Has Any Film Won Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor & Actress, AND Best Picture at the Oscars?
What To Know
- No film has ever won all four acting Oscars and Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
- Several films came close to winning multiple acting awards and/or Best Picture, but always missed at least one category.
- Only three films have achieved the “Big Five.”
There are so many amazing movies out there. Several films have been the most talked about and have seemingly won every award there is, which begs the question: has any one film won Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, and Best Picture at the Oscars?
The short answer is no. Even in Hollywood’s most celebrated eras, no film has won all of those awards.
Still, a handful of classics came remarkably close, and their near misses say a lot about how rare and competitive those acting honors really are. If a movie is strong enough to win Best Picture, shouldn’t its performances be equally unbeatable? Acting awards often reflect individual moments, while Best Picture recognizes the entire film, from direction to screenplay to ensemble balance. A few films dominated the acting categories but fell short of the top prize, while others won Best Picture without earning awards for their stars.
A24/Everett Collection
At the 95th Academy Awards on March 12, 2023, Everything Everywhere All at Once dominated the ceremony by winning seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan, Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. However, the movie did not win Best Actor.
In addition, there have been three “Big Five” winners, winning the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. These films are It Happened One Night (1934), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
Another close call is From Here to Eternity. Released in 1953, the film won Best Picture and also took home both supporting acting awards, with Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed earning Oscars. Montgomery Clift and Deborah Kerr were nominated in the lead categories, making the film a serious contender across the board. Despite that dominance, neither lead performance won.
Everett Collection
Another frequent answer to this question is Network, the 1976 satire that feels just as relevant today. It won Best Actor for Peter Finch, Best Actress for Faye Dunaway, and Best Supporting Actress for Beatrice Straight. It even earned a supporting actor nomination for Ned Beatty, whose monologue remains legendary. The missing piece was Best Picture, where Network was nominated but ultimately lost. A Streetcar Named Desire also came close to the top prize. The 1951 adaptation earned nominations in all four acting categories and won three, with Vivien Leigh, Karl Malden, and Kim Hunter taking home Oscars. Marlon Brando‘s loss in Best Actor kept it from matching the perfect run.
Several other films reached the same rare milestone of being nominated in all acting categories. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Bonnie and Clyde, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Coming Home, Reds, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle all managed that feat. Only two of those films, Mrs. Miniver and From Here to Eternity, actually won Best Picture, underscoring how difficult it is to align acting success with the Academy’s top honor.
Remind 
The Oscars
March 2022
Test your knowledge on the award ceremony's most memorable hosts and the movies that won.
Buy This Issue