also Nominated: Lew Ayres (“Johnny Belidna”), Montgomery Clift (“The Search”) and Clifton Webb (“Sitting Pretty”).

Gene Kelly (‘Anchors Aweigh,’ 1945)

Nominated for Best Actor (lost to: Ray Milland, “The Lost Weekend”)

Kelly played a sailor on shore leave in Hollywood. The performance is best remembered for his dancing in the film with an animated mouse.

Also Nominated: Bing Crosby (“The Bells of St. Mary’s”), Gregory Peck (“The Keys of the Kingdom”) and Cornel Wilde (“A Song to Remember”).

Bing Crosby (‘Going My Way,’ 1944)

Won Best Actor

Crosby’s portrayal as Father O’Malley, a young priest taking over a parrish, is widely considered the best of his career. The film included many classic songs: “Ave Maria,” “Silent Night” and “Adeste Fidelis.”

Also Nominated: Charles Boyer (“Gaslight”), Barry Fitzgerald (“Going My Way”), Cary Grant (“None but the Lonely Heart”) and Alexander Knox (“Wilson”).

Barry Fitzgerald (‘Going My Way,’ 1944)

Won Best Supporting Actor

Fitzgerald played Father Fitzgibbon, but he’s best known for receiving both a Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor nomination for the same performance. The academy changed its rules the next year.

Also Nominated: Hume Cronyn (“The Seventh Cross”), Claude Pains (“Mr. Skeffington”), Clifton Webb (“Laura”) and Monty Woolley (“Since You Went Away”).

James Cagney (‘Yankee Doodle Dandy,’ 1942)

Won Best Actor

Cagney played famed composer George M. Cohan, whose famous songs included “Give My Regards to Broadway” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”

Also Nominated: Ronald Colman (“Random Harvest”), Gory Cooper (“The Pride of the Yankees”), Walter Pidgeon (“Mrs. Miniver”) and Monty Woolley (“The Pied Piper”).

Walter Huston (‘Yankee Doodle Dandy,’ 1942)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (lost to: Van Heflin, “Johnny Eager”)

Huston played George M. Cohan’s father, Jerry, best remembered for his death scene.

Also Nominated: William Bendix (“Wake Island”), Frank Morgan (“Tortilla Flat”) and Henry Travers (“Mrs. Miniver”).

Mickey Rooney (‘Babes in Arms,’ 1939)

Nominated for Best Actor (lost to: Robert Donat, “Goodbye, Mr. Chips”)

Rooney played Mickey Moran, who has big Broadway dreams and wants nothing more than for them to come true.

Also Nominated: Clark Gable (“Gone with the Wind”), Laurence Olivier (“Wuthering Heights”) and James Stewart (“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”).

Maurice Chevalier (‘The Love Parade,’ 1929)

Nominated for Best Actor (lost to: George Arliss, “Disraeli”)

Chevalier played a Count in an arranged marriage who finds himself bored with his role as consort to Queen Louise (Jeanette MacDonald).

Also Nominated: George Arliss (“The Green Goddess”) “Wallace Beery (“The Big House”) Ronald Colman (“Bullodog Drummond”) and Lawrence Tibbett (“The Rogue Song”).