Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor

The Best Actor Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival since 1946. It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and chosen by the jury from the films in official competition slate at the festival.
At the 1st Cannes Film Festival held in 1946, Ray Milland was the first winner of this award for his performance in The Lost Weekend, and Wagner Moura is the most recent winner in this category for his role in The Secret Agent at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in 2025.

History

The award was first presented in 1946. The prize was not awarded on five occasions. The festival was not held at all in 1948, 1950, and 2020. In 1968, no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the May 1968 events in France. The award can be for lead or supporting roles, with the exception of the period from 1979 to 1981, and in 1991, when the festival used to award a separate "Best Supporting Actor" prize. The jury also, on occasion, cites actors with a special citation that is separate from the main award.
On four occasions, the jury has awarded multiple men the prize for one film. The four films were: A Big Family, Compulsion, Long Day's Journey into Night, and Days of Glory.
Dean Stockwell, Jack Lemmon, and Marcello Mastroianni have won the most awards in this category, each winning twice.

Winners

Indicates the Best Supporting Actor winner

2010s

Multiple winners

The following individuals have received multiple Best Actor awards:

Number of wins	Actors	Nationality	Films
2	Dean Stockwell	United States	Compulsion, Long Day's Journey into Night
2	Jack Lemmon	United States	The China Syndrome, Missing
2	Marcello Mastroianni	Italy	The Pizza Triangle, Dark Eyes