Since the supporting acting Oscar categories were introduced in 1937, a total of 130 films have been nominated for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. The resulting annual average of 1.5 examples aligns perfectly with the last 10 years alone, as 15 male costar pairs or trios have competed separately during that time. Check out our photo gallery of every instance since 2015, including four that resulted in wins for one or more of the actors involved.
The most recent cases of this type concern 2024 lead contenders Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”) and Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction”) and their respective supporting cast mates, Robert Downey Jr. and Sterling K. Brown. The last film to win both male acting awards was “Dallas Buyers Club” (2014), which stars Matthew McConaughey and features Jared Leto.
Our specific list contains examples from all of the past 10 years except 2018, which was the first year since 2000 (and eighth ever) to produce no new cases. Whereas the corresponding female roster includes four women with multiple entries, the only male who appears twice is Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Revenant,” 2016; “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” 2020). As it happens, all five of the films for which he has received lead bids have also been nominated for Best Supporting Actor, with the first three having been “The Aviator” (2005; Alan Alda), “Blood Diamond” (2007; Djimon Hounsou), and “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2014; Jonah Hill).
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