| Mel Gibson – Braveheart* Chris Noonan – Babe* Tim Robbins – Dead Man Walking* Mike Figgis – Leaving Las Vegas* Michael Radford – Il Postino: The Postman |
| Nicolas Cage – Leaving Las Vegas as Ben Sanderson* Richard Dreyfuss – Mr. Holland's Opus as Glenn Holland* Anthony Hopkins – Nixon as Richard Nixon* Sean Penn – Dead Man Walking as Matthew Poncelet* Massimo Troisi – Il Postino: The Postman as Mario Ruoppolo | Susan Sarandon – Dead Man Walking as Helen Prejean* Elisabeth Shue – Leaving Las Vegas as Sera* Sharon Stone – Casino as Ginger McKenna* Meryl Streep – The Bridges of Madison County as Francesca Johnson* Emma Thompson – Sense and Sensibility as Elinor Dashwood |
| Kevin Spacey – The Usual Suspects as Roger "Verbal" Kint / Keyser Söze* James Cromwell – Babe as Farmer Arthur Hoggett* Ed Harris – Apollo 13 as Gene Kranz* Brad Pitt – 12 Monkeys as Jeffrey Goines* Tim Roth – Rob Roy as Archibald Cunningham | Mira Sorvino – Mighty Aphrodite as Linda Ash* Joan Allen – Nixon as Pat Nixon* Kathleen Quinlan – Apollo 13 as Marilyn Gerlach Lovell* Mare Winningham – Georgia as Georgia Flood* Kate Winslet – Sense and Sensibility as Marianne Dashwood |
| The Usual Suspects – Christopher McQuarrie* Braveheart – Randall Wallace* Mighty Aphrodite – Woody Allen* Nixon – Oliver Stone, Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele* Toy Story – Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow, John Lasseter, Pete Docter and Joe Ranft | Sense and Sensibility – Emma Thompson adapted from the novel by Jane Austen* Apollo 13 – Al Reinert and William Broyles Jr. based on the book Lost Moon by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger* Babe – George Miller and Chris Noonan based on the book The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith* Leaving Las Vegas – Mike Figgis based on the novel by John O'Brien* Il Postino: The Postman – Michael Radford, Anna Pavignano, Furio Scarpelli, Giacomo Scarpelli and Massimo Troisi based on the novel Ardiente paciencia by Antonio Skármeta |
| Antonia's Line in Dutch – Marleen Gorris, director* All Things Fair in Swedish – Bo Widerberg, director* Dust of Life in French – Rachid Bouchareb, director* O Quatrilho in Portuguese and Italian – Fábio Barreto, director* The Star Maker in Italian – Giuseppe Tornatore, director | Anne Frank Remembered – Jon Blair* The Battle Over Citizen Kane – Thomas Lennon and Michael Epstein* Fiddlefest—Roberta Tzavaras and Her East Harlem Violin Program – Allan Miller and Walter Scheuer* Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream – Mike Tollin and Fredric Golding* Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern – Jeanne Jordan and Steven Ascher |
| One Survivor Remembers – Kary Antholis* Jim Dine: A Self-Portrait on the Walls – Nancy Dine and Richard Stilwell* The Living Sea – Greg MacGillivray and Alec Lorimore* Never Give Up: The 20th Century Odyssey of Herbert Zipper – Terry Sanders and Freida Lee Mock* The Shadow of Hate – Charles Guggenheim | Lieberman in Love – Christine Lahti and Jana Sue Memel* Brooms – Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas* Duke of Groove – Griffin Dunne and Thom Colwell* Little Surprises – Jeff Goldblum and Tikki Goldberg* Tuesday Morning Ride – Dianne Houston and Joy Ryan |
| A Close Shave – Nick Park* The Chicken from Outer Space – John R. Dilworth* The End – Chris Landreth and Robin Barger* Gagarin – Alexiy Kharitidi* Runaway Brain – Chris Bailey | Il Postino: The Postman – Luis Bacalov* Apollo 13 – James Horner* Braveheart – James Horner* Nixon – John Williams* Sense and Sensibility – Patrick Doyle |
| Pocahontas – Music by Alan Menken; lyrics by Stephen Schwartz; orchestral score by Alan Menken* The American President – Marc Shaiman* Sabrina – John Williams* Toy Story – Randy Newman* Unstrung Heroes – Thomas Newman | "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas – Music by Alan Menken; lyrics by Stephen Schwartz* "Dead Man Walkin'" from Dead Man Walking – Music and lyrics by Bruce Springsteen* "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" from Don Juan DeMarco – Music and lyrics by Michael Kamen, Bryan Adams and Robert John Lange* "Moonlight" from Sabrina – Music by John Williams; lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman* "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story – Music and lyrics by Randy Newman |
| Braveheart – Lon Bender and Per Hallberg* Batman Forever – John Leveque and Bruce Stambler* Crimson Tide – George Watters II | Apollo 13 – Rick Dior, Steve Pederson, Scott Millan and David MacMillan* Batman Forever – Donald O. Mitchell, Frank A. Montaño, Michael Herbick and Petur Hliddal* Braveheart – Andy Nelson, Scott Millan, Anna Behlmer and Brian Simmons* Crimson Tide – Kevin O'Connell, Rick Kline, Gregory H. Watkins and William B. Kaplan* Waterworld – Steve Maslow, Gregg Landaker and Keith A. Wester |
| Restoration – Art Direction and Set Decoration: Eugenio Zanetti* Apollo 13 – Art Direction: Michael Corenblith; Set Decoration: Merideth Boswell* Babe – Art Direction: Roger Ford; Set Decoration: Kerrie Brown* A Little Princess – Art Direction: Bo Welch; Set Decoration: Cheryl Carasik* Richard III – Art Direction and Set Decoration: Tony Burrough | Braveheart – John Toll* Batman Forever – Stephen Goldblatt* A Little Princess – Emmanuel Lubezki* Sense and Sensibility – Michael Coulter* Shanghai Triad – Lü Yue |
| Braveheart – Peter Frampton, Paul Pattison and Lois Burwell* My Family, Mi Familia – Ken Diaz and Mark Sanchez* Roommates – Greg Cannom, Bob Laden and Colleen Callaghan | Restoration – James Acheson* 12 Monkeys – Julie Weiss* Braveheart – Charles Knode* Richard III – Shuna Harwood* Sense and Sensibility – Jenny Beavan and John Bright |
| Apollo 13 – Mike Hill and Daniel P. Hanley* Babe – Marcus D'Arcy and Jay Friedkin* Braveheart – Steven Rosenblum* Crimson Tide – Chris Lebenzon* Seven – Richard Francis-Bruce | Babe – Scott E. Anderson, Charles Gibson, Neal Scanlan and John Cox* Apollo 13 – Robert Legato, Michael Kanfer, Leslie Ekker and Matt Sweeney |