| New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor | |
| Image Upright: | 0.7 |
| Awarded For: | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role |
| Presenter: | New York Film Critics Circle |
| Country: | United States |
| Year: | Charles Laughton Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) |
| Holder: | Wagner Moura The Secret Agent (2025) |
The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle to honor the finest achievements in film-making.
| Year | Winner | Role | Film | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | Mutiny on the Bounty | |||
| Marmaduke Ruggles | Ruggles of Red Gap | |||
| 1936 | Sam Dodsworth | Dodsworth | ||
| 1937 | The Life of Emile Zola | |||
| 1938 | Rocky Sullivan | Angels with Dirty Faces | ||
| 1939 | Jefferson "Jeff" Smith | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington |
| Year | Winner | Role | Film | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Hynkel – Dictator of Tomania / Jewish Barber | The Great Dictator | ||
| 1941 | Sergeant York | |||
| 1942 | Yankee Doodle Dandy | |||
| 1943 | Kurt Muller | Watch on the Rhine | ||
| 1944 | Father Fitzgibbon | Going My Way | ||
| 1945 | Don Birnam | The Lost Weekend | ||
| 1946 | Henry V | |||
| 1947 | Clarence Day, Sr. | Life with Father | ||
| Senator Melvin G. Ashton | The Senator Was Indiscreet | |||
| 1948 | Hamlet | |||
| 1949 | Willie Stark | All the King's Men |
| Year | Winner | Role | Film | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Frank Savage | Twelve O'Clock High | ||
| 1951 | Larry Nevins | Bright Victory | ||
| 1952 | John Ridgefield | The Sound Barrier | ||
| 1953 | First Sergeant Milton Warden | From Here to Eternity | ||
| 1954 | Terry Malloy | On the Waterfront | ||
| 1955 | Marty Piletti | Marty | ||
| 1956 | Lust for Life | |||
| 1957 | Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson | The Bridge on the River Kwai | ||
| 1958 | Angus Pollock | Separate Tables | ||
| 1959 | Paul Biegler | Anatomy of a Murder |
| Year | Winner | Role | Film | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Elmer Gantry | Elmer Gantry | ||
| 1961 | Hans Rolfe | Judgment at Nuremberg | ||
| 1962 | No award given (newspaper strike) | |||
| 1963 | Tom Jones | Tom Jones | ||
| 1964 | Henry Higgins | My Fair Lady | ||
| 1965 | Willie Schumann | Ship of Fools | ||
| 1966 | A Man for All Seasons | |||
| 1967 | Police Chief Bill Gillespie | In the Heat of the Night | ||
| 1968 | John Singer | The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter | ||
| 1969 | Joe Buck | Midnight Cowboy | ||
| Year | Winner | Role | Film | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | George S. Patton, Jr. | Patton | ||
| 1971 | Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle | The French Connection | ||
| 1972 | Andrew Wyke | Sleuth | ||
| 1973 | Paul | Last Tango in Paris (Ultimo tango a Parigi) | ||
| 1974 | J. J. "Jake" Gittes | Chinatown | ||
| Signalman 1st Class Billy "Badass" Buddusky | The Last Detail | |||
| 1975 | Randle McMurphy | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | ||
| 1976 | Travis Bickle | Taxi Driver | ||
| 1977 | Clive Langham | Providence | ||
| 1978 | Luke Martin | Coming Home | ||
| 1979 | Ted Kramer | Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Year | Winner | Role | Film | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Raging Bull | |||
| 1981 | Lou Pascal | Atlantic City | ||
| 1982 | Gandhi | |||
| 1983 | Mac Sledge | Tender Mercies | ||
| 1984 | Roger Cobb | All of Me | ||
| 1985 | Charley Partanna | Prizzi's Honor | ||
| 1986 | George Mortwell | Mona Lisa | ||
| 1987 | Ironweed | |||
| 1988 | Beverly Mantle / Elliot Mantle | Dead Ringers | ||
| 1989 | My Left Foot |
| Year | Winner | Role | Film | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Leonard Lowe | Awakenings | ||
| James "Jimmy the Gent" Conway | Goodfellas | |||
| 1991 | The Silence of the Lambs | |||
| 1992 | Malcolm X | |||
| 1993 | Johnny | Naked | ||
| 1994 | Donald "Sully" Sullivan | Nobody's Fool | ||
| 1995 | Ben Sanderson | Leaving Las Vegas | ||
| 1996 | Shine | |||
| 1997 | Ulysses "Ulee" Jackson | Ulee's Gold | ||
| 1998 | Wade Whitehouse | Affliction | ||
| 1999 | The Straight Story |
| Year | Winner | Role | Film | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Chuck Noland | Cast Away | ||
| 2001 | Matt Fowler | In the Bedroom | ||
| 2002 | Gangs of New York | |||
| 2003 | Bob Harris | Lost in Translation | ||
| 2004 | Miles Raymond | Sideways | ||
| 2005 | Brokeback Mountain | |||
| 2006 | The Last King of Scotland | |||
| 2007 | Daniel Plainview | There Will Be Blood | ||
| 2008 | Milk | |||
| 2009 | Ryan Bingham | Up in the Air |
| Year | Winner | Role | Film | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The King's Speech | |||
| 2011 | Moneyball | |||
| Mr. O'Brien | The Tree of Life | |||
| 2012 | Lincoln | |||
| 2013 | Our Man | All Is Lost | ||
| 2014 | J. M. W. Turner | Mr. Turner | ||
| 2015 | Walter "Robby" Robinson | Spotlight | ||
| 2016 | Lee Chandler | Manchester by the Sea | ||
| 2017 | Elio Perlman[1] | Call Me by Your Name | ||
| 2018 | Reverend Ernst Toller[2] | First Reformed | ||
| 2019 | Salvador Mallo[3] | Pain and Glory |
| Year | Winner | Role | Film | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Paul[4] | Da 5 Bloods | ||
| 2021 | Phil Burbank[5] | The Power of the Dog | ||
| 2022 | Jake | After Yang | ||
| Pádraic Súilleabháin | The Banshees of Inisherin | |||
| 2023 | Tomas[6] | Passages | ||
| 2024 | László Tóth | The Brutalist | ||
| 2025 | Armando / Marcelo Alves / Fernando (adult) | The Secret Agent |
